Stunning Switzerland (I) - GENEVA

24 March 2008

City of Refuge

We did a whirlwind tour of switzerland (5 cities in 2 days) hung out with the st gallen trio at their place, and even managed to visit the supermarket a few times, all in 2 days.

our route: geneva-bern-st gallen-lucerne-zurich-st gallen- zurich

i tell you, waking up early really does make a difference. the days seemed so much more productive. and we weren't exactly rushing. i'm a proponent of the school of early risers, but my stubborn body will not condone my conversion.

geneva was my favourite city in switzerland, though we barely spent a day there. i'm so grateful we didn't write it off like we had planned to in chamonix.

that was a long introduction. on to the real stuff.
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That day started real early, we woke up at 4+am to get from chamonix to geneva airport. sent the london crew off, and then we were left to explore the city, and the land of neutrality which i've learnt so much about in social studies. what we were unused to was being too early. we hung around in the airport until the ticket counter at the train station opened.

something really stupid happened. i was really needing the toilet but it cost a hefty 1/2 franc (about 80cents SGD maybe?) to open the cubicle door. that got me really annoyed. 1) i wasn't willing to spend so much to go to the loo; 2) [after i got really desperate and didn't mind paying that money] i realised that the smallest note i had was 200 franc, and all the shops weren't open yet. so, carol the genius decided to take a walk down onto the train tracks, to see if i could use the toilets on the train. after carefully identifying the train whose departure time gave me enough time to pee, i had to garner enough courage to press the button to make the door open, run to the toilet, get back out, and pretend nothing happened. but of course, i was too hum ji, noticing how quiet the entire place was and taking in all the weird stares that the station workers were giving me. finally, after pacing up and down for about 10 mins, i decided to act. alas! the toilet that i was aiming for was not working. so i got off hastily and decided to give up. thank God, when i went back up to the station level, the counter finally opened, and we finally managed to buy that elusive swiss youth pass. armed with a proper train ticket at last, i could load myself (and my full bladder) onto the train with a clear conscience, and use another working toilet. phew.

we then got to geneva city, deposited our bags in the lockers and tried to locate the tourist information office. THEN, david decided that he wanted to go to the toilet. this time, the toilet (McClean, they're called at the train stations) cost 1 franc. but david the genius decided that he would use a hotel toilet instead. so we found a 3 star hotel, he used the toilet while i pretended to ask for directions (actually i really needed to know). just as well, i found that that the tourist office was closed because it was a public holiday (easter monday) but he pointed us in the general direction of the main attractions.

these are some of the places we visited. it was still bright and early in the morning (8am?), plus it was a holiday, so the whole town looked really dead and quiet. we literally had geneva all to ourselves... until about 11ish, when we were joined by other late-riser tourists. hah!

the jet d'eau (iconic water fountain which shoots water up to 143m in height at 130km/hr) over the serene lake geneva, surrounded by the snowy white alps.


jardin anglais (english garden),
where some the national momument is (One -with the crenelated headgear- is the Republic of Geneva ; the other is Helvetia: Switzerland. They symbolise the attachment of Geneva to the Confederation on September 12, 1814.)


as well as the famous flower clock as a symbol of the world-renowned watch industry of geneva, with 6500 flowers, and a second hand which is the largest in the world, at 2.5m long. the pictures honestly do not do justice to its splendour, neither did the weather and persistent snow.

patek philippe museum, it was closed though. i really wanted to buy myself, and daddy, a watch in switzerland, but they were wayy out of my league. even swatch was slightly more expensive than in singapore.

Place du Molard. Geneva has sheltered successive waves of refugees over the centuries. They brought the leading technologies of their era - printing, watchmaking and textile manufacture. The international city, with 40% of its population from other lands remains open to people of different origins and cultures.


place du Bourg-de-Four, the old city centre, completely deserted at that point in time.


the historical and spiritual heart of the city - Saint Pierre Church

where we climbed up the steeples for a panoramic view of the city and a closer view of the giant bells in the bell tower.


it was in its HUGE compounds that we spent most of our time, learning about the evolution of the church over the centuries; as well as its significance in shaping the development of Geneva itself.

it was also the church where Jean Calvin, the great Protestant reformer, based himself, in directing the construction and organisation of this city as its primary spiritual and theological leader. Jean Calvin was French, but had fled to Geneva to flee prosecution in France after openly declaring his protestant ideas. He basically designed how the city would be governed with a constitution modelled after biblical models. Geneva was called 'the protestant rome'. Under that period, trade also flourished and Geneva grew from a small village to a prominet city.

International Museum of the Reformation. I absolutely loved that museum, it brought an important part of history to life, and showed the influence of the period right down to the lives of individual ordinary people. it literally tore europe into 2, and forced everyone to take sides and some to stake their lives for their beliefs. the exhibits were brilliantly arranged, with a room explaining the significance of the bible placed as the first, as the bible was the central tenet of the reformation; there was also a mock dining-table discussion where some key figures discussed their views on the doctrine of election, and it really brought to mind the current VPP battle, which seems to pale a lot in comparison; there were video clips, a room where you can just sit and listen to different types of church music- everything was very comprehensive. after coming out we immediately felt like going on a reformation trail around europe, despite the fact that it was the easter season.

the first edition of Calvin's 'Institutes of the Christian Religion', published in Latin in 1536.

a copy of the Geneva Bible - the first complete english translation of the Bible.

a cartoon (powerful tools used to spread the new ideology) portraying how the word of God tips the balance. can you recognise the reformers?

Treille Promenade, supposedly a romantic 16th century promenade flanked on one side by the world's longest wooden bench (120m). also home to Geneva's official Chestnut tree, whose first bud's blossoming marks the arrival of spring.


Place Neuve and Bastion's Park. we had some fun with the life-sized chess & checkers sets.

carol: it's amazing how there is not a single piece missing from any set
david: it shows that not many singaporeans know about this place yet...

and then we took a contemplative stroll along all 100 metres of the reformation wall, built against part of the city's old protective walls in commeration of the 400th anniversary of the birth of jean calvin.

At the centre of the wall, five meters high, are the four great figures of the movement: Guillaume Farel (1489-1565), one of the first to preach the Reformation in Geneva, Jean Calvin (1509-1564) the"pope" of the reformers, Théodore de Bèze (1513-1605), first rector of the Academy of Geneva and John Knox (1513-1572), founder of Presbyterianism in Scotland.
Behind these statues stands the motto of the Reformation and of Geneva: "Post Tenebras Lux" (After darkness, light.)

Other random shots:

awesome car which looked like it was still in use.

"i can imitate you..."

"but please do not get offended...!"
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and then we zipped off to bern, the sleepy capital city, also a UNESCO world heritage site.