Where have the good old times gone? Down in time, of course, but people have a tendency to revel in the past (despite the fact that guests at the Gstaad Palace had to share a bathroom per floor, to name just one example).

One often related point is how locals and Gstaad guests were closer. Visitors were glad to see and (in moderation) participate in the ‘simple’ and ‘traditional’ life. Maybe the anecdote of the farmer who put a hay fork into a patron’s hands – without much commentary and the natural assumption that everybody is to help before the rain ruins the feed for the next winter –  is an invention. If so, it is a good one and it nicely illustrates the proximity that has supposedly been eroded by time, new money, modernity, you name it.

Charles Pictet’s recipe to get closer again is convincingly simple: sharing a fondue au fromage! An event that brings the worlds of the Einheimischen and regulars closer is The Alpina Cup. Students of Gstaad Gymnasium and Le Rosey compete in friendlies and spend an evening together. (It has not been reported if they enjoyed a fondue...)

Some curiosity and a little openness on both sides may do the region a favour. The youngsters show us the way.

Markus Iseli
Publishing Director