Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
By Jennie Delreeve, Peak of Wellbeing
We recently delivered one of our retreats in the Jura, and one of the topics that captured the imagination of the participants was “Worthiness”. So I decided that I would share my ideas on this throught-provoking topic here!
There's a general belief on the planet by extremely well-meaning parents that we should 'socialize' our children, help them to fit in, so others will like them. Unfortunately this idea in our opinion, can often create problems later in adulthood.
The idea that 'it's my job to please others so I'll be liked and accepted,' is flawed and can lead to a great deal of inner conflict and loss of self. The more we do to please others, molding our actions, beliefs and personality, the further away we get from who we really are. The result is that we end up feeling inauthentic, like a fraud, anxious a great deal of the time and never quite getting the approval we're seeking. It's an old cliche, but the only place we can ever truly achieve great self-esteem is within ourselves.
If someone criticizes us, it's never really about us, but their perception of us. We can't control or change others or make people like us, but we can like ourselves. The irony is that when we learn how to do this, others tend to like us too! When we're constantly on the search for approval from others as I was, we come across as needy and insecure and usually don't get the reaction we are seeking, no matter how good we are at masking ourselves as confident and independent.
By Rachel Beacher, Journalist
For short haul travel, sometimes the queues at Geneva airport can be longer than your flight. From December, a new airline will offer alternative routes for people travelling between Swiss Romandy and the UK, and a few other European destinations.
Powdair will operate out of the tiny, picturesque airport in Sion, Valais from 11 December. It will run flights between Sion and eight UK, Belgian and Swiss destinations - London City, London Luton, London Southend, Southampton, Bristol, Manchester, Antwerp and Zürich.
It represents a viable alternative for families from the Geneva area who will have already decamped to the mountains, or who have friends and family visiting over the winter and don't want their visitors to waste too much precious skiing time on travelling. The airline's efficiency has yet to be proven, but it is hard to imagine that the queues could be anything like as long as at Geneva because the footfall at Sion airport will be so much smaller.
Powdair's prices are more expensive than most budget airlines – starting at CHF 176 for one way – but they are all-inclusive which means you can bring a suitcase, transport your skis, snowboards or golf clubs, and enjoy an in-flight drink and snack without paying any extra. Transfers to resorts will also be bookable on the website.
The company is billing itself as a 'mountain sports airline'. It will run all year round and is targeted not just at people coming to ski in the region, but also summer tourists, residents and businesspeople.
Legoland Windsor Resort Fireworks
By Rachel Beacher, Journalist
Back in the days before the British government was intent on destroying itself, Guy Fawkes was infamous for his foiled attempt to blow up the House of Lords.
The thwarting of this 17th century terrorist plot is remembered every year in the UK with public fireworks displays across the country.
These days the celebrations span several weeks up to 5 November, with some of the best Bonfire Night shows at amusement parks, where you can stay in on-site hotels if you choose to travel for the weekend. Here is a selection of this year's events, most of which are just a short flight away in the UK.
Legoland, Windsor, Berkshire
27 and 28 October
Ninjago-themed displays, where you can use 3D glasses to watch the fireworks explode into thousands of tiny Lego bricks. The shows mark the opening of Lego Ninjago World and coincide with a Brick or Treat Halloween festival, which runs until 30 October. Under-threes go free. The park has two hotels that look like they've been built out of giant Lego bricks.
Nearest airport: Heathrow
By Tara Lissner, Swiss Gardening School
This perfect light, golden tones all around and cooler temperatures gently ease us into this new season of Autumn. The summer bedding is fading but trying to hang on continuing to perform in the sunshine, the summer veggie plot is almost at an end with the soft herbs going to seed and the green tomatoes fooling us into thinking that they may ripen on the vine (they will not), the lawn is showing signs of worm casings and a scattering of colourful leaves greets us ever morning – a time of change.
It has to be said that this summer was really fantastic, long days of warm sunshine, almost enough rain to keep the lawn green and that perfect blue sky. A hot summer like this reminds me to take a closer look at my garden. It brings to the forefront the areas I will need to concentrate on when the guests have departed and the rosé is finished. And so the list begins; add even more mulch to keep greater moisture in the beds, explore even more fully hardy but drought resistant perennials to reduce watering, reconsider the choice of planting for the vegetable plot when a holiday is planned – goodness I’m beginning to see a pattern, all of these issues revolve around water, the lack of rain and the need to irrigate. This may have something perhaps everything to do with the fact that I have a south facing garden on a hill with clay soil. Oh the work!
By Sunita Sehmi, Walk The Talk
The Hotel Valrose in Rougemont, Switzerland is a delightful property, located a few minutes from the ski slopes in Switzerland's Lake Geneva region. It was constructed in 1904 to coincide with the opening of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railway in the Pays-d'Enhaut district. The hotel is being managed by Florian Carrard, a former chef at the Lausanne Palace. This venture was the idea of Jean-Jacques Gauer, a former director of the Lausanne Palace, and Edgar Bovier, executive chef at the Palace. I was very fortunate to spend a weekend there and interview one of the investors, John Grohe, a business man with a soul and a deep desire to connect communities. I hope you enjoy his interview as much as I did.
What was the idea behind revamping, redesigning and rejuvenating the Valrose and how did the project become a reality?
My brother and I have always had a deep connection to Rougemont, as our father has been living here for many years, and thus spent a lot of time here with our own families. For all the residents, and us, seeing this establishment closed was a real shame. The discussion to define the project began in 2013, with our friend Edgard Bovier (Chef at the Lausanne Palace, and Rougemont resident) and Jean-Jaques Gauer (former Director of the Lausanne Palace), and later on a couple more partners. It did not take much time for us to be convinced and motivated to rehabilitate the Valrose – as the land was acquired in 2014. We are all lovers of the village and of good food, so it was important for us to create something reflecting that.
