Our September 2026 trip to Switzerland had a clear purpose before it had any hikes in it: Kristine was competing at Swiss Open 2026, an international armwrestling tournament in Frauenfeld, in the women's -70 kg class on both arms.
She came home with gold on the left arm and silver on the right. This is the story of that weekend – the travelling, the waiting, a sunrise, a small old town, and a competition day that was both a big success and, in one final, a real disappointment.
The short version
Swiss Open 2026 took place on Saturday 19 September in the Rüeggerholz Halle in Frauenfeld, with weigh-in the evening before. Kristine won the women's -70 kg left arm undefeated and took silver on the right arm. We stayed near Wil, saw the sunrise from the Wiler Turm and walked through Wil's old town before driving on to Lauterbrunnen.
Flying to Zurich
We flew from Aalborg to Copenhagen on Friday 18 September and on to Zurich – just a short change in Copenhagen, nothing more. At Zurich Airport we picked up our rental car – a Toyota C-HR hybrid, booked through Rentalcars.com with Enterprise as the supplier – stopped at a Coop for groceries and drove to our base for the weekend.
That base was an Airbnb in Züberwangen, a small village just outside Wil in north-eastern Switzerland. The flat sat above a car repair workshop, and it was genuinely good – especially the kitchen, which made a real difference on a competition weekend when you want to control what you eat. Two nights cost us 1,347.98 DKK in total.
A slow weigh-in in Frauenfeld
Later that day we drove to the Rüeggerholz Halle in Frauenfeld, where Swiss Open was held. Weigh-in for all categories ran from 18.00 to 20.00 on the Friday, and we got there shortly after six.
It was a frustrating start. From where we stood, the process didn't seem to have a clear system, and it took a long time. After a day of travelling, standing around in a queue that barely moved was tiring.
The important part went well, though: Kristine weighed in at 67.5 kg – right where she wanted to be for the -70 kg class. Weight sorted. Now it was about being ready the next day.
Sunrise at the Wiler Turm
On Saturday morning Kristine slept a bit longer, and I got up early and drove to the Wiler Turm, a wooden lookout tower on the Hofberg above Wil. It's 38 metres tall, with the viewing platform at 34 metres, and you climb it on a long spiral staircase.
It was a nice way to start the day: rolling green fields, farms, woods and the light coming up over north-eastern Switzerland. My honest take is that it's worth it if you're already in the area, but not something to make a long detour for. Then I drove back and we had breakfast together.
A walk through Wil
Before heading to the competition we went into Wil itself. The old town is small and easy to walk: narrow cobbled lanes, painted façades, old gates and flags hanging across the streets. It was market day when we were there, with stalls running down the street.
One detail I didn't expect: a whole car park painted with a huge mural of a lake landscape and eagles in flight, parking lines and all.
Swiss Open 2026
Then it was time for Frauenfeld and the reason we'd come. Swiss Open is a big international armwrestling tournament, and the 2026 edition was presented by King of the Table under EVW Sports – the company behind the professional East vs West series, which brings together some of the biggest names in the sport. The banner behind the podium carries the year 1991.
According to the official event poster, two Swiss Open finalists from any weight category could be selected to compete at East vs West 27 in Hungary, and an EVW scout was there looking at athletes for future events. Winning didn't mean automatic qualification – but it put the tournament in direct contact with the professional side of the sport.
You could feel that in the hall. We saw several names we normally follow from the professional events – among them Oleksandr "Manifestor" Telyatnik and the German armwrestler Leonidas Arkona, both familiar faces from East vs West – and I took the chance to get a couple of photos.
A long competition day
The earlier categories pulled in the morning. Kristine was in the senior/pro category, so her matches didn't start until around 2pm.
The format makes for a long, demanding day. Left and right arm run in separate phases, with early rounds first and finals later, so you warm up, pull, wait, cool down and warm up again – several times. There were nine women in her class, and the tournament was double elimination: you're only out after your second loss. It's physically hard, and mentally it can be difficult to keep track of where you are in the day.
Gold on the left arm
On the left arm Kristine was excellent. She went through the bracket undefeated, and the final went really well – she won it convincingly and without much trouble. Gold in the women's -70 kg.
Silver on the right arm
The right arm was a different story. Kristine went through to the final undefeated here too, and there she met an opponent she had beaten fairly convincingly in an early round. In the final, though, that opponent used a technique Kristine wasn't expecting to the same degree, and it caught her out.
By then we were both tired after a long day of pulling, waiting and a lot of people and impressions. That's not an excuse – it's just part of what a day like that is. Kristine lost the right-arm final and took silver.
We were disappointed. She'd shown she was strong enough to beat that opponent, and the final didn't go the way we'd hoped. But it doesn't take anything away from the overall result: gold and silver in an international field is a strong weekend, and the left arm was as good as I've seen her pull.
See Kristine's matches
Photos don't show how quickly a match can turn – here are Kristine's matches from the day.
On to Lauterbrunnen
On Sunday morning we packed up the flat in Züberwangen and drove south-west towards the Bernese Oberland, after a last breakfast in that good kitchen. We stopped in Interlaken, put together a healthy lunch from what the Aldi there had on the shelves, and ate it sitting on a wall outside. Then we carried on to Lauterbrunnen.
The rest of the trip has its own stories: our afternoon in Lauterbrunnen and, the morning after, a sunrise ridge hike on the Augstmatthorn.
Our flight home left Zurich at 20.25 on Monday 21 September, back to Aalborg via Copenhagen.
Practical information
| Event | Swiss Open 2026, presented by King of the Table / EVW Sports |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday 19 September 2026; weigh-in Friday 18 September, 18.00–20.00 |
| Venue | Rüeggerholz Halle, Festhüttenstrasse 21, 8500 Frauenfeld |
| Result | Kristine, women's -70 kg (9 athletes): gold left arm, silver right arm |
| We stayed | Airbnb in Züberwangen, just east of Wil – a flat above a car workshop, with a great kitchen; 1,347.98 DKK for 2 nights |
| Getting around | Toyota C-HR hybrid from Zurich Airport, 18–21 Sept (Enterprise, via Rentalcars.com) – 1,268 DKK |
| Wiler Turm | Wooden lookout tower on the Hofberg above Wil, 38 m tall, platform at 34 m |
Final thoughts
Swiss Open was the reason we went to Switzerland, and it was worth the trip: a big international tournament, a direct link to the professional side of the sport, and two medals for Kristine – one won with real authority, one that got away. The weigh-in tested our patience and the right-arm final still stings a little.
But the stops around it – the sunrise on the Wiler Turm, the market in Wil, an Aldi lunch on a wall in Interlaken – turned a competition weekend into a proper trip. And it set us up for the mountains that came next.