GstaadLife

Do you recognize the person and the place? It is a picture taken in September 1993 of Michael Jackson sitting on the little steps to the right of the old Pernet Comestibles shop. He was staying in the chalet of his friend Elizabeth Taylor at the time in order to recover from his tour and escape claims of child molestation. Well, both are no more - not the building nor the King of Pop, and we are like many others very sad to have lost such a great musician who also left his footprints in our village...

It's that time of year again when oldtimers from far and wide grace our valleys and the parking lot of the Gstaad Palace. 2009 was no exception for the Oldtimer Club of Gstaad-Saanenland, with local residents Karl und Karl-Friedrich Scheufele in their 1935 Bentley 3.5 liter convertible (pictured above) never ones to miss out on the Chopard-Challenge. The 47 participants for last Saturday's rally drove 221 km from Gstaad to Murten and then back over the Col du Pillon. Even the weather cooperated with heavy showers abating just before the start, and kicking off again as the stragglers rolled in the Lobby Bar.

by Diana Oehrli

No, yodeling did not begin as some websites claim, with a man yelling “andyouroldladytoo,” as he’s being thrown off a mountain as punishment for kissing a Swiss man’s daughter. The history of yodeling is thankfully more positive than that. But hold on. One cannot write about the origins of yodeling without mentioning the alphorn, Switzerland’s national musical instrument. Both yodeling and the alphorn were ancient methods of alpine communication.

If you missed the yodeling festival, then you really did miss something. For those of you who were not here last week, or for those of you who just want to look back on it all over again - here are some videos of this fantastic event:

Impressive alphorns...

...flag swingers,...

...yodeling of the finest and...

...cute mini yodelers.

Also the parade through Gstaad was impressive - but see for yourself:

The extension of the snow making facilities in the eastern sector of the Gstaad Mountain Rides ski region has started. The goal of this next phase is to be able to have all main slopes snow-worthy within 60 hours from 2011 on. The slopes we are talking about are: Saanerslochgrat-Chübeli and Saanerslochgrat-Lochstafel, the new Horneggli-Direttissima and the section Rinderbergspitz-Büelti. The cost of the 2009 snow projects - SFr 18 million...

You my recall a few weeks back that the Eisbahn Gstaad AG was looking for people interested in parking spaces in Unter-Gstaad. About 30 people expressed interest and so the project of enlarging the existing underground parking is going ahead. If everything goes to plan the construction will start after next year's tennis tournament, and the spaces will be available for the spring of 2010.

Rope bridges, zip lines/ flying foxes, rope ladders, daring leaps and fast-paced accelerations: the new adventure park in Zweisimmen offers everything the heart desires to increase the adrenalin level. The operating company is Swiss Adventures, located in Gstaad. Höigümper (grasshopper), Eichhörenchen (squirrel) and Specht (woodpecker) are the names of the three courses (see map below) that have been equipped during the last weeks and months. Each course has 20 bridges but the height and difficulty varies. "Höigümper is the easiest course, designed for children from 120 centimeters high or beginners. The platforms are at a maximum height of 10 meters,” explains Hans Allemann, manager of Swiss Adventures. Technically more demanding and higher is the Eichhörnchen option, which is closed to children measuring less than 140 centimeters. The platforms of this more demanding course are up to 20 meters high. 

The Saanen bypass is moving along as planned and last Saturday one was even allowed to walk through the tunnel for their open day (see picture below). With the completion of the bypass by fall 2010 the center of Saanen is free to be redesigned as well. The project, known as Sanona, has already been mapped out, but now sceptical voices, mostly from local shop owners, fill the Stammtische around Saanen. The changeover of Saanen from drive-through to pedestrian town is set to between spring and July 2011. General traffic will be banned from the Landhaus to Gehret Metalbau, with exceptions like Gstaad for residents and deliveries. The Bahnhofstrasse will be made narrower and Rübeldorf (direction Chalberhöni) will be accesable from Rougemont via both the Bahnhofstrasse and the street between the Bellerieve and the camping site. Natural stone pavement is planned for the center and simple design features such as fountains and trees will finish things off. Sounds nice no? So what's the problem? Err, parking. About 50 parking spaces will be lost in the construction, and a total of about 200 spaces are needed. The shop owners want this problem to be adressed now because if there is no solution by 2011 they fear for their existence. There is a project to resolve the parking issues, but it is mirred in haggling over costs and construction feasibility. The latest plan is due to be presented on June 16 and we'll have it for you. Stay tuned... 

Above: inside Saanen tunnel. This shot is taken heading towards Gstaad. Above ground to the wall on the right would be Saanen church.

On our recent off-season/bad weather urge to find something different to do in and around Gstaad, we stumbled across the Arc-en-ciel private spa. We had heard of it before but for some reason never tried it. Well, now we can undoubtedly fully recommend this oasis to you. You get your key to the spa which is situated in the Residence building of the Arc-en-ciel at the reception desk and then you are on your own. Once you found it (which will be about the hardest thing you'll do all day) you unlock the door to a h(e)aven of candlelight and ambient music. Changing room, bathroom, big steam room with light therapy, big bio sauna, rain shower, free-standing bathtube for two, relaxation chairs, fresh fruit - and all of that for just SFr 120 for two people for 2 hours - what a treat. So if naked with strangers is not your thing, and SFr 600 for the Palace's hammam is a tad over-indulgent, then Arc-en-Ciel is your spa ticket. Enjoy!

Don't miss the re-opening festivites of the Landhaus Saanen this Saturday. Since Monday the restaurant and hotel have been open again under the stewardship of new director Manfred Weilguni who very successfully ran the Alpine Lodge until recently, before jumping at a new opportunity to remake the famous Landhaus (Alpinelodgers don't worry, his brother is taking over so nothing will change there). There are still several changes to be made, and new things are being added daily: the lighting in the restaurant will be changed to something more subdued (regulars of the old Landhaus will remember the overhead floodlights illuminating the food), the old outside furniture is being replaced with that more fashionable wicker-like stuff, there is a brand new roof terrace with panoramic views, there are new cow rugs and tastefully-mounted flatscreens in the rooms, indeed the whole place is getting a slight modern touch while keeping the traditional things in place. While the rooms will undergo more extensive rennovation over the coming months and years, the menu is all-new from day one, still with its traditional touch and affordable prices, but now executed with surprising twists of originality. Funnily enough the menu is in Saanedütsch (the dialect spoken around here) - but don't fret, there is an excellent English translation on hand, and in fact you'll have fun just figuring out what the "German" might mean. Try the salad served in a preservation jar or Weilguni's own beef tartar appetizer, "Mändus Tartar", prepared by the director himself à table. Follow it with a mouth-watering Châteaubriand (unusually also available for one) or the river crab tails in garlic butter. Or go simple with the trout or the Landhaus burger with grated Hobelkäse. 

This Saturday June 6, from 17h - 20h there will be the grand opening party with music by the Andi Brunner band from Winterthur, free grill, a climbing wall, and a special old fire truck hosing out Feldschlössen beer :-) Good to have an old stalwart of the local scene back with new energy. See you there...