GstaadLife

On Sunday 22nd July 2012 Thomas Bellucci won the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad.  Bellucci a Brazilian who has won the final once before in Gstaad, in 2009, beat the No1 seed of the tournament Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia 7:6, 4:6, 2:6.

Swiss ATP tennis star, Stanislas Wawrinka has been defeated by Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the opening stages of the 2012 Gstaad Open. For the fifth time now Wawrinka has lost his starting match in Gstaad. Mathieu, who lives in Geneva, now has the chance to repeat his victory from 2007 as he moves through to the next round.

Starting at 9am in Saanen the traditional 'Brocante' will take place. Because of the numerous construction sites in and around the village, organizers and villagers have worked hard to spruce up the buildings, squares and streets for a warm welcome to the market stall holders and guests. 

by Margaret Oertig

'Going Local', is an authoritative guide for parents who wish to gain a better understanding of the Swiss school system. It maps out all the stages of schooling from kindergarten to university in all 26 cantons, providing key facts and useful terminology in German, French, and Italian.

The book unravels how children advance through the school system and lists the different selection criteria around the country for the academic path. It also clearly explains the range of options and alternative paths that lead to tertiary education. It highlights issues parents may need to address in order to help their children reach their full educational potential. Tips are given to help parents manage their relationship with the school, drawing on the expertise of professionals and the experiences and insights of other parents, both from Switzerland and abroad.

At what age should you move your child to a Swiss public school? What kind of integration programmes and extra language lessons are usually available? What about homework and extra tuition? What is HarmoS all about? You'll find answers to all your questions and a lot more. Stages of schooling covered: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, gymnasium, apprenticeships, specialised upper schools and the various paths to tertiary education.

You'll learn all about attitudes to early learning and the subjects taught, learning to read and other competences developed, Swiss-German and High German, handwriting, marks and their consequences, Cantonal variations, discipline, the curriculum, vocational maturity, school hours, parent / teacher relations, attitudes to competition, and the key educational terminology needed to deal with Swiss schooling issues.You can increase the likelihood of your child making a smooth and successful transition at any stage of his or her education.

"It is a stunning book in both scope and detail. I am not aware of any other book that covers the Swiss educational landscape in this manner. Hope it finds a large audience." Christian Liesen, professor at the Interkantonale Hochschule für Heilpädagogik Zürich.

See also Beyond Chocolate - understanding Swiss culture by Margaret Oertig Davidson.

Listen to a discussion and interview with Margaret Oertig about Going Local on the WRS radio

by Mandolyna Theodoracopulos

 It’s a pity the Côte d’Azur doesn’t look more like the coast of Corsica, a largely unspoiled paradise amid the besmirched Mediterranean. I recently spent five days sailing along the Coriscan strand away from all the stinkpots that line what used to be the mainland French paradise.

 But I was a mere interloper there; the annual regatta is organized by Pugs, the world’s most exclusive club. My father, Taki, is a founding member and there are only 15 others—all men, or dogs if you prefer, for they are all naughty, naughty boys! A few “Pugettes” are permitted to attend certain Pug-related events, though they are purely ornamental. 

 I’m not sure what the Pugs Club is. From what I gather their little clique is some sort of gentleman’s club started by a group of friends to engage in gentlemanly activities. They have no clubhouse and their only regularly scheduled event is to get together yearly for lunch at Scalini in London. They also send out funny Christmas cards with all the Pugs members’ faces superimposed on amusing vintage hunting photos from the subcontinent. The club president, one William H. Gimlet, is in charge of collecting dues and organizing any Pugs-related activities. Sometimes they go shooting. Gimlet is a former boozehound who spends most of his time instructing the club members on ridiculous pursuits such as investigating the practicality of German U-boats on Lake Chad. 

 Previous Pug yachting excursions have been in Ibiza, Saint-Tropez, and Capri. Not everyone attended this year’s regatta. Only two boats turned up, three having dropped out—Alexia due to an electrical meltdown, the Marie Cha due to a bad back, and the Talitha due to a mysterious business trip. This year’s trip to Corsica was attended by only seven members and two boats, Bushido and Tiger Lily. Can two boats engaged in a fixed race be considered a regatta? Tiger Lily is much faster than Bushido and there is good reason to believe Bushido’s victory was engineered, though one can’t be sure considering the significant slowdown the four Pugs on Tiger Lily were experiencing due to hangovers. Aboard Bushido, Commodore Hoare, the fourth member to join Pugs, took over the wheel and commanded the most feeble tacking war I have witnessed in 35 years of sailing. 

 Within less than an hour the “regatta” was concluded and prize-giving was followed by a number of toasts and more drinking. Tiger Lily seemed to have misplaced the usual silver cup (she probably drank from it and tossed it into the sea) and awarded Bushido with a solar-powered hand-waving figurine of the Queen of England dressed in royal blue with her requisite little black handbag and shoes. And that was that, followed by more drinking and eating. During the post-race dinner, several Pugs gave speeches. It seems like a big part of being a Pug is about giving speeches. The Pugs orators try to outdo each other, but it is rather pathetic from an outsider’s perspective, especially considering the sheer number of speeches—if you can even call them speeches, as they are directly related to the consumption of grog. As more and more drinks are consumed, the speeches multiply. Fortunately the president is a teetotaler, though that doesn’t seem to make much difference. Once a Gimlet always a Gimlet. He likes to read out long odes to—Pugs, of course.

 For a while I was jealous of all these Pugs. They seem to have an awful lot of fun together, but being a Pug is hard work. Pugs are also stooges for other Pugs who are looking for fancy invitations to the best shoots in England or aboard fancy boats such as the Marie Cha. While most Pugs are corpulent, hairy, and red-faced, they are not all so, and while some Pugs shamelessly pursue leisurely divertissements aboard fancy vessels in the Mediterranean, not all of them are flagrant hedonists. The Pugs are a very charitable bunch. Occasionally, the club sponsors political propaganda such as Taki’s Magazine, but that’s small potatoes compared to some Pugs who are out there doing good in the world.

Who are these Pugs? What do they do when they aren’t being Pugs? Sir Bob Geldof’s cause is Africa, and he really does an awful lot over there. He is also a wonderful dinner companion. He can also get the pope and the president of the U.S. of A. to return his calls. Wow! Sir Roger Taylor, drummer for the band Queen, has been knighted for his environmental work and all-around brilliance. Tim Hoare, scion of the great banking family, is a Falstaffian character who in addition to employing thousands of people is one of the most generous fellows you’ll ever meet. Leopold Bismarck, one of Pugs’ three original founders, is the Iron Chancellor’s great-grandson. He’s arguably one of the most handsome Pugs. Ed Hutley is his only true rival, but Ed is an actor in his spare time and probably wears his wife’s knickers on occasion! William H. Gimlet is also known as Nick Scott. He is a fine president, writer, gardener, cook, and friend. Pugs in absentia include George Livanos, Arki Busson, Robert Miller, Princes Pavlos and Nikolaos of Greece, Sir Christopher Lee, Mark Getty, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, and Heinrich von Fürstenberg—more than just spoiled lapdogs to be sure.

In May 2011 the building order for "development Hubelstrasse" and Nr. 75 "Erli" was open for public view at the community Saanen. The local council in charge presented the construction concept as a public information presentation for the planned Le Rosey Campus. Since then the school has battled for their plans to be carried out.

“We want to stay in the Saanenland,” says Philippe Gudin, director of the institute Le Rosey and confirms – “we will stay in Saanenland.” The director and his wife, who are the owners of the private school in Rolle on the Lake Geneva since 1980, puts relocation to St.Moritz, Verbier or Arosa out of the question. He says that for all of them, teachers and students, it's a dream to spend three months of the year in the Saanenland. “And this shall remain,” says Gudin.

 At present the project is at the department of community and regional policy (AGR) for inspection. “Such a project needs time,” says Aldo Kropf, council leader of Saanen. Only when the department has pretested, can the community assembly decide. For Saanenland it's very important to keep  Le Rosey institute in the Saanenland. “Le Rosey is a vital economic factor,” says Kropf. The public authorities of the Canton are also well aware of this. The communities as well as the Canton are collaborating in order to find an appropriate solution. Mr Gudin is pleased about the support of the Canton as he wasn't aware of their knowledge of the importance of Le Rosey in Gstaad.

 Some of the classes, which were taking place until last March, had to be moved to containers due to the needed space. This situation was rather difficult. The 7’000m2 property that is presently used has become too small. The location was perfect in the 1990’s, but the school as well as the requirements has grown since then. First Le Rosey had the idea to buy land around the existing school in order to expand, but this wasn't possible.They were looking for a solution over the past ten years, coming to the result that the location in Schönried would be the most suitable one, Gudin says. It is not only about finding an area which is vast enough, but also one that is close enough to public transport for the students to access. The parents and students do accept the difficult situation out of love for the Saanenland. In 2009 Le Rosey was able to buy the 40’000m2 property from ‘Ferienheim Amt Fraubrunnen,’ though the sale will only be valid if the private school gets the building permit.

 Meanwhile Gudin has lost his optimism for being able to start building in the next few years. He expects to move only between 2018 and 2020, therefore the school is now looking for temporary solutions. To-date there has been rented rooms in nearby chalets at Ried, but still the space is not sufficient. Gudin now is trying to find solutions with the AGR and community of Saanen in order to actualize the building project. He says that he thinks all the people involved have the same aim, which is to keep Le Rosey in Saanenland. As architects he could win over Benz Hauswirth and Jaggi & Partner. He mentions that a school is not built every day and that he wants the SFr 80 million project to be carried out exactly as presented. The property in Ried will only be sold when the building permit is handed over by the authorities.

 That Le Rosey spends its winters in Gstaad does not mean that 600 people more activate the economy, but these 600 guests bring more people up and it's also about the publicity they make for the region. Gudin has been told many times from locals that winters in Saanenland without Le Rosey would be rather tedious. But he also knows how difficult it is to do construction in Saanenland. For every enterprise or family it is a challenge, he was well aware of this. Ten years of searching for a suitable location, was very exhausting for him.

 Every year the school gets 400 applications, but only 80 can be accepted as the scholarships are limited. But this is not the reason for expanding the campus. The requirements for infrastructure have changed in the last 20 years, therefore the plan for new construction. Philippe Gudin comes to Gstaad two days a week in winter. He says every time he comes back to Saanenland it feels like coming to paradise. He considers spending three months a year in Gstaad as a privilege and he says Saanenland is a special place with a healthy balance between exclusivity and normal life, it's a very human place. Gstaad is enchanting, and Gudin wants his students to get some of this enchantment.

The catchment dam in Chalberhöni is taking shape. The foundations for the main dam are in place and being worked on as well as the necessary upstream temporary dam, which is also formed. Concreting is next.

From the upstream temporary dam a large diversion pipe leads the river water away in order to facilitate a dry working place and the security that no cement gets mixed in to the river water. The dimension of the project is sufficient for now despite the season’s snow melt and relatively warm weather conditions. Workers and Chalberhöni residents are now hoping that no major storm is going to arrive during the summer season prior to the dam project being in the sufficient condition to perform its task.

Gstaad 2020 is an initiative rooted with Gstaad Saanenland Tourism, the Hotel Association Gstaad Saanenland and a number of prominent local organizations all who drive towards reaching a comprehensive and common approach to the understanding of the image and reputation of the region. The aim of the 2020 initiative is not to be a debate club but an organization able to bring about the right level of action and cohesion between the functioning cornerstones of the Gstaad destination being agriculture, tourism, gastronomy and trade. The collaboration and coordinated vision of these cornerstones will lead to strength with the potential to have a voice and opinion in political decisions.

The motto ‘GSTAAD like’ is in topic within Gstaad 2020. This term is being described as being the highest quality in any form. Gstaad like is explained as such: Local business and industry is faced with the customer, it is important that expectations are surpassed particularly in economically challenging times. Each of us should work, even without the support of an association, to critically examine what can be done even better. Not to be a perfectionist, but to consistently bring about an experience of the highest quality, with the customer of course always in the foreground.  Be it on arrival on the train, check-in at a hotel or at the application to the municipality for future community citizens, the feeling of ‘Gstaad like’ is what the delegates of 2020 have defined.

Every third year an emergency drill takes place at the Saanen airport. Recently this emergency drill took place. A mock scenario was made up of a Falcon 900 jet making an emergency landing due to mechanical problems. At the same time a smaller plane left the parking and was rolling onto the runway for take-off. The pilot overlooks the landing plane which results in a crash of the two. The pilot of the small planes dies and its passengers are badly injured. There is a significant fire on the Falcon, its two pilots and two passengers are not injured but can't leave the jet because of heavy smoke. Two persons, arriving to pick up their relatives, are trying to get to the burning jet to help.This was what made up the initial position for the emergency drill under the attendance of the Bundesamt für Zivilluftraumfahrt BAZL.

Toni Marti, squad leader at Saanen Airport, and the leader of the fire brigade, began their exersize with the removal of the people trapped in the Falcon. The injured people from the smaller plane are taken into the hands of the ambulance crew from Chateau d'Oex with the help of hands from the police. A Rega helicopter landed in order to take the injured into a central hospital

The judgment of the teams involved in the exersize at Saanen Airport was very positive. Everyone involved put 100% effort into the exercise and their commander, Toni Marti, points out that he can count on his team which is well trained. Every year he requires from his team to undergo 8 exercises of 2 hours each which is more that the BAZL requirement.

Significant damage to bee colonies has occurred in the region of Gstaad over the last year. The average loss is around 30%, but some beekeepers have reported a loss of around 50% or even whole colonies.

Last year, the region was still below the Swiss average for bee mortality, but recently the situation has changed dramatically. Michael Walker, bee inspector in Gsteig, has reported many losses from varroa mites, whose numbers have risen due to climatic conditions last autumn, as the parasites develop faster in warm weather. Therefore, it is now critical for beekeepers to treat their bee population promptly and to renew the frames and honeycombs regularly. In addition, damaged populations should be destroyed so as not to transmit the pest to other populations.

By attaching itself to the bee, the parasite (varroa mite) reaches the hive where it lays eggs and damages the bee larvae. Only strong colonies are able to compensate for this loss. At the end of each June the colonies reach their largest numbers, but populations begin to dwindle from then on, whereas the parasites still continue to reproduce - this can harm strong colonies in autumn. Therefore, it is most important to start the treatment promptly after harvesting the honey. Only in warm weather can the product used for the treatment evaporate sufficiently to contain the pest. The treatment has no negative side effects for humans who eat the honey, as it occurs after harvesting has taken place.

According to the bee inspector, lost colonies should be replaced with local hives, as imported products may carry diseases. In the region of Saanen, the density of beehives is lower than in other regions such as Emmental, and therefore the danger of contamination is lower. Nevertheless, cleaning and treatment has become crucial to prevent further losses.

 Federation agrees on National Health Organisation for bees

The Swiss Federal Council has announced plans to create a Health Organisation for bees, which clearly stresses the significance of apiculture. In order to guarantee sustainable prevention and efficient treatment of bee diseases, professional knowledge and health concepts are required. This organization will be led by apiarists and will report to the Federal Veterinary Office. The beekeeping association of Saanenland is part of the cantonal Veterinary office and is therefore supported by this organisation. The regulation will take effect on January 01 2013.