Latest news with #SwissAlps
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Climate
- Bloomberg
Heat Wave Shuts Top of Eiffel Tower as Europe Put on Red Alert
Europe's heat wave is set to peak over the coming days, with a blast of Saharan air triggering red alerts from France to the Swiss Alps. The top of the Eiffel Tower will be shut to visitors over the next two days, as temperatures in Paris climb as high as 41C (105.8F) on Tuesday. Red alerts have been issued for the French capital and 15 other departments due to the heat wave that's been baking the country since June 19.
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Travel + Leisure
3 days ago
- Travel + Leisure
This Idyllic Resort Town in Switzerland Has a Cheese Grotto, a Country Music Festival, and an Incredible Summer Season
Stay at The Alpina Gstaad, a glamorous five-star getaway with a more than 20,000-square-foot Six Senses Spa. Trade your hiking boots for cowboy boots during Country Night Gstaad, the annual country music festival held in the resort town every September. Learn about the tradition of alpine cheesemaking at the cheese grotto of Gstaad. Spend an afternoon shopping along the resort town's ritzy, car-free promenade. Enjoy a traditional Swiss meal at Posthotel Rössli. Along with St. Moritz, Gstaad is one of Switzerland's most glamorous resort towns. There are five-star hotels, celebrity sightings, and a car-free promenade flanked by high-end boutiques and designer stores—but don't expect the grand outposts you'll find in cities like Geneva or Zurich. In the 1950s, Gstaad implemented regulations that require all buildings, even commercial ones, to comply with the Simmental architecture style (low-pitched roofs, wide eaves, and carved facades), keeping the Swiss charm alive and well throughout the mountain village. However, as I learned on a visit this past winter, Gstaad isn't just a postcard-worthy après-ski playground for the wealthy; its residents are deeply passionate about history, centuries-old traditions, and the natural beauty that surrounds this idyllic enclave of the Bernese Alps. 'Gstaad offers so much more than just the beautiful village with its promenade,' Anita Roth-Reuteler, a guide with Explora Gstaad, tells Travel + Leisure . 'Go up on the mountains, visit and learn about traditional alpine farms, indulge in various sports and events, [and] let yourself be carried away by the beauty and power of nature.' 'Even though it's renowned internationally for celebrities visiting and wealth, it still feels like a cozy, down-to-earth village. It's more about understated elegance than extravagance,' echoes Nuno Costa, head concierge at The Alpina Gstaad. And while skiing is certainly a major draw in the colder months, he says, summer turns Gstaad into 'a paradise for hiking, mountain biking, swimming in mountain lakes, and festivals.' There's even an annual country music concert that takes place each September—this year, the lineup features Scotty McCreery and Old Crow Medicine Show. Interior shots of The Alpina Gstaad. Lydia Mansel/Travel + Leisure The Alpina Gstaad is intimate and cozy—just 56 rooms and suites in total—but there's a grandness to its design and level of service that initially led me to believe the property was much larger. Even though I stayed at the end of the winter (checking out the day before the hotel closed for the season), everything was pristine and thoughtful, from the plush, branded slippers left by my bed to the efficiency of grabbing ski rentals right outside the lobby. The guest rooms are nothing short of spectacular, the kind of accommodations you regret leaving during the day. Featuring hand-built fireplaces, period furniture, and local woodwork, they're traditional without being too dark or verging on kitschy. My only regret from my stay? Not setting aside enough time to thoroughly enjoy the Six Senses Spa's heated water beds, cold plunge, sauna, and indoor pool. For more than 100 years, Gstaad Palace has welcomed well-heeled guests to its castle-style property towering above the town. Only open in the summer and winter (like most luxury hotels in Gstaad), the 90-key resort is somewhere you could easily spend weeks and never grow bored. Each room and suite has an alpine view, and the roster of amenities includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, and even an iconic nightclub, GreenGo. Another five-star getaway in Gstaad, Le Grand Bellevue dates back to 1912, although it entered a new era in 2014 following a year-long renovation spearheaded by owners Daniel and Davia Koetser. Located right on the promenade, the 57-room property mixes modern, chalet-style design with a Wes Anderson vibe; it's a bit retro and nostalgic, and pops of color and unexpected patterns complement the wood and neutral colors used throughout. Le Grand Spa, refurbished in 2017, is certainly a standout feature of the entire guest experience; there are steam baths, an ice fountain, an herbal sauna, and an outdoor relaxation pool. Landscape of Glacier 3000. Lydia Mansel/Travel + Leisure Gstaad is already more than 3,400 feet above sea level, but you'll go even higher (to an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet) upon boarding the cable car to Glacier 3000, a ski resort and mountain excursion with unbelievable views of the Alps. 'You can see the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, and Jungfrau on a clear day,' says Costa. 'There is also the famous Peak Walk, a suspension bridge connecting two mountain peaks.' Just be sure to pack layers, a hat, and gloves; I visited Glacier 3000 in mid-September, and my light jacket didn't quite hold up to the wind, ice, and snow. Gstaad is more than just a ski town, as evidenced by its roster of world-class events that draw in visitors every year. Roth-Reuteler recommends aligning your trip with Country Night Gstaad, the Swiss Open, the Swatch Beach Pro Gstaad, or the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, a classical music event first started in 1957 by violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Both Roth-Reuteler and Costa recommend immersing yourself in the beautiful scenery, whether you're hiking, biking, or e-biking. While you can pack your own lunch, there's another way to fuel your excursion through the mountains: fondue. Reserve a backpack filled with fondue essentials—a classic or truffle fondue cheese, bread, spices, a pot, a chafing dish with fuel, plates, and forks—from the Molkerei cheese shop and tote it up to one of the seven oversized 'fondue pots,' designed to fit up to eight people, in the region. Gstaad takes its cheese seriously, and there's nowhere better to learn about it than the cheese grotto. The hour-long tour is free, and you'll get the inside scoop on the 500-year-old tradition of producing alpine cheese. While there, you'll be more than 80 feet underground (bring a jacket) and surrounded by 3,000-plus wheels of cheese. Skiers may descend La Videmanette (part of the greater Gstaad ski area) in the winter, but the mountain turns into a climber's haven in the warmer months. Trek across the landscape on the via ferrata, a series of steel cables, ladders, and pins. You can rent gear from either Edelweiss Sport in Gstaad or by the Rougemont - La Videmanette cable car; it's also recommended to go with a guide if you don't have much climbing experience. Dining table overlooking mountains. AndreasCosta says Restaurant Rössli, located south of Gstaad in the village of Feutersoey, is all about quality. 'It's authentic, seasonal, and everything is made with homemade and local ingredients. They even have their own fish tank at the back of the restaurant for their renowned trout dish.' The menu at Sonnenhof features Swiss, Italian, and French influences, and Costa confirms 'the food is lovingly prepared' and made with seasonal ingredients. The true star of the show, however, is the terrace. You can dine outside overlooking the mountains and the town of Gstaad. 'Other than the highly recommended restaurants like Sonnenhof in Saanen or Rössli in Feutersoey, it's always a delight to enjoy traditional Swiss dishes at Posthotel Rössli or Hotel Kernen in Schönried,' says Roth-Reuteler. The oldest inn in Gstaad, Posthotel Rössli was built in 1845 and has two cozy restaurants, Alti Post and Stübli. Cheese and views abound at many of Gstaad's alpine huts and mountain farms. Self-service refrigerators at places like the Alp vordere Wispile and Rastplatz Gspan hold alpine cheese, dried sausage, nuts, drinks, and sweet treats. Bring cash, and be sure to check the timing before heading up—some are only open from July to September. Pedestrians passing by stores on the promenade in Gstaad, Switzerland. Valentin Flauraud/Bloomberg via Getty Images Shopping in Gstaad is an experience in and of itself. The pedestrian-only promenade is lined with luxury brands like Hermès, Chopard, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Ralph Lauren, all housed in the traditional chalet-style buildings you can't help by photograph while strolling from store to store. Outside of those household brand names, Roth-Reutele recommends Zwahlen-Hüni AG for its 'alpine-chic clothes,' Ds Cadenöli for Swiss découpage art (also known as paper-cutting), and Charly's Gstaad for chocolates and pastries. Costa also has a couple of favorites on and near the promenade; he recommends Marina Anouilh and Trois Pommes for clothing and accessories. But, he adds, 'You cannot miss the great bookshop in Saanen, Librairie des Alpages … or the cheese shop Molkerei Gstaad.' The latter even has a refrigerated vending machine outside that serves all kinds of dairy products, including cheese, milk, and yogurt. Promenade of Gstaad, Switzerland. Gstaad has two primary seasons—summer and winter—although Roth-Reuteler says fall, with the 'changing colors of the season,' is also delightful. In summer, outdoor activities and festivals spring to life in the village. 'The temperature in summer is perfect for sports activities or sunbathing by the pool all day long. In contrast to most places in Europe, it doesn't get too hot, we have no heat waves, and it's the perfect place to escape the rush of the big cities,' says Costa. Of course, if you're coming to Gstaad to ski (or just experience the après-ski scene), aim for December through February; when I skied there in early March, the conditions weren't ideal, and the snow was a bit too slushy in some areas. 'Winter, with the entire landscape beautifully covered in snow, has an unbeatable look and attracts everyone to enjoy all winter sports activities,' says Roth-Reuteler. 'If there is a time to avoid, it's possibly the month of November, as the weather can be a little unpleasant, daylight is getting shorter, and we all wait for the first snowfall,' she adds, noting that most hotels, restaurants, and shops are closed during this to to prepare for the winter. Costa also mentions the luxury hotels in the village are only open from June to September, and from December to March, so plan accordingly. Cityscape of Gstaad, Switzerland. Most international travelers visiting Gstaad will fly into Zurich Airport (ZRH) or Geneva Airport (GVA); you can take the public transportation from either. I'd recommend downloading the SBB Mobile app for easy route navigation and buying a Swiss Travel Pass before arrival; the all-in-one pass grants you unlimited travel via train, bus, and boat, although there are some exceptions. I flew into Zurich, and the three-hour journey couldn't have been easier, even after a red-eye flight, or more scenic. You can drive to Gstaad, but the center of the village is pedestrian-only. If you don't have the Swiss Travel Pass—and plan on mostly staying in Gstaad—you can use the Gstaad Card. You'll receive the card from your host (like a hotel) for the duration of your stay, providing you access to ride public transportation between Saanenland and Simmental. Biking or e-biking around Gstaad and between villages is also a popular way to explore the area between the months of May and October.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Irish Times
How did international drug gangs avoid police surveillance? South Dublin criminal Ciaran O'Sullivan helped them out
Nestled in the foothills of the Swiss alps with breathtaking views over Lake Geneva is Surval Montreux, a boarding school for girls which looks more like a luxury ski resort. Surval Montreux was founded as a finishing school where girls practised their table manners and curtsies before debuting in upper-class society. Today, it bills itself as an international boarding school 'dedicated to providing a holistic and enriching educational experience' to students while also teaching them etiquette as 'a core value.' Simply applying for a place costs about €8,000. After that, it costs almost €120,000 a year, not including optional extras such as ski trips and airport transfers. Students are almost universally children of the super rich. According to one source, it is not unusual for girls at the school to be accompanied by bodyguards. READ MORE Recent attendees include the two daughters of Irishman Ciaran 'Sam' O'Sullivan (50), a close associate of the Kinahan cartel and one of the main suppliers of encrypted phones to the European underworld. 'Ciaran O'Sullivan is renowned by multiple law enforcement agencies as a transnational drug trafficker with [organised crime groups] crime connections in Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands,' a senior Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) officer told a High Court hearing this week during an application to seize his assets. [ Senior gardaí warn Kinahan cartel members of 'serious life choices' ahead Opens in new window ] O'Sullivan's route to the top of European organised crime is an unusual one. He was born to a wealthy family in South Dublin and was raised by his aunt in the upper-class suburb of Glenageary. 'The house is quite impressive', said one security source. He first came to significant Garda attention as a young man in the late nineties when he was observed by officers from the National Drugs Unit associating with drug trafficker Chris Casserly. He later started working with notorious gangland figure John Cunningham while developing his own reputation as a skilled drug trafficker, able to move large consignments of cannabis from North Africa into Europe under the noses of authorities. In the 2010s, European drugs gangs were seeking ways to avoid police surveillance of telephone communications. O'Sullivan was one of the first criminals to take advantage of this. In the early 2000s he began operating alongside Kinahan gang member Bernard Clancy who would go on to be sanctioned by the US authorities as part of their crackdown on the organised crime group. This led to O'Sullivan's first big conviction. Along with Clancy and Casserly, he was arrested in Spain with 1,200 kgs of cannabis. He was jailed for four years in 2003. On his release, O'Sullivan continued in the drug-trafficking business. He developed a network of contacts across Europe's criminal underworld and cemented his association with the Kinahan cartel. [ Fall of House of Kinahan? Dubai no longer criminal safe haven after Sean McGovern extradition Opens in new window ] He was particularly close with the gang's patriarch, Christy Kinahan Senior, who admired O'Sullivan's intelligence and level-headedness. However, sources say he was never a member of the gang – he was very much his own man who maintained independent operations and wealth as he moved between residences in the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland. Despite his reputation for intelligence, he continued to attract the attention of authorities in Ireland and elsewhere. In 2007, he was jailed for a month in the Netherlands in relation to the seizure of amphetamines, a firearm and a large amount of cash. In the 2010s, European drugs gangs were seeking ways to avoid police surveillance of telephone communications. O'Sullivan was one of the first criminals to take advantage of this. Things took a turn for the worse for O'Sullivan in 2020 when French and Dutch police managed to infiltrate EncroChat In 2016, he started sourcing EncroChat phones, which allowed criminals to communicate with each other with little chance of the authorities being able to eavesdrop. O'Sullivan became one of the main resellers of the phones in Europe, particularly to French criminals. Using the code name Shamrock, he operated from Haute Savoie, an idyllic part of the French alps just 80km across the border from the Swiss school where he would later send his children. One of his main subordinarates was Clontarf man Robert Noctor, who would later be caught by gardaí driving around with almost €100,000 in cash and several EncroChat phones. [ The Family business: Stop using corporate jargon to describe drug gangs Opens in new window ] O'Sullivan's EncroChat operation was a runaway success, significantly increasing his wealth and influence in the European underworld. However, he continued to make most of his income from his drug-trafficking operations. Things took a turn for the worse for O'Sullivan in 2020 when French and Dutch police managed to infiltrate EncroChat and gain access to huge amounts of data relating to organised crime. As a result, hundreds of criminals were arrested across the Continent and large consignments of drugs and weapons were taken off the streets over the following months. Information from the investigation was shared with the Garda and Cab, who used it to target a Chinese gang involved in large-scale money laundering in Ireland. The gang operated a kind of illicit international banking system which allowed Irish criminals to drop a consignment of money into Chinese takeaways in Dublin and later withdraw the same amount from another restaurant overseas. Millions of euro was laundered through the system by Irish criminals . These included O'Sullivan, who used the Chinese gang to launder the proceeds of his drug and encrypted phone business. Using information from the EncroChat operation, in June 2020 gardaí raided the home of O'Sullivan's aunt as well as his girlfriend, neither of whom are involved in criminality. They seized various types of new mobile phones along with encryption technology. Other items included luxury watches, a gold bullion coin and a Louis Vuitton briefcase containing payment details for the prestigious Swiss school. This week, as Cab applied to the High Court for confiscation of the items, they argued the school receipts were evidence of O'Sullivan enjoying a luxury lifestyle, despite having no obvious income. The judge agreed and ordered confiscation of the goods. O'Sullivan was not in court for the proceedings, having previously told Cab he had no intention of returning to Ireland. He continues to live a luxurious lifestyle and spends most of his time in Dubai – the centre of the Kinahan's operations – where he owns a luxury seaview apartment.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Champion skydiver plummets to death during wingsuit jump
A champion wingsuit flyer who featured in a BBC documentary called The Boy Who Can Fly has died after he was critically injured in a jump over the weekend. Liam Byrne, 24, was taking part in a high-risk jump at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps on Saturday when tragedy struck, according to The Telegraph, citing local police. Byrne, of Scotland, was wearing a wingsuit, a specialized webbed-sleeved jumpsuit with membranes between the arms, body and legs which allows a diver to glide flight in the air. Colorado Skydiver Falls To His Death In Freak Accident He was one of three wingsuit pilots who launched a jump from Gitschen, a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. However, Byrne "deviated from his intended course shortly after take-off for reasons still unknown and crashed into a rocky outcrop," police said. "He suffered fatal injuries." Read On The Fox News App Byrne, a British champion in the adrenaline-fueled sport, was an experienced flyer with more than 4,000 jumps to his name, according to the outlet. His Instagram account also lists him as a skydiving instructor, wingsuit coach and BASE (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth) jumper. In the BBC-produced documentary, filmmakers follow Byrne's journey to champion flyer. Byrne told the documentary: "I think I was about 13 when I said to my dad that I wanted to learn to fly like a bird." French Pilot Of Plane That Decapitated Skydiver Found Guilty Of Manslaughter He said that an office job scared him far more than the fear of dying from a base or wingsuit jump. He insisted that good preparation was at the heart of all his jumps and kept him safe and acknowledged that the high-risk sport worried his family. Byrne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro at age 12, became a licensed paraglider at 14, completed his first skydive at 16 and was flying in a wingsuit by 18, according to the BBC. Byrne's family released a statement praising him and saying that the sport was "more than just a thrill for Liam - it was freedom. It was where he felt most alive." "We would like to remember Liam not just for the way he left this world, but for how he lived in it," the statement reads in part. "Liam was fearless, not necessarily because he wasn't afraid but because he refused to let fear hold him back. He chased life in a way that most of us only dream of and he soared." The statement continued: "He inspired all of us and made life better with his bold spirit and kind heart. We will miss Liam's wild energy and contagious laugh. Though he has now flown beyond our reach, he will always be with us." There have been a number of wingsuit-related deaths in the U.S., including a January 2024 incident in which Gregory Coates, 36, died in Colorado after both his primary and reserve parachutes failed to deploy. In September, Jonathan Bizilia, 27, of Alabama died in a jump in article source: Champion skydiver plummets to death during wingsuit jump
Fox News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Champion skydiver plummets to death during wingsuit jump
A champion wingsuit flyer who featured in a BBC documentary called The Boy Who Can Fly has died after he was critically injured in a jump over the weekend. Liam Byrne, 24, was taking part in a high-risk jump at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps on Saturday when tragedy struck, according to The Telegraph, citing local police. Byrne, of Scotland, was wearing a wingsuit, a specialized webbed-sleeved jumpsuit with membranes between the arms, body and legs which allows a diver to glide flight in the air. He was one of three wingsuit pilots who launched a jump from Gitschen, a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. However, Byrne "deviated from his intended course shortly after take-off for reasons still unknown and crashed into a rocky outcrop," police said. "He suffered fatal injuries." Byrne, a British champion in the adrenaline-fueled sport, was an experienced flyer with more than 4,000 jumps to his name, according to the outlet. His Instagram account also lists him as a skydiving instructor, wingsuit coach and BASE (Building, Antenna, Span and Earth) jumper. In the BBC-produced documentary, filmmakers follow Byrne's journey to champion flyer. Byrne told the documentary: "I think I was about 13 when I said to my dad that I wanted to learn to fly like a bird." He said that an office job scared him far more than the fear of dying from a base or wingsuit jump. He insisted that good preparation was at the heart of all his jumps and kept him safe and acknowledged that the high-risk sport worried his family. Byrne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro at age 12, became a licensed paraglider at 14, completed his first skydive at 16 and was flying in a wingsuit by 18, according to the BBC. Byrne's family released a statement praising him and saying that the sport was "more than just a thrill for Liam - it was freedom. It was where he felt most alive." "We would like to remember Liam not just for the way he left this world, but for how he lived in it," the statement reads in part. "Liam was fearless, not necessarily because he wasn't afraid but because he refused to let fear hold him back. He chased life in a way that most of us only dream of and he soared." The statement continued: "He inspired all of us and made life better with his bold spirit and kind heart. We will miss Liam's wild energy and contagious laugh. Though he has now flown beyond our reach, he will always be with us." There have been a number of wingsuit-related deaths in the U.S., including a January 2024 incident in which Gregory Coates, 36, died in Colorado after both his primary and reserve parachutes failed to deploy. In September, Jonathan Bizilia, 27, of Alabama died in a jump in Utah.
