I left a little early from my last class on Thursday to catch my 1700 EasyJet flight from Madrid to Geneva. I landed about 1900 and then took a train from the airport to the central train station. From there I walked through the Swiss rain shower to my hostel: Geneva City Hostel (highly recommend it). I was in a dorm with a girl who had been studying in Australia for a year but was now making her way back to the states (via an around-the-world plane ticket) to the states. We talked for a little bit and then I headed off to get dinner at a little Creperie about 2 minutes from where my hostel was. The waiter spoke a little English and it was funny as I struggled to understand and he struggled to explain what the different add-ins were for the Crepes (my Spanish wasn't helping me decipher the French menu very much). He ended up bringing out some of the options to show me so i could smell or visually see what they were. He seemed to find it entertaining. He served my caramel crepe to me in a very theatrical fashion and with a wave of his hand, my plate was even garnished with a little heart of coco powder (see the pic below).
I did a little wandering around Geneva, not too far from my hostel though. Ended up back at the train station for a late night snack and then back to my hostel to sleep. A nontraditional way to spend thanksgiving, but still very fun!
Friday I left the hostel around 8am to go explore leaving my bag in a storage locker in my hostel. It was raining and I hopped a tram to go check out the United Nations building. I didn't go inside but it was very cool just to see the outside and think about what I want to do with my future and with my passion for Europe. There was also a really cool modern art piece outside (see the chair below).
I also went and had a look inside the UNHCR (UN Center for Refugees). When I got inside the lady told me that there was some sort of conference going on until noon with diplomats about refugees and would I want to participate. When I gave a look of grave intimidation she offered that perhaps I wold just like to stay for the film instead? I did. It was very interesting and informative, and I don't think I am well enough educated on how big a problem refugees are, meaning that there are far more instances of injustice that create refugees then I though. When the film ended I left (after taking some free information pamphlets) because I felt a little out of place by my age and by the fact I was the only one there not in a business suit. :)
Next I headed to the lake side and to see "Rousseau Island" (see pictures). It is very picturesque and the water was so clear! I also went to see St. Peter's Cathedral and the Rousseau Museum. The latter was really cool for me since I had studied him in depth in both AP European History class and last year in a year long Western-Philosophy course I took at home. It had a very good multi-media audio tour as well. Next I headed off to the Reformation Museum which had a good audio guide too, artifacts, old Bibles, and lots of information placards. Much of the museum focused on John Calvin as he began Calvinism in Geneva. I went and saw the "Reformation Wall", a monument near the museum.
At the end of all this it was around 1600. I went to the train station to buy my ticket for a 1820 train I was planning to take to Lyon, France. I normally buy all these types of things in advance, just to be safe. However, the website to buy such a ticket was not letting me purchase it online, when i tried a month back I was too early to buy it, when I tried the week of I was apparently too late (within 5 days) to purchase a ticket online, so I had no other option but to buy it in Geneva. But, I was foolish, because I should have attended to this first thing when I got to Geneva since there have been transportation strikes in France. Two different ticket places told me there were no trains or buses leaving for Lyon until Sat morning. I felt really bad because I had a friend in Lyon who was expecting me, but I called him and he said not to worry. Still felt bad for messing up our plans though...but such are the joys of traveling.
The funny thing is this "crisis" of sorts made me feel more confident in myself as I calmly purchased my Sat am ticket and successfully found another hostel to stay the night in. It is a nice feeling to know you can handle your own problems without others solving them for you...so the delay was a blessing in disguise. Plus, I have come to see that the things that go wrong in your travels are actually the tings you remember most later...it gives character and spontaneity...a little spice to your experiences so they aren't so predictable.
HIGHLIGHT OF GENEVA: Walking the streets of a city famous for the Reformation and home of a philosopher I have studied in some depth (Rousseau). Also, seeing the beginnings of Christmas coming to Europe (see pics)
1. My Thanksgiving Crepe:
2. Scenes near the lake side (Lac de Geneve ou Le Leman):
3. Rousseau Island
4. Statue commemorating when Geneva joined the rest of Switzerland:
5. UN Building
6. Chair Modern Art Piece outside the UN building:
7. Monument outside the UN Center for Refugees:
8. St. Peter's Cathedral
9. Monument Outside the Reformation Museum:
10. Reformation Wall
11. Rousseau Museum
12. Beginnings of Christmas!
13.Basilique Notre-Dame
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