My first destination was incredible! Even as I just stepped off the train into the train station, I was already impressed. The first thought that came to my (nerdy) mind was that the train station had to have been designed my Mac engineers. Everything was intuitively placed and easy to find. Everyone was busy doing something, but people weren't stressed and crowded. One could quite easily navigate through the halls with all their luggage without tripping over masses of people, and line ups were not more than a couple people long, anywhere! The area was bright and really a pleasant place to be. Then I talked to the people there. They spoke beautiful, real French, not the choppy Quebec stuff. And everyone was very pleasant and friendly. Not the fake pleasant you see in Wal-Mart, or me serving at the restaurant, but people who are genuinely pretty happy with everything. I really didn't sleep the night before I left, so by the time I got to the hostel, I crashed, for the rest of the night.
The next day it was a bit rainy, but I really don't mind the rain so I went to check things out. I started walking around the lake, looking at the gardens and the swans. It seems like grass does better in this country.
I was near a major road close to the lake, and it is well used, but there is no bumper to bumper traffic at any point during the day. Pedestrians can cross streets easily as well. Nothing downtown is too busy, but everything is well used. Like I said, those city engineers really designed efficiently for the exact population! I was so mesmerized by the tranquility and the relaxed atmosphere of the city and the beauty of the parks and gardens, that I walked right out of Geneva! There are many activities along the lake, so I was redirected by an employee. Unfortunately, I spoke Quebecois without realizing it, and it was a few moments before I could properly explain myself to the poor guy. The French do not understand Quebecois. I checked myself and switched to Parisian French soon afterwards.
I wandered away from the lake, up to the old city.
It was very nice, a typical old city, like the one in Montreal but less commercial. I checked out the St. Pierre Cathedral and it wasn't as impressive as the one in Barcelona.
There was also a museum
and some historic mosaic art and canons nearby.
The old city seemed better for restaurants and tourists than shopping and culture. It wasn't very busy, but it WAS quite rainy while I was there. There were some nice views from the old city of Geneva because it was on elevated land, but my visibility was limited because of the rain, so no photos. It was a nice area, kind of an instant escape from the metropolis below. Up on the old streets, you can't really hear the cars or the other busy city sounds.
I wandered down the hill and checked out some important buildings. My first stop was the University.
This campus was pretty small, at least compared to what I'm used to! It had a library right beside it in a building almost as big as the university. It is in a gorgeous area though, right on Promenade des Bastions.
Like any university, it's in a central area in the city, but as soon as you step on the property, it's like you're in a bubble with a whole different atmosphere. Right across from the university is the Wall of Reformation.
Just off campus, right across the street are the Geneva Music Conservatory
and the Grand Theatre.
I ventured back down to the lake on my way back. On the way, I wandered through the shopping strip. It is similar to Yorkville, but with many more watch stores! This part of Geneva is quite commercial and geared towards the tourists. Though again, it has the same feel as the rest of Geneva I had visited in that it's active, but not too busy. All of the locals were wearing sharp suits and chatting on cell phones. Continuing down to the lake, I came across the "well-known" Flower Clock.
I came across another park I had managed to miss my first time through, and saw this lovely fountain.
Overall, Geneva wasn't a big as I thought it would be. The population is only 182,560 and it's the third largest city in Switzerland! It seemed to have everything crammed in, but yet it didn't feel crammed. I think the suburbs are very popular there. The population of Geneva and Canton (the region, like the province or state) is 427,705 more than twice the population of the city, and Geneva is the only major city in the canton. I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I didn't decide to stay there instead of Barcelona for a few months, because that is a city I don't think I would ever want to leave. I really hope to get back there someday and stay for a longer period of time.
Later that evening, I met other hostel residents in the common room. They made homemade Indian food. I stuffed myself with authentic swiss cheese before I met them, so I didn't get to enjoy the Indian food with them, but I sat with them and enjoyed some really tasty and surprisingly, somewhat sweet, French beer, 1664. A couple of guys from Holland are scholars in physics, so naturally my nerd came out and I talked to them for a while about particle accelerators, their use, anti-matter, black holes and Stephen Hawking. A few hours later, the dozen or so people I met and I all went to a pub. We shared a 5 liter cylinder of beer, then half of us went back to the hostel and the other half went to experience more night life. Interestingly enough, all but one girl I met this night were traveling alone too! Overall I never wanted to leave.
No comments:
Post a Comment