GstaadLife

On Friday July 25 2008 around 14h00 a glider crashed onto the beach volleyball field just a few meters away from the outdoor pool in Saanen. The 76 year-old pilot from canton Zurich crashed on approach to the airfield in Saanen and died in the crash. According to eyewitnesses children had been playing beach volleyball only moments before the aircraft came down and were searching for their ball off-court when the tragedy happened. The reasons for the crash are as yet unclear.

There is finally some more news about the riding center project in Mettlen between Gstaad and Saanen. Just when we thought the project was to become the next ten-year epic by Marcel Bach, word is that the project is once again back on track after recent general assembly meeting of the local riding association,  the Reit- und Fahrveriens Gstaad-Saanenland. Originally slated for winter of 2007, the project was stalled after an investor dropped out (see Gstaad riding center construction postponed). Now the plans have been slightly modified, and feature a smaller 44 x 25 meter riding arena supported by an investment of SFr 8.3m. Two thirds of the necessary finances have been committed, so hopefully there can soon be some good news for the horses of the region.

Previously: Gstaad to get new riding center

Some secrets simply must be told. Saanenland-savvy readers that you are, you have most probably been to the Lauenensee. But have you ever taken a horse-drawn carriage to get up there, eaten at the hidden private restaurant with the most stunning views, and then been transported back along the lake and down to Lauenen in the manner of our forefathers? Awaited by Ueli Reichenbach at the Hotel Alpenland we settled back in the carriage with its two sterling horses clip-clopping up the winding road towards the lake. With Ueli’s traditional dress punctuated only by his Oakley’s and the occasional vibration of his mobile, we were carried back in time, sucking in the fresh air, listening to the horses and their bells, and gazing at the breathtaking scenery around us...

By Taki Theodoracopulos

CORFU--The Ionian islands are softer, greener and more feminine than those of the Aegean, and Corfu in particular was used by Homer as the setting of one of the most beautiful episodes of the Odyssey, the meeting of Odysseus with Nausica. For any of you with short memories of the classics, Odysseus was washed ashore, having escaped Calypso’s enchantments, and is welcomed with warmth and generosity by Nausica’s parents, King Alcinous and his wife Arete. Once the Ithacan king reveals his identity the Phaeacians take him back to his island which he hasn’t seen in twenty long years. In an earlier tradition, before the Trojan War, the Argonauts, having stolen the Golden Fleece from Colchis, and with King Aeetes on their heels, find refuge and a welcome in Alcinous’ and Arete’s palace. Nice people those two, but the not-so-nice modernists have installed a Big Mac near their palace. Once upon a time the tired and persued found refuge in Corfu, now the fat and greedy come for triple burgers and fries. Zeus must be awfully pissed off up at Olympus but there’s little he can do.

A hurdle in the permissions process is causing a major delay in the construction of the two major Saanen projects: a public underground parking garage called Parkhaus Saanendorf, and a planned residential and retail development/rezoning on the von Grünigen Matte, the field next to the roundabout at the eastern end of Saanen. A cantonal commission has rejected plans for the von Grünigen Matte development, delaying the permissions and construction of the parking garage and causing both “Flüeli” projects to be struck from the agenda of the June 13 town meeting. That the two projects carry the same name is key as they are interrelated for technical and permissions reasons; but both projects are intrinsically different.

Based on article by Ernst Hodel and other Anzeiger von Saanen reports

Regional winter sport enthusiasts and mountain railway operators may have much to celebrate with last week’s raft of good news. Firstly, the Rellerli mountain is not expected to close to skiing as previously reported. Thanks to a potential SFr 600,000 contribution by the Gemeinde Saanen, winter operations on Schönried’s sunniest slopes are to be guaranteed for at least the next 10 years. The Reid-Lengebrand chairlift at St Stephan is not expected to be removed as previously envisaged. And plans to change the piste and ski lift configurations on the Eggli and Saanersloch-Hornberg are to re-considered, incorporating expert opinions from regional snow sports schools.

For all dog owners who are registered residents in Saanenland: the deadline for paying your dog tax is August 1 2008; the fee is SFr 80, payable at the Gemeinde in Saanen (Gemeinde Gsteig is August 31). Also, since January 1 2007, all dogs older than three months of age have been required to have an implanted microchip (or legible tattoo) and must be registered with the Animal Identity Service (ANIS) database in Bern. ANIS is an independent database for pet animals operating throughout Switzerland. If you imported your dog from abroad, you must present your dog to a veterinarian in Switzerland within 10 days after entry into the country. The vet will register your dog’s foreign microchip or tattoo number with ANIS. In Canton Bern, owners of “dangerous or potentially dangerous” breeds such as bull terriers, Dobermans and Rottweilers are asked to declare their dogs with the cantonal veterinary office; owners will then learn about dog-training requirements and authorization for possession.

One of the fastest growing communities in Gstaad right now is the Spanish. It should therefore come as no surprise the evangelic community service of Gstaad (EWG) is now offering a bi-monthly mass in Spanish. Father Ricardo Romero from Lausanne has been employed on a part-time basis by the EWG, which will allow him to come to Gstaad to conduct mass. “I know what it means to live abroad. To be able to attend mass in one’s own mother tongue is a huge gift,” says Thomas Brönnimann, director of EWG Gstaad. Father Romero lives with his wife in Lausanne where he presides over a Spanish-speaking community. He emigrated from Argentina twenty years ago and for a long time visited Spanish-speaking people in Swiss prisons. He is now a Swiss citizen.

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