GstaadLife

by Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—It’s been very sunny and hot, with the bluest of blue skies above and the greenest of green mountains around me. It does not get any better than this. The farmers have cut their grass and packed it for the winter’s feed, soon the cows will be coming down from the hills, and the Swiss franc will continue going through the roof. Life is now so expensive in Switzerland, even the rich are starting to complain.

ROFL - Oliver Preston published two new books recently - 'Another Log on the Fire' and 'Fondue and Furs'. The latter looks at Gstaad and Saanenland and a barrel of laughs is guaranteed :-)

by Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—I’ve got the end-of-season blues. I know I say this every year, but this has been a particularly fun winter, with friends throwing goodbye parties, dinners, and lunches since the beginning of March. My liver has done a Gaddafi and taken a brutal revenge on my body. The right ankle is doing a Saif as I write. If I stand on it—or, worse, try to walk—it feels what it’s going to feel like when the ghastly Gaddafis get through with their opponents. I’ve had this lower leg problem for a year. About a month ago I couldn’t stand it any longer and had an X-ray taken. The cartilage has done a Bin Laden and disappeared. Hence the pain as bone touched bone. I also have crystals—not the good kind, but those that form from congenital gout—and they are embedded where the cartilage once was. It was a very easy diagnosis to make. “If you want less pain stop eating rich foods and stop drinking anything except water,” said the good Dr. Mueller. That was unacceptable, as my personality improves with drink, and at my advantaged age personality is all I have left.

Article from Gstaad My Love 2010-11 magazine by Hans-Ueli Tschanz

Rolf Schneider, the lawyer and notary, first came to Gstaad for an internship more than 30 years ago. This was an important crossroad in his life. Since then Rolf Schneider has been a trusted source when the situation calls for competent consultation or effective lobbying. He has taken on numerous jobs over the years for the local authorities, as well as for the tourism and industry sectors. He knows Gstaad’s chalet and hotel clientele like nobody else and loves Saanenland as a “Kraftort” (ie a place to rejuvenate oneself) and as a home for him and his family. And hardly anyone can believe that he will turn sixty this year.

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.

The federation of trade unions of canton Bern has launched an initiative for fair taxes for families. The center piece of their initiative: the abolition of the flat-rate tax, or Pauschalsteuer, which is paid by wealthy foreigners who reside in Switzerland. They are collecting signatures and hope for a vote in 2011.

Here in Saanenland this has caused an uproar, since it is here that most of the people who are eligible for this tax live. But it's not just the rich who are up in arms. Across the community in Saanenland, many are against the abolition of this rather unusual tax structure (at least when compared to other European countries). Simply put, it allows wealthy foreigners to pay a fixed rate of tax irrespective of often considerable income which is loosely based on the rental value of owned property (and the quality of your negotiation skills with the local authorities).

But despite seeming regressive and unfair, ordinary folks in Saanen are largely against the abolition of the tax as they fear an outflow of chalet owners and a halt in the inflow of those considering to move here. Indeed local businesses fear the loss of up to SFr 20 million from the local economy as well as the disappearance of 1,500 jobs. There was even a delegation from Saanenland in Bern the other day protesting to the powers that be not to endorse the abolition of the tax (photo album here).

It was also the topic of hot debate at a local town hall meeting in Saanen last week, where various ideas and compromises were discussed by community members, including the possibility of changing the formula for calculating the tax from today's level of five times the rental value of the owned property to 7 times. We'll keep you posted on this hottest of local topics. If your read German, check out some of the comments made by the people of Saanenland on our sister website Anzeiger von Saanen.

Now it is certain - from March 2010, it will no longer be possible to obtain passports, identity cards, C-Permits, B-Permits, etc here in Saanenland. The closest place will be in Thun. Hmmm, local marriage registration in Thun, the commercial register for local companies only in Bern. Now this. The slow creep of centralization...

In Tuesday's Anzeiger von Saanen a large number of Saanenland guests and chalet owners signed a reader's letter to make their voice heard concerning overdevelopment in Gstaad. The constant construction, they say, results in a loss of the region's charm and uniqueness. This latest letter follows on the heels of a similar one penned by the youth of Saanenland. Their letter spoke of their concern that Gstaad is becoming impossible to live in for locals and that shops are being sold off to millionaires who care little for traditions and who wontonly tear down old beautiful chalets to make apartments out of them. Check out the original German version of this latest letter after the jump -- and have a careful read of the names...there's quite of few familiar ones in there.

In a recent reader's letter in the Anzeiger von Saanen, Daniel Loertscher let his voice be heard rather critically about the recent "Gstaad alive" events on the Promenade, talking about it disturbing the peace and style of the Promenade, its restaurants and its guests with its all its loudness and to-do. What did you think about it? More pics after the jump and on their webpage.

by Diana Oehrli

A letter entitled “Locals Goodbye” that was published in our German language sister publication, Anzeiger von Saanen, has been the talk of the town since it appeared more than one month ago. Signed by over 80 local youth, the letter expresses outrage and sadness over the selling of local real estate to well-to-do guests. Furthermore, it decries the transformation of Saanenland’s villages – namely Gstaad and Saanen with their authentic mountain flavor – into ghost towns that are becoming dominated by ‘unnecessary’ luxury boutiques. On May 11, Der Bund, the regional newspaper in the canton of Berne, picked up the story and printed an article entitled “Gucci statt Gemüse” (“Gucci instead of vegetables”). The article says that Gstaad has the highest quota of billionaires in the world. “And the rich have their special needs: nearly 30 boutiques with fashion from sophisticated houses like Gucci or Prada, line Gstaad’s main street that carries the lordly name ‘Promenade.’” At its May meeting, the commune’s council, addressing the open letter, appealed urgently to landowners to put their financial interests aside and to consider the existent needs of local young people and century-old traditions, when considering future real estate transactions. The letter “Locals Goodbye?!” reads: “Yet again, a business locale on the Gstaad Promenade has been sold to an affluent Gstaad guest.