GstaadLife

Football may be in the spotlight right now, but on July 6 in Gstaad it's the volleyballs which will be competing for center stage as the 11th 1-to-1 Energy Beachvolleyball Grand Slam kicks off. 

Back on June 11-13, Dona Bertarelli, owner of Gstaad's under-construction Grand Hotel Park, won the 72nd edition of the Bol d’Or on Lake Geneva with her katamaran Ladycat. Congratulations!

The weather really bites right now - this is seriously the worst summer we can remember in the 10 years that we've been here. But assuming it will get better at some point, here are the cable cars which are already open or opening soon. Already open are: Zweisimmen-Sparenmoos, Col du Pillon-Glacier 3000, Schönried-Rellerli, Gsteig-Sanetsch, Château-d'Oex-La Braye. Zweisimmen-Rindersberg, Schönried-Horneggli and Gstaad-Wispile are opening on June 19, Reusch-Oldenegg on July 17 and Gstaad-Wasserngrat on July 29 - but only from Thursdays to Sundays. So hopefully summer will finally come and we can enjoy our favorite hikes and mountain huts.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

Is there anything worse than listening to those hucksters in South Africa going bananas over the ugly game called football? Modern society is dominated by emotion and propaganda, not to mention profit, and when all three are combined what we get is the World Cup. Technicolor pictures of fat men and women jumping up and down while blowing into a contraption called vuvuzela dominate the front pages, as if an order had come from up high to feature the most boorish and the fattest, cheering for the most foul mouthed and overpaid.

No, the picture above is not a joke - yes the date is correct. Good thing the beach volleyball tournament was shifted to  a slightly later date compared to previous years...

The Gstaad promenade and especially its flowers were vandalized in the night from Monday to Tuesday June 14/15. Ok, all the city people are rolling their eyes right now, wondering why we're not thankful these thugs are only smashing up our decorative fauna, and not, say, our heads. But still: who does things like this and why? The police is involved and would appreciate hearing from anyone who saw or heard anything. 

 
Did you know that the Steigenberger Hotel has a dance club? Well, it's been closed for the last 15 years but for the duration of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which begins today, the "Stollen“ will re-opened as a World Cup Lounge. Until July 11 all 64 of the matches will be shown on a large projection screen and a large monitor, accompanied by the best party atmosphere. Before and after matches there are chances to win the “tip of the day”, play table football, play X-Box football, or just enjoy some music.

 
UPDATE Friday June 11: this is a proper pain: allow an extra 10 minutes for journeys from Gstaad/Saanen to Ober Gstaad, Oberbort, Wispile, Bissen, Gsteig and Lauenen.

The Gstaad bypass will be completely closed from June 10 to 13. This means that the street from the Migros roundabout to the Würsten roundabout will also be completely closed. You'll still be able to get from one side of town to the other one though - via Gschwendstrasse one way and via the train station in the other direction.

Come September, Gstaad will be able to boast a new world class sporting event - this time it's billiards. Marcel Frattini (above) has organized the Gstaad Swiss Open, a world class billiards tournament with over 250 participants. For those of you who are into this scene, big-time players such as Ralf Souquet (GER), Thorsten Hohmann (GER), Niels Feijen (NED), the Swiss top players Sascha Specchia and Dmitri Jungo, and Philippine Francisco Bustamante will ring a bell. They are playing for € 50'000. So put it in your calendar - September 16 to 18 at the Sportzentrum Curling Hall in Gstaad.

Do you have an iPhone? Well then you should download the new app of Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus with lots of tips for guests and locals. Asides from the usual tennis/beach/Menuhin/polo/country yawn PR, there's actually some very good useful stuff on there, such as interactive hiking maps and a few good ideas for things to do with kids. It's available for free from the App Store.