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Gstaad – Life ■ by Taki Theodoracopulos
When my son asks me what
Gstaad was like when I fi rst visited
more than fi fty years ago, I amuse
myself by describing the Rita
Hayworth Cup, and when Gstaad
won the Series A in hockey, with
Rudy Mullener, G. Hermann and
G.von Siebenthal on the team.
It’s all a joke, of course, as those
events took place before my time,
during the late forties and early
fi fties, when I was still locked up
in school back back in America.
Not that much had changed by
the time I got here in 1956. The
sleepy, unhurried bygone era
feeling will always be associated
with Gstaad as far as I’m
concerned, the sheer blissfulness
of the place always close to me
heart, especially as other resorts
the world over decided to
modernize and become “cool.”
I remember well a Greek lady
telling me not to write about
Gstaad, in case the place became
popular and lose its uniqueness.
Well, write about it I did, and I’m
Jewel of the Alps
Under the patronage of The
Lord Montague of Beaulieu.
Jonathon Lyons’ “Jewel of the
Alps” recently passed through
Gstaad. The Jewel series of which
Jonathon is the Chairman is a top
draw tour series for owners and
lovers of classic and rare cars.
Previous tours include, The Jewel
of Jordan, the Jewel of the Cape,
the Jewel of Europe and the Jewel
of China whereby extra special
locations host a spectacular
itinerary developed by Jonathon
and his team. Such itinerary
includes some of the most
spectacular scenery in the world,
accommodation at some of the
world’s most fabulous hotels and
dining in the very best of
restaurants along the way.
The recent Jewel of the Alps
started in Lausanne continuing
via Les Diablerets to Gstaad then
on to Lucerne and Pontresina near
as responsible as anyone in
advertising the “Mecca of the rich
and famous,” a place where
expensive boutiques catering to
the rich and hundred million
franc chalets replaced the corner
butcher shop, the tiny grocery,
the bakeries, and the picturesque
dwellings dotting the hills. Let’s
face it. Although Gstaad has not
gone the way of Courchevel,
Verbier, and Crans-Montana, our
standards have been lowered and
coarsened, and our image of a
picture-perfect Swiss village of
old is no more. Progress, of
course, cannot be stopped and
shouldn’t be, but keeping the
character of the village should be
uppermost in our minds. Gstaad
was and is unique, and its
uniqueness has to do with one
thing only. Its architecture. Other
resorts have been vulgarized by
large modern buildings which
attract the wrong kind of guests.
The greeting card image of bliss
has gone the way of good manners.
I spent one night in a French
popular ski resort and it was hell,
a honky-tonk, shopping mall
sprawl full of drunken Russians
and their fur-clad girlfriends,
with night clubs lining the streets
and drug dealers openly advertising
their wares. A more
malodorous cesspit teeming with
leeches I have yet to see, and this
was a skiing paradise only twentyfi
ve years ago. The locals I spoke
to wailed about their village, but
it was they who had chosen glitz
over tradition.
My concern is that this doesn’t
take place here. Keeping the
charm and façade of our old town
is the way we can keep Gstaad’s
image intact. And it seems that
the young people of Gstaad agree.
They, too, wish to keep the
character of the village, which if
we replace the old with bigger
new, will be gone forever. Once
the change takes place, no matter
how gradual it is, the spirit of
Gstaad will be impossible to
recapture. Many of us old time
The Jewel of the Alps tour makes a pit stop at Pichler GFG AG
St Moritz, then Lugano and back
to Lausanne. The tour through
Switzerland embraced magnifi cent
landscape, brilliant roads and a
well-balanced set of cultural
variety. Whilst in Gstaad the tour
was accommodated at the Palace,
dined at the Posthotel Rössli and
visited Pichler GFG AG, whereby
the participants were treated to
seeing the impressive extended
Pichler establishment as well as
enjoy a private viewing of the
brothers Pichler’s on-premises
gstaadlife.com · Friday, September 25 2009
Page 6
guests wish to see Gstaad remain
the way it is. Old village chalets
can be rebuilt, but as long as they
remain in exact proportion of
what they are replacing. Modern
glass is vulgar and forbidding,
wood is charming and it has selfeff
acing dignity.
Unfortunately progress is no
longer associated with moving
forward, but with enlargement
and growth. The way to move
forward in a manner benefi cial to
all, locals and guests alike, is to
remain transfi xed with the past.
What made Gstaad exclusive was
its loyalty to the architecture of
the past. Let’s never forget this.
Big is bad, and small is not only
beautiful, it’s also benefi cial to all
of us.
Yours sincerely, Taki.
collection of some of the world
fi nest cars. For more information
regarding the event see www.
thejewelevents.com
By Peter Sonnekus-Williams
Photo: Martin Sonnekus-Williams