GstaadLife

This year the Ascension “Auffahrt” holiday is marked by a local celebrity’s climb into the skies--the Schönried-Rellerli gondola.  Today the gondola begins daily summer service through October 27.  It will also conveniently run until 9 pm on Fridays and Saturdays between July 5 and August 11.

Residents and tourists alike are warmly invited to attend the inaugural festivities, which include the live folk band Thunerbuebe and delicious grilled fare at the Berghaus Rellerli.  Reservations are recommended, and can be made via rest.rellerli@gstaad.ch or 033 748 8722.

From the Berghaus, a world of beautiful trails opens up for both beginning and experienced fans of hiking and mountain biking.  Jaun Pass, Abländschen and Save Moss are just several of the destinations reachable from the gondola’s end point.  Families will enjoy the 620-meter long summer toboggan run, as well as fat-tire scooters to zip about the valley.  On June 1, Children’s Day, youngsters ages 8 to 16 ride free (those 7 and under always ride free with an accompanying adult) Both activities are dependant upon weather conditions; please visit www.gstaad.ch to confirm current offerings. 

 

The Hotel Arc-en-Ciel in Gstaad is celebrating its 50th anniversary this Saturday October 22 2011 from 11:00 till 17:00. You can have a look behind the scenes, there will be music, a lucky wheel, pony riding, face painting, a bouncy castle, the famous electric cars, and a special pizza oven for the kids.

Jörg Perreten from Lauenen. Those of you present for the GstaadAlive! talent shows on the Promenade over the past couple of years will be familiar. For the rest of you, best just click to watch the video of his performance on the Germany's 'Das Supertalent' show yourself. In the show, which aired this past Friday evening on RTL, he told of his rough childhood, the divorce of his parents, how he was taken away from his Brazilian mother, put into the care of foster parents where he felt like a slave. He also described his escape into the punk scene, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and his attempted suicide... and how he sees appearing on the show and his talent for music as a chance to get off the street and start anew. We can only wish him the very best for the next round which airs on Saturday September 24 2011 at 20:15 on RTL.

In a recent interview with sister publication the Anzeiger von Saanen, Leonz Blunschi reflected on the 2011 Menuhin Festival with mixed feelings. For the first time in its history a concert had to be canceled due to storm warnings. And this apparently caused a slight dent in the financial numbers. Which of course had nothing to do with the strong franc, general economic malaise, or any of the many other reasons affecting almost all businesses right now. No, blame it on the weather: it's easier. If GL.com is a little testy this evening, it's because we're growing tired of the political "things are not so bad" statements emanating from our tourist trade. It's just this, it's just that, but otherwise it would have all been perfect. So while the PR spinmeisters continue to strictly control Gstaad's message to the world (see below), we'll give you our impressions from on the ground...

It is Country time again. Trace Adkins, Dailey and Vincent and Laura Bell Bundy (see video above) and Sister Morales are the big names this year. For the detailed program click here. Some tickets are still available, and there is a major side-program that is open to the public. 

 

by Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—Forget about Libya and don’t even think about Syria. The mother of all battles is about to take place right here in bucolic Gstaad, a place of terminal political incorrectness—until recently, that is.

But before I begin, the Beguine is far more likely to see Saif Gaddafi than we are in this glitzy nouveau-riche Mecca. The Beguine is a religious order in the Netherlands, the nation where the International Criminal Court is situated. I’d rather see Libyan justice meted out, and pronto—something like hanging a jockstrap out to dry, if you get my drift.

Everybody talks about it - here is a movie about it - the planned cultural center known as Les Arts Gstaad. After the jump you can read a translated article about the first planning phase which appeared in our sister publication, the Anzeiger von Saanen.

This year sees the 11th edition of the music festival La Folia in Rougemont from June 9 to 13 2011 featuring Sebastian Bach. For the detailed program click here or call the tourist office in Rougemont - 026 925 11 62. 

 

This Easter, the Easter Bunny is bringing some musical eggs to Saanenland. On April 23 20h00 a Swiss folklore show is taking place at the Landhaus in Saanen. Oesch's die Dritten and the band Enzian from Appenzell perform. Tickets can be obtained at the Raiffeisenbank Saanenland in Gstaad. For the more classically-oriented amongst you, there are the Easter concerts in Saanen church on Friday April 22 at 17h00 and on Saturday April 23 at the same time. Joseph Haydn and Antonin Dvorák are being performed led by Roland Neuhaus and Michael Bach. Tickets can be obtained at the tourist offices Gstaad and Saanen.

The Rotary-Club of Gstaad-Saanenland has presented this year's edition of the Paul Harris Fellowship to Markus S Bach, conductor, music school director and promotor of an active cultural life in Saanenland. Above picture from left: Bill Lovell, Markus S Bach and Ernst Niederhauser.