Geneva

Snapshot
Where - Geneva, Switzerland
Weather - mostly fine

Our first day i Switzerland was spent in centre of the United Nations, Geneva. We parked the car on the outer suburbs of Geneva and caught a train in. We were fortunate to find someone at the bus stop who could speak English and was able to show us how to purchase bus tickets from the machine. Seemingly simple tasks become quite difficult when you cannot read / speak the language. Then an elderly gentleman spoke to us (in either French or German) but immediately switched to English. I think he was a bit lonely and just wanted someone to talk to. He let us know that 80% of people who live in Geneva are foreigners, not Swiss.

So what is Geneva like? Much the same as many cities. Quite attractive as it has a large lake and is surrounded by mountains. There is a large water jet and there is also a floral clock which apparently has the largest second hand in the world. Of course there are larger clocks, they just don't have a second hand. Geneva is mainly known for being the seat of many organisations such as the United Nations, World Health Organisation, Red Cross and UNICEF (and probably others). We did a couple of bus tours and saw the main highlights.

We shall spend almost a week in Switzerland, mainly around the Swiss Alps.Read more