GstaadLife

by Eva Sailer

Over the past few years, it's been great to write this blog and I do hope that you enjoyed reading it. Since we started this experiment in local English-language news for Saanenland, it has grown up to a following of over 3'000 regular readers from 108 countries around the world. From the Promenade of Gstaad to the desert sands of Mali, from the musings of Taki to the shores of the Arnensee, from the garages of Feutersoey to the cow processions of Etivaz, we've been there bringing you our unique take on news, views, and voices from and about our region.

But it has been decided to change Gstaadlife.com into something other than a blog, and therefore I will not be writing on these pages anymore. You will still be able to get local news and information from our sister publication, the Anzeiger von Saanen, the GstaadLife magazine, as well as the new incarnation of GstaadLife.com. I wish to thank all the people who made GL.com possible, but in particular you, dear Readers, for your loyalty, your comments, and most of all your humor. It's been fun. Good-bye.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

Why would a German playboy-billionaire industrialist with a large family and lots of old and good friends have dinner in Gstaad with one of his closest buddies, then go up to his chalet and put a bullet in his brain? The New York Times says Gunter Sachs had been diagnosed with an “incurable degenerative disease,” but I don’t think that fully explains his suicide. Gunter was always somewhat mysterious. I knew him since the late 50s. His maternal uncle, Fritz von Opel, was the heir to the Opel car fortune and lived the grand life in St Moritz and St Tropez, where he had opulent houses. Gunter’s father was also an industrialist and was probably richer than the Opels. Fritz von Opel’s son Rikky blew his share while Gunter’s side multiplied it. But his father did commit suicide, so escaping the claustrophobia of life and old age was in Gunter’s genes.

by GstaadLife print Editor-in-Chief, Peter Sonnekus-Williams

In her book on Swiss culture 'Beyond Chocolate', Margaret Oertig-Davidson uses an interesting analogy to describe the differences between Swiss and the English speaking societies. She equates the Swiss to coconuts and the English to peaches. Digging a little deeper, we see that she explains how breaking through a coconut’s outer shell is not an easy task and this analogy of breaking into Swiss society and getting to know people in a meaningful way, is what she references. In her view the Swiss have a softer inner part reserved only for family, close friends and relationships that are poised to last a lifetime. This private sphere often includes the home, which is rarely opened up to strangers. This can make the Swiss come across sometimes as cold or distant, however according to Oertig-Davidson what to outsiders appear to be unfriendly, is actually a respect for another’s personal space and taking time to get to know someone. Whilst the coconut analogy clearly isn’t a rule for all of the Swiss, it certainly is broadly accurate. The Swiss come across as polite, but not exactly forthcoming with newcomers and they certainly tend to bunch together.

In contrast to Oertig-Davidsons cautious and concerned coconuts, English speaking societies are made up of peaches.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—Six hours into the New Year, and already there was trouble. My own bash to welcome 2011 with fifty of my nearest and dearest finished around 5 a.m., so I rolled down toward the Palace hotel still looking for some action. I had a very pretty German girl in tow, my son’s friend Fiona, so I swept into the lobby in style. Then it happened. I saw the vision to end all visions and a desperate, sensuous pain, the type that can make a grown man cry out, hit me like never before.

 
by Niki Rommel

On November 28th the Swiss are voting on a public initiative launched by the Swiss Popular Party (SVP) aiming to add provisions to the Swiss constitution that enable the automatic expulsion of foreigners residing in Switzerland who have been convicted of one or more clearly-defined serious criminal offenses. Under the present laws expulsions under certain circumstances are left to the discretion of judicial authorities. The political opponents of this initiative and certain journalists claim that automatic expulsion mutilates the claim for free movement and violates the freedom given to foreigners to emigrate to and settle in Switzerland. I have no affiliation to any political party but disagree with this criticism. The right to settle in Switzerland is at the outset linked to the condition that immigrants respect our laws and integrate themselves into the local environment. Having been convicted of serious criminal offenses means they will have certainly spent time in jail (at the taxpayer’s expense!), but the moral offense of having not respected our laws is not wiped out. These foreigners must therefore assume their responsibility and accept the automatic expulsion from our country. If I offend the wife or children of my host he will throw me out and understandably not invite me again; but with that he has not mutilated my freedom.

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.

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.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

The “fin de saison” feeling is like the end of term in boarding school. Bittersweet. At school one was cocooned from the big bad outside world, here in Gstaad, far from the crowds and bustle, one has time to ponder the melting snows and dream about one’s youth. Closing day at the Eagle Club was fun. At the Taki Cup presentation—the overall winner and new record holder was John Taki, in 36 minutes—I reminded the members that the Taki Cup has lasted longer than both world wars combined, which means it is a far more important historical event. Some Belgian people agreed.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

Gstaad. A lovely liquid lunch in a mountain hut with my friend Nicola Anouilh after two hard runs. Blue skies, gentle winds, a few puffs of white cloud, and the sound of bells from the nearby cow shed. If there’s a better way of communing with nature, I haven’t come across it yet. The natural beauty of the Alps is unspoiled and majestically alluring.  White wine helps one dream and feel at peace with the world, until, that is, we’re back on skis and losing altitude fast.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

Gstaad. When I spoke with the mayor of Gstaad, as well as some other local stalwarts, they all assured me that they are ready for any invasion by the Libyans...

For the full article click here.

Taki Theodoracopulos, better known as Taki, is a journalist and writer, living in Gstaad, London, and New York. His column ‘High Life’ has appeared in The Spectator for the past 25 years, and he has also written for National Review, the London Sunday Times, Esquire, Vanity Fair, the New York Press, and Quest Magazine, among others. In 2002 Taki founded The American Conservative magazine with Pat Buchanan and Scott McConnell, and he is also publisher of the British magazine Right Now! Taki has been writing for GstaadLife since its first season in 2003/4. More of his musings can be found here.