GstaadLife

Why we don't mind when it snows in the summer. Above, Saanen as seen from Le Grand Chalet at 10h00 this morning, with the snow caps of the Vanil Noir in the background. This is Gstaad life.

Ahh, if only you’d known about this property when it was actually for sale. For some months now, MOB has been quietly selling off its railway stations as it introduces a plan to modernize and consolidate railway station operations into fewer “destination” locations with combined postal, tourist office and ski school facilities. Among the biggest prizes on the for-sale list was the station in Gruben above Gstaad, currently one of Saanenland’s most sought-after neighborhoods and one of the most difficult to get into (we’ve heard stories of brash New Yorkers knocking on farmhouse doors offering millions in cash to the owners to find themselves somewhere else to live – and still no-one is selling). The Gruben stationhouse was particularly prized because its architectural style is not a chalet.

Taking over what was once the domain of the Park Hotel, the Hotel Olden has changed directors just one year into the reign of Thierry Fischer. Fischer, who left of his own accord, will be moving on to pursue new initiatives, although it is not clear at this time what he has planned. Also not clear is the role played in Fischer's departure by the hotel's owners, Bernie Ecclestone and Marco Piccinini, who are well-known to have been considering much postponed investment plans for the property that include a new swimming pool and wellness facilities. In any event hitherto vice-director Ermes Elsener has taken over the helm. Popular with guests and just 30 years old this year, Elsener will assume the mantle of the youngest director of a 5-star hotel in Gstaad (we believe the previously holder of that title was Michel Wichmann at the Bellevue, but hit 'Comments' below to tell us if we're wrong).

In the next few days, the Park Hotel is expected to announce personnel changes in the kitchen. Gone is head chef Franz Faeh as well as sous-chef Giuseppe Angelucci. According to the hotel, the board decided on some new directions and an agreement was reached with Faeh. Word in the village suggests that owner Donatella Späth Bertarelli wanted to move the culinary concept more in a Mediterranean direction. In any event the Park Hotel expects not to miss a gastronomic beat with its new personnel and excellent selection of five restaurants, two piano bars, and a vinotheque. More as we hear it. In the meantime, check out the new website, a vast improvement on the old one.

It's May 28...and it's been snowing all day here in Gstaad. A couple days ago we had 24 degrees...now it's snowing. As we look out of the window here at GstaadLife.com central onto the Wispile, we note ironically that there is more of the white stuff now than there was at the end of March. Check out the livecam images in the right column of this page to see summer's white blanket...and to watch how fast it will melt. We're not really sure why there's always so much amazement about May/June snow given that it happens every year...but it's still worth the picture.

Above: Restaurant Saanerslochgrat at 17h00 this afternoon.

Renowned Saanenland balloonist, Hans Büker (left), died last Tuesday after apparently suffering a heart attack or stroke. He was 67 years-old. Many readers of this website will have spent clear mornings or afternoons floating above the Bernese Oberland with Büker, who for many years was the first number in the rolodex for five-star concierges booking hot air balloon flights for their guests. With over 5,000 flight hours, Büker was one of the most experienced balloonists in the world. While his trademark balloon had been seen less in the skies of late, he will be missed as an icon and a character of the skies over Gstaad. Funeral services will take place on Tuesday May 29. GstaadLife.com extends our condolences to his family.

Hans Büker rising over the Gstaad Palace for a summer evening flight in August 2001.

Walter Egger is at it again. Fresh from his engineering endeavors on the glacier and now planning a complete restoration of the railway viaduct in Gstaad, Saanenland’s “mission impossible” construction specialist is at the center of plans to build a previously announced suspension bridge for hikers that will seamlessly connect Schönried to the hiking routes to Gstaad-Turbach and Rougemont. The plan is for a 210-meter long, 34 meter-high suspension bridge at tree-top height over the Chouflisbach river, a structure that will make it possible to walk the route even in winter. In recent surveys with guests, Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus has found guests trending towards easy, 2-hour long, pushchair-accessible hikes featuring dramatic views and if possible water. In addition routes without vehicular traffic or the need to cross major roads are preferred.

Above (click to enlarge): an aerial shot of the proposed bridge/train route from Gruben (top) to Schoenried (bottom).

‘Tis the week for ambitious engineering projects in Gstaad (see above). This time it’s a consortium known as GIG, or Groupement d’ingénieurs Gstaad, that has won its bid to restore rather than replace the historic MOB rail viaduct that passes above Gstaad. If regular readers are feeling that this story has something of a déjà vu quality to it, well that's because it does (see: Train viaduct to be restored not rebuilt, November 27 2006). The GIG consortium, essentially front-end packaging for yet another rendition of mission impossible engineering from Walter Egger’s Egger Ingenieure AG, Gstaad (see: Video: Glacier 3000, an engineering mission impossible), was also the winner of a first round of bidding last year, but one of the losing teams entered an official objection regarding the selection process and the bids had to be reopened.

A couple of weeks ago we speculated on the implications of proposed calendar changes by the ATP for Gstaad’s Allianz Suisse Open tennis tournament (see: New uncertainties brewing for Allianz Suisse Open). Well in the past few days, tournament organizers have announced that beginning next year, the event will now take place a week later than in the past due to the need to complete Davis Cup rounds. In addition, organizers have announced their intent to enter the running to be part of the newly-created ATP 500 category of tournament, but acknowledge that competition from the clay events in Monte Carlo, Hamburg, and Rome will make success with the application a challenge.

One of the few downsides about living in Gstaad is the relatively poor selection of reasonably priced products for the home. Sure if you have a big-time budget and a team of AV specialists at your disposal there’s no problem. But for most of us, buying that new flat screen most likely means a schlep down the valley to a Media Markt or an Interdiscount, lugging an awkward, fragile, heavy box in your car back up the valley, and then fighting with badly-translated instructions that insist the SCART cables should work with your Cablecom box, even though the diagram on your Cablecom box looks completely different. Well, we can’t do anything about the quality of Korean translation services, but you no longer have to make the trip down the valley. This week on May 31, Interdiscount is opening a brand new store on the newly built-out middle level of the Coop center in Gstaad.