SEPTEMBER 3-4 -COUNTRY NIGHT GSTAAD, SWITZERLAND – CHAPEL HART:
Actually left at a decent hour this morning for the flights to JFK and then Geneva. Left my house at 9 am and my flight was on time to JFK. AND, my free upgrade came through for first class on Delta. I have Chapel Hart performing on the Country Night Gstaad Festival and they join headliners Little Big Town and support act Tyler Booth.
Chapel Hart is flying the non-stop flight from Nashville to London on British Airways late tonight. I just didn’t want to risk taking that flight because it is usually late. Plus, they are taking Delta back and it was a lot less expensive for me to book roundtrip Delta than American over and Delta back. As I was waiting to board my flight, I got a message that their flight tonight was delayed due to “the “Border Force Strike” at Heathrow.
I landed JFK on time and had a 6 hour layover. Yes…6 hours! And that is fine with me. There is a new “Delta One” Lounge that is only for people flying First Class. It’s a really nice facility with a restaurant where you can order a nice meal. But, I went into a little “booth” that had a seat and ledge with an outlet where I could put my computer. Also had electrical outlets which are a necessity. I spent 5 of the six hours in there working. The only thing I really didn’t care for in the Lounge is the fact that there are so many staff who “hover”. One man who was, I assume, assigned to my “area” kept looking in the booth to see if I needed anything. It was the perfect workspace for me because it was soundproof and I could make phone calls in private!
When I landed, I had another message saying Chapel Hart’s flight was now departing Nashville on time and arriving on time. Go figure.
While I was in my “booth”, I kept getting gate change notices. Then when I started walking to the gate, it changed 3 more times before I got there and it was only a 10 minute walk. We were supposed to board on time but were delayed about 30 minutes. It’s only a 7 hour flight from JFK to Geneva and since I only got 3 hours of sleep last night, I slept for 3 hours on that flight. Right after the meal and before I went to sleep, the turbulence was terrible. It lasted about 45 minutes and not once did the pilot come on and say anything at all. I soon realized we have a French flight crew which explains the lack of communication. The French are known for not being especially friendly to Americans. That idea was confirmed on the flight and on my 4 hours layover in Geneva. I stopped at a little table by a food stand to look at my phone to try and figure out where I might be able to sit down and have electrical outlets. I sat my Matcha Latte on the table and as soon as I did, a lady came running over and yelled at me that the space was reserved for people buying food from them. I told her I wasn’t sitting down, just needed to look at my phone for a minute. But I left as quickly as I could. There wasn’t one single person in line to buy anything from their menu. So rude! I finally found a “public place” in the train station with free WiFi where I was able to work. There was a storage facility for my bags which was wonderful.
My dear friend Iris is meeting me in Gstaad and will stay until Friday. I worked with her at the Interlaken Festival for decades. She and I have taken some trips together that were Epic (Hong Kong and China!). I saw her for a few minutes in Interlaken this year but hope to have all day and evening on Thursday to catch up.
Chapel Hart arrived on time and Tyler Booth’s group was also on the flight. We had a large tour bus for the 2+ hour drive which took longer than expected because it was 5:00 pm by the time their bags arrived and we hit rush hour traffic. It was bumper to bumper for many miles outside Geneva. Toni, our long time bus driver, had brought sandwiches and drinks for everyone. We dropped Tyler and his group off at their hotel and then proceeded to the Alpina where the girls are staying. It is a 5-Star fantastic hotel. We dropped our bags and then met Marcel (the promoter) and Heidi, Elsi and Jennifer in the lobby for a quick drink and Meet & Greet. I have known them all for many years and not only are they wonderful to work with, but I also consider them dear friends.
There were some amazing appetizers that were provided as well. We moved to the restaurant area but because the tables were so low inside, we decided to eat outside. The weather was perfect. Iris arrived just as we were getting seated. The meal was sliced veal in sauce with Rosti Potatoes and a nice garden salad. Food was excellent, as usual.
Everyone was really tired after the flights so we were in our rooms by 10 pm. I worked until 3 AM but pretty sure everyone else went to sleep immediately.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH – WELCOME PARTY:
Iris and I met for breakfast at 10:30 am because they stop serving breakfast at 11 am. There is a large buffet but you have to order eggs from the server. I had Eggs Florentine which is like Eggs Benedict but with spinach instead of meat. It was great. Chapel Hart was there eating as well and looked “rested”. Trea had already gotten up very early and jogged into town. But all the shops were closed since they don’t open until around 10 am. Even the gym in the hotel doesn’t open until 8:30 am.
The weather isn’t great so I’m glad they postponed the trip up the Alp until Saturday. Iris and I got a ride from the hotel to the Park Hotel (where I stayed the first couple of years I came here) because today was the first day of a huge liquidation sale as they are completely renovating the facility. But, when we arrived, there was a very long line waiting to get inside. Iris decided to try again tomorrow and hopefully the line won’t be so long. We had the driver drop us off at the COOP downtown instead. The “hotel shuttle” is a Tesla.
I found the Marzipan Candy that Zac and Zoe had requested and we walked around looking in shops for a while. Iris found a really cute little vest for her Godchild and cool jacket that was on sale for herself. We stopped and had a drink at a local hotel that had seating outside. We were going to try to walk back up the massive hill to the hotel. But, it started raining and we got lost so we called for the shuttle!
I was able to work for several hours before dressing to go to the Welcome Party at the venue. Every year they have to decide if the weather will be good enough to hold the party at the top of an Alp or at the venue. Bad weather was predicted and they made the right decision about a week ago to move it to the venue.
Met everyone in the lobby at 7:30 and the girls looked awesome and so did the guys! I really like working with this group. The Welcome Party always has soooo much food. Marcel and his son came to our table and welcomed the girls again. The “salad” tables opened first and there was enough food on those tables for an entire meal. Next came the “meat and vegetables” stations. All the food was wonderful. A short “introduction” of the artists and sponsors was held next. I got to talk to Kimberly, Karen and Jimmy with Little Big Town for the first time in years. I took them to Afghanistan in 2004 when it was definitely a “hot spot” and then to my wonderful festival in Sweden at the animal park. They were totally unknown at that time. And look at them now!
Marco Gottardi (Swiss Artist) performed and the dessert tables were brought out. The girls and guys in Chapel Hart got up and started dancing and I was shocked to see Marcel join them on the dance floor! Even his staff said they had never seen him dance! It was a fun evening. We were back at the hotel “relatively” early but I still stayed up until 3 am working….
Jude
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH – WELCOME PARTY AT GSTAAD COUNTRY NIGHTS:
Woke up after 4 hours sleep to a beautiful day! We departed the hotel at 8:45 am for sound check. The guys went to the stage to set up and I took the girls to the Green Room for interviews. The first interview was with a lady from the only Country Music Magazine that is country-wide in Germany. The second interview was with someone from a French Radio Station. He had requested prior to confirming the interview that the girls would be able to do the interview in French. I didn’t think it was possible but I asked and it was confirmed that they could. Wrong…they definitely don’t speak or understand French. But the interviewer was cool and said he could translate it afterwards. They did a great job with both interviews.
Sound check actually ended 15 minutes early. It sounded great from the back of the house. This might be the first time the audience is up dancing during a show here. They are going to rock the house!
The group went back to the hotel and Iris and I found a restaurant that was still serving breakfast. We both had omelets and they were really good. Except we decided to eat outdoors and the bees swarmed us the entire time.
Iris had to go back to Interlaken for an event tonight but hopes to come back tomorrow night for the show. I hope she will. It was so great to see her!!
I stopped at the restaurant to get a copy of tonight’s menu and let them know there would be 7 people eating at 5 pm and we needed to be finished by 6 pm. I messaged everyone and got their orders and then took the info back down to the restaurant so they would be prepared. Only, they had given me the menu for Saturday night, not tonight. I started messaging everyone again but was struggling because I didn’t have my reading glasses. That is when they brought out a little basket with reading glasses in various prescriptions. That’s what happens at a restaurant located in a 5 Star Hotel. Thankfully the breakfast and dinner are complimentary because the Weiner Schnitzel costs 96 CHF on the menu. At today’s rate, that is $113.58! No way I would pay that….I don’t think the prices were quite this high before COVID.
Got some work done before dressing for the show and going down for dinner. There was a really huge salad and the main course which they had translated as “roast beef” was actually Prime Rib. And it was so tender you could cut it with a fork.
We barely finished dinner in time to go meet our drivers to go to the show. Restaurant service isn’t fast anywhere in Europe even when you “prepare” them like I did today.
We caught the very end of Tyler Booth’s show and the audience seemed to be loving his performance. He’s very traditional country, so of course, they would love him. The girls took the stage and did the never before “happened” again…they had the audience on their feet dancing and singing along! It was so cool. They did a very emotional song about a friend who recently passed away due to cancer. I was worried that the audience didn’t understand what they were saying and that it would bring down the “mood” of the room. Just the opposite, they got their first of many standing ovations after that song. So, what the heck do I know???
They had a huge standing ovation at the end and were brought back out for an encore. Marcel and all the girls were so happy with their performance.
The girls went back to the hotel to change clothes but I didn’t want to miss the “35th Anniversary Celebration” segment of the show. It was so wonderful. There was a choir that sang (complete with a yodeler!) that was so beautiful. Then they showed snippets from shows of the pervious headliners. Brought hack such wonderful memories.
Little Big Town closed out the evening with a spectacular performance. I remember how talented they were from their performances in Afghanistan and Sweden when their career had not even taken off yet. They said that trip to Afghanistan is still one of the most impactful events in their career. Chapel Hart stood right in front of the stage and watched their entire show.
This was the perfect lineup for the festival’s 35th Anniversary!
So, as I said, this is a fantastic 5 Star Hotel but difficult for a technologically challenged person like me. I spend 5-10 minutes just trying to turn the TV’s on and off. (The second TV is in the bathroom over the bathtub. The lights and drapes have all these “buttons” for bright, dim, open, close, on, off, etc. I never seem to get all the lights turned off at the same time. But the real “topper” was me calling the front desk and having them send up another hair dryer because mine didn’t work. When the lady brought it up, I asked her to show me how to turn it on and off because I thought mine might work just fine and it was “pilot error”1 I was correct. I had pushed every button on it but turns out, you have to “slide” the buttons. Of course, I didn’t have my reading glasses on or I would have realized that!
I had asked for a fan when I checked in because there are lots of trees right outside my balcony and if I open the balcony doors, my allergies kick in. But of course, it is a “fancy” fan that only operates on a remote control. Needless to say, I still haven’t figured out how to turn it on…
Going to be before 3 am tonight, I hope…maybe 2:30 am???
Jude
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH – FINAL PERFORMANCE AT GSTAAD:
After 5 hours of sleep, I couldn’t sleep anymore so I got up and dressed to go for a jog. The weather is fantastic! As I was leaving the hotel I saw Elsi and Toni standing at the front desk. The bus was outside with Tyler Booth’s group on board. Elsi said that Trea had decided to go to the glacier with them. That doesn’t surprise me. They really wanted me to go, too, but I just can’t be gone for that long. Too much work to do.
My jog was fantastic. Ran all through the town and then took several roads outside the town. Had to backtrack several times to get in 3 miles. I decided to call the hotel to pick me up at the bottom of the Alp so I didn’t have to walk back up. The jog was enough without climbing an Alp, too!
Showered and worked until time to go to dinner at 5 pm. Tonight is pumpkin ravioli!
Even though I pre-ordered everything yesterday and they had everything prepared, it still took an hour and a half to be served and eat. Things just move at a very different pace in most countries overseas. The servers do not depend on tips to supplement their salaries so there is no “push” to get people to eat quickly so they can get another customer seated.
Tyler Booth was finishing up his set when we arrived so I caught the last few minutes of that. The audience loved him and his “traditional style country music. I had been talking to his tour manager for a long time last night and tonight and he was such a nice person. He gave me his phone number last night and I didn’t connect with the thought that his last name was Booth, too. I was asking Elsi if he was related and she said it’s his father. OMG, he looks as young as Tyler – which is very young! I had to ask him for myself and he confirmed that he is.
The girls took the stage on time and had no problem getting the audience on their feet and clapping their hands. A big crowd stood in front of the stage the entire show. They changed their set list slightly for this set and it was a good change. I didn’t think tonight’s show could be any better than last night, but it was.
The girls brought clothes with them to change out of their show clothes so they could stay and see the Anniversary Celebration and video. The “choir” that sang is spectacular….especially the yodelers.
I met Phillip’s wife (Little Big Town) for the first time and she is so sweet and lovely. We talked about their tour to Afghanistan but also about Gary Sinise and his support of the military. Also met Kimberly’s beautiful daughter who looks exactly like her mom. Even her facial expressions mimic her mom. They are all just as sweet as they were when I toured them twenty years ago in Afghanistan and almost that long ago to Sweden. They had a really great show and responsive audience as well. I think Marcel and all the staff were very happy with the entertainment this weekend. Because it is the 35th anniversary celebration, there is an additional day of activities today. They have a Schlager Fest planned and I’m sure that will be fun for everyone.
The group did not want to stay and eat at the buffet so we got back to the hotel at around 12:30 am. I went to the desk to pay my incidentals and some of the group ordered room service. I also checked on the “to go” breakfast boxes for the departure tomorrow morning but the desk clerk could not find any record of them. I sent Elsi a text to have her call them but by the time I sent the text, he had found the order. When I got to my room, I realized he had forgotten to give me a receipt so I went back downstairs to get that. But, the one man working the front desk was gone. I waited and waited and waited and he never came back. Finally I found one more person in another part of the lobby and he informed me that the desk clerk has to cook the room service meals so he would not be back for a while! He had left the copy of my credit card ticket behind the desk, so I took a photo of that.
By the time I got packed and showered, I only had 2 hours to sleep. But we have a 2 hour bus ride to the airport tomorrow so hoping I can sleep on that.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH – TRAVELING HOME FOR 2 DAYS:
That two hours of sleep felt like 2 minutes. UGH! Lobby call was 7:45 am but Darion had told everyone he wanted them down at 7 am. Breakfast opened at 7 am and a couple of the guys were in the restaurant eating when I got to the lobby at around 7:10 am. I checked out, got my receipt, and also collected the “to go” breakfast boxes. The girls came down shortly thereafter and thought that our flight had been cancelled because one of them was texting with a member of Tyler Booth’s group and they said the flight is cancelled. But, Tyler is on British Airways/American Airlines from Geneva to London and we are all on Delta to JFK (thankfully!). Like I said, I never book a connection through London. I only go to London if it is my final destination. I called Tyler’s Dad and he said he couldn’t reach anyone with the festival and the travel agent the festival used was in Nashville and was very difficult to reach. Since it was 1 am in Nashville, I knew he wouldn’t get him on the phone. Tyler said the airlines had rebooked everyone on a flight departing Geneva tomorrow morning at 7 am so they would just stay until tomorrow. I reminded him that he needed to confirm that hotel rooms were available because of the events taking place today. I suggested he call British Airways or American Airlines and find out if there were flights available later today out of Geneva or even out of Zurich. I called Heidi and she was aware of the problem by then and was checking to see if they could keep their rooms.
Toni with the bus company arrived on time, of course, and we were loaded and ready to leave at 7:45 am. Toni said we did have to stop by Tyler’s hotel and pick up one person in his group who was still flying out today. When he got on the bus, he said that he had been booked in a separate record from the other 10 passengers and the airlines rebooked him on a flight out of Geneva this afternoon.
I wasn’t able to sleep on the bus ride so I worked on my iPhone most of the trip. The line at the airport wasn’t especially long but it moved slowly. I checked in at the Delta One counter and was then able to walk over to the line where Chapel Hart was waiting. They were all booked in one record so were able to check in as a group. Danica had a really heavy backpack that she wanted to check but would have had to pay the high fee for a second bag. Since I had only checked two bags, I was able to check her 2nd piece at no charge for her.
We cleared security and had time to stop by the Sprungli Chocolate store. Sadly, this store did not have truffles du jour. But I was able to get lots of other types of candy including some for David Bellamy’s birthday next week. There wasn’t enough time to go to the Lounge before we began boarding. Seats are the same as the aircraft coming over. Hard and very narrow. I watched a movie, had lunch and then slept for 3 hours. Was able to work for 2 hours before landing early at JFK. By the time we landed, the one first class seat that was vacant on the flight to Nashville had been filled. Delta advertises that they upgrade their Diamond Medallion members 5 days prior to the flight as one of the “perks” of having over 3 million miles flown with them. My upgrade from Nashville to JFK cleared that early and my upgrade to Minot on Wednesday cleared 2 days ago. But they never cleared me for JFK/BNA.
As we were going through Immigration at JFK, I go through the Global Entry line and as I was standing in a long line to use a Kiosk, a man walked by holding up his phone and said, “Download the App. Then you don’t have to go to the Kiosk”. Trust me, I downloaded it immediately.
All our bags came in and we cleared security easily. I had about one hour to go into the Delta One Lounge again and work in my little “telephone booth”. Fortunately, I had a really nice “seat mate” on the flight. He’s a Christian Music Singer and has appeared on the Opry several times. I was able to log onto the free T-Mobile WiFi with no problem.
We landed Nashville on time and Lindsey picked me up. I thanked Chapel Hart profusely for their incredible performances at Gstaad and also for being such a pleasure to work with! Looking forward to going on the AFE Tour with them to Guam, Japan and Okinawa in November!
Home for 2 days then off to Minot AFB, Grand Forks AFB, and Cavalier Space Force Station in North Dakota on Wednesday. Matt Scannell from Vertical Horizon and Tom Cotter (comedian from America’s Got Talent) are performing there for the Gary Sinise Foundation. Going to be a great tour!
Jude