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With all the new buildings going
up in Gstaad, why not build a
pantheon to commemorate the
worlds’ most brilliant thinkers? I
nominate the man responsible for
erecting the fi rst shopping mall.
By the look of things, he will
probably make the short list, along
with Paris Hilton, and George W.
Bush. The powers that be can
decide where in town they want
this pantheon, perhaps in lieu of
the church, or the Olden. Some
might object to tearing down
prominent architectural features
of our alpine wonderland, but
why not, after all, where would
mankind be without saviors like
Ikea, Globus, and Coop? Nowheresville.
That’s where. Think
of the magnifi cent concrete, the
stupendous car parks, and all that
neatly presented paraphernalia a
shopping center has to off er.
They are rather like the chateaus
of Europe once were, modern
symbols of everything one wants
but usually can’t have. Furthermore,
they are a great place to
meet people, watch people, eat,
and go to the movies.
For me, malls are like Mecca.
Once a year I make my annual
pilgrimage to a new mall proudly
wearing my most treasured
t-shirt. I bought it at the Beverly
Center in Los Angeles, one of the
greatest malls ever built. One can
see the Beverly Center appro aching
from miles away. I’d love to
be stuck up there on that brilliant
hunk of concrete one day, on a
billboard the size of a New York
gstaadlife.com · Friday, September 25 2009
GSTAAD LIFE: Publisher: Frank Müller frank.mueller@gstaadlife.ch; Editor: Peter Sonnekus-Williams peter.sonnekus@gstaadlife.ch; Editorial: Diana Oehrli diana.oehrli@gstaadlife.ch; Photography
& food writing: Sanet Sonnekus-Williams sanet.sonnekus@gstaadlife.ch; Advertising: Peter Kuntze-Schneider peter.kuntze@gstaadlife.ch; Publishing, conception, printing: Müller Marketing
& Druck AG, Gstaad. Subscriptions: Jacqueline Beetschen tel 033 748 88 74. Classifieds: tel 033 748 88 74, info@gstaadlife.ch
Page 8
I shop, therefore I am? ■ by Mandolyna Theodoracopulos
We would
like to hear
from you
GstaadLife is the English speaking
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We also invite you, the reader, to
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Good or bad, we are interested to
City block. Of course I would
wear my favorite t-shirt, it says I
shop therefore I am. When I wear
my shirt people often shout
Descartes at me. My French isn’t
that good, so it took me a while
to realize that they meant, des
(shopping) carts. I was so pleased
to know that I am not the only
person obsessed with shopping.
Imagine my excitement when I
heard they were thinking of
building a new mall in Gstaad. I
can’t wait for the whole place to
be swallowed up into one giant
concrete block where I can shop
indoors without the threat of sun,
snow or fresh air.
Save a few aesthetes and infi dels,
almost everybody loves shopping
centers. So, why is everyone in
Gstaad rattling sabers over the
new mall proposal? I guess
traditionalists would argue that
tearing down a charming old
chalet where they sell women’s
lingerie is a crime against men,
and big breasted ladies that need
their brassieres. They might also
object to turning Gstaad into a
theme park like they did this year
on hot summer nights. Sounds a
bit ornery to me, but I guess I can
understand why someone would
want to see Mickey and Minnie
in their natural habitat. Speaking
of which, I hear new malls usually
destroy the environment. I guess
that’s bad, but since cows seem to
pollute more than cars, maybe we
should build a drive through mall
and just get rid of farmland
hear from you. Of course we
publish at our discretion and edit
content. How ever, constructive
points of view and charming
stories always come up trumps.
Please send contributions to: the
Editor, GstaadLife, Kirchstrasse,
3780 Gstaad, or email to peter.
sonnekus@gstaadlife.ch
altogether. The big stinker, I am
told, about big stores, is that they
kill small businesses. I still don’t
see why it’s such a big deal.
Having someone else worry about
the critical details is so much
easier. I guess one could also
contend that people really don’t
need that much stuff . But how
wrong they are! Obviously
someone is getting rich off
manufacturing malls and what
goes into malls, and they will need
a mall to buy all sorts of things to
put into their big new houses.
In a perfect world, everything
would be free, or based on a barter
system. But since we live in a
world where people must make a
living, I wonder, does prosperity
need to come at such an expense?
Sure, malls are convenient, but
they contribute to the evergrowing
sprawl plaguing su burban
vistas. They breed a culture
of fancy, rather than one of
intellectual curiosity, respect for
nature, preservation, and innovation.
They are built with
little more than profi t in mind.
The consequences of which,
unfortunately, last far longer than
the time unsophisticated architects
take to design them. With all the
technological know-how, and
human intelligence we are
resourced with, couldn’t we fi nd
a way to get people what they
need, without turning the world
into a monstrous industrial city,
and an old ski station into Rodeo
Drive?
Classifi eds
diverse
Gstaad Yacht Club looking
for a bridge teacher to give
lessons in French or English
to a group of beginners.
Please contact: 033 748 0190 or
secretary@gstaadyachtclub.com