Saanenland to introduce house numbering
As foreigners living in Gstaad, we’ve all had the conversation at one time or other. Picture yourself with speaking with a courier service or a store from where you’ve just ordered something to be delivered. It goes something like this:
- And where would you like that delivered?
- To my chalet in Gstaad please.
- And the address?
- Chalet [enter name], 3780 Gstaad
- [Pause] Err, is there a street?
- No, just the chalet name
- How about a number?
- No, just the chalet name
- [Long pause] Okay…
- When will the package arrive?
- Should be there by the end of the week
And of course when you call a week later, you get a whole song-and-dance about how the driver was there but couldn’t locate your chalet without at least a street name or number, how he tried ever so hard (without thinking to actually call you), and how the package is now back in the depot in Geneva/Zurich from where if it’s not picked up within the next 24 hours it will be returned to sender.
Well these days will soon be over. In last week’s Gemeindeversammlung (council meeting), there was a vote to approve a SFr 350,000 loan to be used to implement a street naming and house numbering system throughout the region. In today’s world of e-commerce and overnight delivery, many services need exact addresses, and our rather quaint system of using chalet names is not simply not good enough any more. No word yet on how the numbering will be configured, but with relatively few units around town, we should avoid credit card-style street addresses that are common in the States.
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