Geneva, Montreux, Lausanne, and Beyond!

It's been a whirlwind of excellency these past few days.  Friday night, I hopped a plane to Geneva, Switzerland to meet David, Steve, and Mike at our hotel located off of Rue 31 Decembre.  It was a cozy, very dated and pretty centrally located hotel with a great breakfast in the morning. After dropping our luggage, we went in search of food and landed on the classic gruyere and mushroom fondue with incredible french bread for dipping. Later, we grabbed beers and watched some tv as we found out quite quickly nightlife in Geneva wasn't its strong point.    Saturday we got up relatively early and headed out for touring.  Geneva is a take on a French city. I thought someone pulled a prank on me and told me I was in Switzerland when actually I was in France. Surrounded by well dressed people, fancy cars, the french language, french cuisine--much more visible during the daytime when people were actually alive and out and about--and macaroons, I couldn't help but indulge in the all-around delicious culture. Macaroons (not the semi-gross coconut kind that one eats during passover, but these are pronounced with an 'oh' sound at the end and not ooo) at the La Duree shop located near the center of town was a give-in. Bitter Chocolate (which wasn't so bitter) is the best cookie I have ever had and nothing will ever compare. Ever.   I'm pretty sure this should be the next dessert fad America should catch on to, once my beloved cupcakes become unpopular Macaroons should fill that popularity void. Small, expensive, and superbly delicious.

Next stop was the United Nations building.  In front of the massive structure, there was an extremely large chair with a leg looking like it was blown off. This was to represent the landmines and how they can create such a dishonest and frightening culture in cities where landmines were/are planted.  I'm sure the three legged chair has other symbolism too.  There were flags lining the entry way from every country a part of the UN. The UN has several buildings attached to each other, each with a different purpose.  Unfortuntately, we forgot it was Saturday and that the place was closed for a tour.  Bummer.

Then, we headed over to the Red Cross museum, which was really interesting. The museum provided an in-depth look at the evolution of the Red Cross and what services it has provided over the years of its existence and relief to specific disasters both human-caused and natural.  The Red Cross logo is a reversed Swiss flag-- a great way for people to recognize that it was swiss founded and yet carry a known meaning of relief or aid.

Hungry, we headed to Poulet Pizzabox (shout out to Eliezah who gave us FANTASTIC suggestions for Geneva) for cheap pizza as everything else was extremely expensive.  After that it was on to the Patek Philippe Store and watch browsing since Switzerland is known for its watch craftsmanship.  The Patek Philipe store was incredibly intimidating. We had to ring a bell to be let into a first door. Then that door had to close completely and the doorman had to let us through another door into the store.  A bunch of young 20-somethings clearly were not there to buy anything so I am sure they were a bit hesitant at first, but then more people entered and we didnt feel as bad.  Mind you the watches we were looking at started at $10k and went up to well beyond a million dollars.  A million dollar watch seems quite crazy, I cannot even imagine what that must feel like to have something like that dangling around my wrist and its only function is to look pretty and tell time. College education and a nice house and many other combinations of things or a watch? you decide.

Thoreau writes--and I couldn't agree more--in his Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, "I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion"

We walked along the water front for a little and then into Old Town. There we went to St. Peter's church and climbed to the top to get an incredibly jaw dropping view of the city.  My friends and I hung out there for a while to absorb the mountains, Lake Geneva, and the city.  We made our way down and walked to a nearby park that many people use for recreational sports--anything from ping pong to roller hockey and ice skating. The park had several huge chess boards with giant pieces.  Many people were watching a few games going on between seasoned chess players. It got intense at various points with shouting and later laughing.  A great mixture of people from all walks of life enjoying a game of chess, some beer and wine, and a sunny (albeit cold) day in Geneva.

The next day, David and Mike left to head back to Amsterdam as they had been in Geneva a day earlier than me. Steve and I were all set to go paragliding (google it) in the Mont Blanc mountains in Chamonix,  when I called our tandem rider only to find out that the conditions weren't good.  We were left with an entirely empty-of-excitement day. Quick thinking and a sense of adventure led us to purchasing a train ticket to Montreux.  The only reason why I picked Montreux out of all the places on the map to go investigate was because of the many live concerts I had heard of my favorite (and some of the most famous) artists. Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Marvin Gaye to name a few, and the renowned yearly jazz festival that takes place there.  We hopped the next train to Montreux and did not regret it one bit. The train ride was one of my favorite things of the trip.  It was stunning. The train took us along the Swiss Riviera--along the coastline of Lake Geneva. We were surrounded by the Swiss alps the entire ride, the sun was shining and I zoned out into my own world the entire hour it took to get to Montreux.  Once we got there, we realized everything was closed--literally everything except for the tobac stores and a doner kebab place, no surprise--and that VERY few people were outside.  We started wandering, walking up many flights of stairs. Once we stopped, we realized we climbed a third of the way up a mountain.

"The swiftest traveller is (s)he that goes afoot"- HDT

 It was a beautiful hike and we got a genuine taste of swiss architecture, the crisp mountain air, and the gorgeous mountain ranges that were reflecting the different colors of the sun throughout the day.  I felt as though my friends and I were the only people who walked the streets we walked, an inspiring feeling for a few hours.  I tried finding music venues and jazz clubs, but again, everything was closed. After exploring a cool town, we got back on the train and headed to Lausanne--in between Geneva and Montreux. Once we turned the first corner in the city center, again we realized everything was closed and just went on a nice walk to get a feel for the town.  It got frustrating at the end when all we wanted was a nice cozy place to have a drink and we couldn't find anything open and that there were no beautiful mountains in site or nice homes to make up for the eery quiet-ness.


After getting back to Geneva, I decided it would be a wonderful idea for all of us to take a nap. It was a great decision that ended up taking us into this morning.  My friends and I purchased our last bars of swiss chocolate, hopped on the plane and as I sit here writing this reflecting on my Swiss journey, I can say that I really enjoyed my brief encounter with the awe of nature.  Switzerland reminded me to take a break from the hustle and bustle and realize the wonders of natural existences.  I can study the formation of mountains (and Dinosaurs and Other Failures) all I want in my one-credit science classes to fulfill the science reqs., but it means way more to see them, feel the fresh air they emit and recognize that the pollutants we are emitting every second of every day are causing the moments like I had in the Swiss mountains to become a cherished experience, a rare moment.  To take a deep breath of fresh air is going to become harder and harder--that's scary!

I also--perfectly timed-- finished Henry David Thoreau's Where I Lived, and What I Lived For a few weeks ago and had time to reflect on it over the course of the weekend.  It has become an important book in my life and the messages I will always carry with me  (I am also in the process of writing a much longer personal entry on the book).  Themes such as taking the time to enjoy the atmosphere you created or worked for and not be judged by the clothes you wear, but by the places you have been and experienced are quite relevant at this point (among pretty much the entirety of his book).
I will leave you all with one of the many fantastic quotes from Henry David Thoreau.

"Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prjudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe, through Paris and London, Through New York and Boston and Concord, through church and state, through poetry and philosophy and religion, till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality, and say, This is, and no mistake; and then begin, having a point d'appui, below freshet and frost and fire, a place where you might found a wall or a state, or set a lamp-post safely, or perhaps a gauge...a Realometer, that future ages might now how deep a freshet of shams and appearances had gathered from time to time. If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces...and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow....Be it life or death, we crave only reality"