GstaadLife

 

by Hans-Ueli Tschanz. Article published in Gstaad My Love Magazine in December 2010 just prior to the death of Blake Edwards on December 16 2010.

The world-famous Julie Andrews turned 75 on October 1, 2010. For the past 40 years, the Hollywood and Broadway star and her husband, producer Blake Edwards, have spent their holidays in Gstaad. They feel at home here, they have raised their children here, and it is here that they find strength for their new projects. Some of her greatest cinematic successes originated in their Gstaad chalet, the 'Fleur de Lys'. Julie once gave Christmas lighting as a gift to the town of Gstaad to the amazement of the guests and locals alike. She also committed herself personally for the benefit of Gstaad’s film festival, CINEMUSIC, in the 1990’s by way of various performances and by using her own personal relationships within the film industry. In an exclusive conversation, she offers details about their personal memories of the many years spent in Gstaad and her deep bond with our region. She ended the conversation with this sentence “I hope that you can understand how much I love Gstaad”.

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.

 

Piero Converso - or 'Pippo' - is set to retire this weekend. Sunday March 21 is his last day of work and that after 42 years at the Eagle Skiclub. He came to the Eagle Club in 1968 on the recommendation of Angelo Brizzio, then chef de service. Converso grew up in Poirino close to Turin. He actually wanted to become a professor of art history or a priest, but as his parents could not afford university they sent him to the hotel school. After that he traveled around, working everywhere from Berlin to Quebec. He speaks Italian, French, German and English fluently and says that he can swear well in Spanish. When he arrived in Gstaad, he had actually only planned to stay one season - well 42 years later that season is finally coming to an end. He managed to give his two children what he could not do - study - and after he retires he himself is thinking about going to university to finally study art history. He is looking forward to his future, wants to read a lot, hike, fish and go motorbiking. One dream of his: a piece of land with a donkey. He will live with his wife in Cannobio on Lake Maggiore - her home village. And while he could tell many stories, as a waiter of the old school, the only thing on his menu is large serving of discretion. GL.com wishes Pippo a most fulfilling retirement. 

UPDATE Monday Sep29: and the winner is... Whitney Toyloy

This coming Saturday, September 27, Miss Bern, Emilie Lindblom, competes for the crown of Miss Switzerland. Our sister publication, the Anzeiger von Saanen, interviewed the attractive student from Zweisimmen. For those of you who understand German or who just want to see the beauty talk we have the video for you here:

It was much to Emilie's surprise that she won the competition for Miss Bern back in May of this year (they always say that don't they... "ahhh shucks, I didn't realize I was so beautiful"). As the winner of the Miss Bern contest, she was able to qualify for the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition automatically, just like her counterpart in Zürich, Alexandra Fejbli. Being the good citizens that we are, we have compied all the links you need to check out the other girls competing against Emilie: Rekha Datta, Lucile Epper, Katja Diethelm, Fiona Farina, Stefanie Frei, Nancy Kabika, Diana Knezevic, Dominique Knill, Alessia Novak, Lisa Panigada, Céline Roscheck, Nathalie Schillinger, Whitney Toyloy and Selver Yavuz. And while you can vote for the winner on Saturday night, let'skick off the voting right here by telling us your early favorite!

ADVERTORIAL

Dominic Longcroft made his first acquaintance with Gstaad and Saanenland when he was a student at Le Rosey. His English parents—also frequent guests of the region—had acquired a chalet in Gstaad in 1980, after their son was accepted by the renowned boarding school. The enthusiasm that Longcroft felt for the region that was kindled at that time has proved enduring. In 2000, after completing his business education in England and after 15 years running his own marketing, services, catering, and public relations business in London, he relocated to Saanenland, and took up residence in an apartment in Lauenen.

Swiss photographer Anja Tanner has received a SFr 10,000 prize from canton Bern in recognition of her project, The Otherworld. Originally from Lauenen, Tanner now lives in Bern where she is currently taking photos at the Euro 2008 football championships. During the summer months, the 27 year-old returns to her roots and works, notably, at the Menuhin festival, as well as for local architects. She spoke to our sister publication, Anzeiger von Saanen, about her project.

 

As you know, here at GstaadLife.com we're always up for some good party pictures...even when the party took place a while ago. So with apologies for the wait, we take you back to March of this year at the Grand Hotel Park in the inimitable company of Depy Chandris. On the evening in question, she presented her most recent jewelry creations to the more than fifty invited guests, including Prince and Princess John Radziwill, Count and Countess de Moustier, George Tornaritis, Manuela Vapdinoyiannis, Marion de Picciotto, Maria Embiricos, Ninetta Fix, Alexandre de Musset, Geneviève Dalle and Jean-Claude Jacot, and many more of Gstaad's well familar faces.

Above: Depy Chandris (left) with Princess John Radziwill.

Depy Chandris' jewelry designs are both auspicious and delicate. Her theatrical sense of taste can be appreciated right down to the way she creates her displays. The Marco Polo restaurant was decked out in fine fashion, with sparkling blue butterflies contrasted with bright red velvet tablecloths, with the Chandris' collection displayed in large picture frames, set about small chalkboards. Guests' placement cards showed photos of more of Ms Chandris' work and were signed "Dear Depy love your jewels, Andy Warhol" (who said it's not cool to re-use accessories). Click here for more photos of the evening, and our thanks to Depy Chandris and Antoinette de Scheel.

Our sister publication Anzeiger von Saanen has been continuing its multi-part series on foreigners in Saanenland (see the last one we ported over to GstaadLife.com: Ninetta Fix: in Saanenland's embrace). This week, Christoph Remund, hotelier, representative of the Evangelical People's Party (EDU) Saanen, and one of the region's favorite local chefs currently running the Au Montagnard restaurant in Château-d'Oex while the reconstruction of the former Hotel Bahnhöfli in Saanenmöser is ongoing, shares his perpsectives on the subject of foreigners in Saanenland...

Christoph Remund, how do you judge the interaction of foreigners and locals in Saanenland?
Foreigners are part of our society. They enrich the cultural landscape, and they have had a significant impact on our economic prosperity during the past decades. Most foreign residents in Saanenland are familiar with our local traditions and are well integrated.

How did you reach this upbeat conclusion?
Strict but cooperative and engaging migration policies like the ones used in Saanenland have stood the test of time. The more equality and opportunities we can offer foreigners, the more our economy will develop. As well as benefiting from their intellectual power, we can also win the hearts of these new citizens. They identify themselves with our society - a fact which can be demonstrated by their passionate interest in our local politics.

With all the talk of foreigners in Saanenland and quality of life in Gstaad, it's generally a constant that conversation will inevitably turn to schools. Sure, it normally starts with our local privates, JFK and Le Rosey, but an increasing number of discerning English-speaking parents have been taking a long look at Aiglon College in Villars, modeled more closely on the English boarding school system. We'll have more on Aiglon and all our local private schools on this site in the coming months, but for starters we thought we'd give you a unique perpsective of Aiglon College through the eyes of one of its students, Oscar Ortmans. Oscar interviewed his headmaster, Peter Armstrong (see photo above) in the run-up to a recent awareness and fundraising event that Aiglon College held at the Gstaad Palace in March.

By Oscar Ortmans

Let me introduce myself, my name is Oscar and I am 14. I have been fortunate enough to live in Gstaad for all my life. Before attending Aiglon I went to the John F Kennedy School in Sannen. As I became too old for the school I had to make the important decision of choosing a school to carry forward my secondary education. I needed an English-speaking school, a school with outdoor activities, a school which emphasizes religion and of course, a school which is located near Sannenland. Aiglon was my choice as it fulfilled all of my requirements. This is my second year at Aiglon and I am enjoying this school very much. To give you a better idea of the ethos of Aiglon and the way it operates I asked a few questions to the current headmaster Mr Peter Armstrong prior to a recent school event in Gstaad.

Sir, have you ever been to Gstaad before?
No, although I have heard a lot about the beauty of Gstaad, and I am looking forward to the function that will be held at the Gstaad Palace in March.

Sir, why have you chosen Gstaad as the place to host your development reception?
I have chosen Gstaad for a number of reasons. The parents of many Aiglon students own properties in Gstaad, as do many of our alumni. Also Aiglon is very close to Gstaad; Villars is only 45 minutes over the Col de la Croix. Futhermore we have a good connection with the John F Kennedy School which is also an English-speaking private school. Mr Lovell, the headmaster there, sent his own children to Aiglon, where we offer a very natural continuation to the studies offered at the John F Kennedy School.

A couple of weeks back, the London's Sunday Times published a ranking of Britain's richest. We weren't going to write about this (regular readers will be familiar with our fondness of meaningless top 10 lists and guides), but judging by the large number of GstaadLife.com readers who have searched the name "Kirsty Bertarelli" over the past few days, we thought we'd take a second look. Turns out that the top woman on the list, even above the Queen, is indeed Ms Bertarelli. The ranking itself seems a bit silly to us, and in an interview with the Daily Mail last week, even she dismissed her top position as being her husband's achievement. The list is here, but more interesting is the interview, which also has a few nice photos.

• Interview: Former Miss UK tells: 'How I became the wife of a Swiss tycoon worth £5.65 billion'
• Previously: Bertarelli family relocates to Gstaad-Saanen