GstaadLife

Do you like horses or do you have children who are just crazy about them? Well, then we have the right event for you: The breeding association Saanen-Obersimmental (PZG) celebrates its 100th anniversary and is organizing a horse show where the fowles and young horses are evaluated by experts on Friday October 1 from 9:30 on and on Sunday October 3 there is a party with games, a show, a quadrille and a tournament for everybody starting at 10:00. The whole thing takes place at the Saanersloch parking lot.

It's that time of the year again - cows block the road and the drive from A to B becomes a slalom of bovine avoidance manoevers. But it is also the time for the Alpabzug - where beautifully decorated cows come down from their summer alps, and the villagers come together in celebration. One of our favorites is in Etivaz on October 2 2010 starting at 9h00. Click here to check out a video.

The renovation on the Gstaad viaduct is finally getting underway. Next week the men with hard hats will gather and the scaffolding will be up soon after. Works will probably last till November this year and then begin again as soon as the weather allows it after winter. What is already known is that after Easter the trains will have to be replaced by buses for about 12 days due to a heavy construction phase. When everything is done, the bridge will be a silent one that buffers the train noise...they'll just need to stop tooting that horn!

 

By Januaria Piromallo

It has been an honor for me to be a friend of Kirsten and John Sutin (pictured above). As many of you have heard, Kirsten was a professional horse rider and on May 7 2010 she fell off her horse causing a spinal cord injury that left her tetraplegic from the neck on. Her life is now suspended in time like the thin line of sand within an "hourglass", as she said,  but the will to survive always triumphs. Kirsten without moving from her bed in the Paraplegic Center of Nottwill, the leading clinic in Europe (there are only few: one in Israel and in the United States), she is "moving" emotionally around the whole world.

The Steigenberger Hotel Gstaad-Saanenland has a new director: Ferdinand T Salverda (above) has returned to Saanenland after ten years. Like many of his compatriots, the native Dutchman speaks a ton of languages (some of them very, very quickly), and unlike the last permanent director, is a familiar face who knows (and actually cares about) the guests. Way back, he actually used to work at the Steigenberger as Chef de Bar and night auditor, later moving on to the Bellevue (before it was Grand) as director, and the Park Hotel as marketing and sales director. GL.com welcomes him back and wishes him all the best --  we hope this to be the last change at the Steigenberger for a very long time...

Interested in cool art deco ski posters? Pullman Galleries in London is launching 'Art Deco in the Alps', a collection of limited-edition posters from newly-commissioned works of art. The exclusive collection of 24 posters reprises the quintessential heritage and dramatic imagery of vintage alpine resort posters, featuring a choice of nine iconic winter sports locations, including Gstaad, Davos, St Moritz, Zermatt and Verbier. Only 93 days till Christmas...

Great musical performances and by far the best parade of the year. Above the scene in the Promenade just after 11h00 this past Sunday September 12. Click here for more images:

Finally the Grand Hotel Bellevue has realized that it was a big mistake to shut down the spa for the off-season too. So while they will be renovating during this fall off-season, Steffi von Siebenthal SPA manager (above) says that they will also be offering a selection of workouts. From spring the whole spa will be open during the off-season and they are getting back some of the old trainers -- in the hope that some of the old clients will come back with them too. Well, at least it seems that they are listening. Has anyone had an interesting experience at the Bellevue Spa or fitness in the past few months? Hit comments below.

The Menuhin Festival Gstaad 2010 is over. According to Christoph N Müller, the festival's artistic director (pictured above), it was yet another good one, achieving both strong attendance numbers and critical acclaim. Next year's motto is also already known: "Fire and Sun".

News on the flat-rate tax - the federal council of Switzerland wants to keep the flat-rate tax for foreigners. But it is considering changing the formula for calculation of the tax from today's level of five times the rental value of the owned property to seven times. Might these be enough to appease those pesky socialists?