Geneva, Switzerland

Melissa’s older cousin, Mirna and her husband, Jeroen, just moved to Geneva from Holland in November. They invited us to come visit them and stay for the weekend. So with a whole 36 hours back in St. Étienne, we were off (that’s about all we can handle of the hole in which we reside).

We arrived by train – and yes, we brought snacks : cookies, snickers bars, OJ, and vitamins. We had a complex philosophic conversation with a guy that was wearing way too much Burberry plaid and then were creeped out sufficiently when the guy behind us asked if we had understood what the random had said. Yep, thanks. *giggle*

They were both waiting when we made it through customs. We introduced ourselves and made our way to the bus stop. They are still new to the city, but have the main things under control – such as bus routes. We sat and had drinks and just talked upon arriving, before calling it a night.

Friday morning, we had breakfast on the balcony, in the sunshine, just loving life. Mirna, Melissa and I headed out to explore the city. We started in the old downtown. The st. Pierre’s cathedral where Jean Calvin preached is right there. Walking through the door, it was a strange feeling. It was a cathedral; it was huge, made of stone, stained glass everywhere, but at the same time it was very Protestant. There were no statues, solid Dutch pews and a board with the hymn numbers posted. We decided to climb up the tower. It was an amazing view of the city – which is right on the end of Lake Geneva. It was beautiful – especially with the French Alps in the background. We continued wandering around town, stopping for lunch at a nice soup and panini place. We had only two shopping goals that afternoon – the post office for stamps and a Swiss Army Knife. Grandpa, I hate to admit it, but mine is definitely a newer model than yours, we’ll have to compare in the fall.

The main park in the center of the city is on the edge of a mini cliff. In the side is carved four men – one of whom is Calvin – and the Lord’s Prayer in different languages. The sunshine was absolutely beautiful. At the time, there was an ad campaign going on about how trees help purify the air. Over the trees they had placed a net and a sign that said “this is a lung”. It was an interesting concept. We continued walking, reaching the lake and walking along the shore side path. We saw the old United Nations buildings. And then took a bus boat across the lake to walk back in the other direction. We went out onto the pier that reaches out to the Jet d’eau – a huge fountain that shoots water up 140m and at any given moment there is 7 tonnes of water in the air! It was super cool, but very disorienting when you looked straight up at it.

That night, Mirna cooked us dinner – Dutch macaroni – the one with hamburg. It was so good. As hamburger is really expensive in St. Étienne, we rarely buy it, only once when we arrived and once for my birthday, so that automatically added extreme deliciousness. After we tidied up, and settled in for a movie, the evening’s selection – Blood Diamond. What a film! What a life! I can’t believe what some people do for money, but at the same time, it’s not that surprising at all. The strongest emotion that came over me was shame, shame for what as humans we are capable of doing to each other. It was horrifying.

Saturday morning, with Jeroen off from work, we all headed to Mont Salève. It was the mountain that was just over the boarder back into France. There was a cable car that would bring you to the top where there was a pavilion and extensive hiking paths. When we got to the top, there was a whole bunch of signs/posters filled with information on the history of the mountain. It used to be a Sunday afternoon activity to climb to the top and walk around, but it required donkeys and picnic baskets. There was a train station built along the top somewhere. It was interesting. The view was amazing. You could see out over the entire lake and the city of Geneva and the mountains that surrounded it. There was also snow on the top of the mount. My shoes got wet because of it. We were going to go for a walk around, but there was so much snow and on the road people were driving crazily. So we didn’t risk it.

We headed instead to Nyon, a city near by. It was a quaint little place located right on the shores of the lake. There was a castle built on the hill and there was a booming tourism business. We had lunch at a nice little spot, walked along the water there. The trees were already blooming and there were tulips in the gardens. Spring is definitely on the way. On the way back to Geneva, we passed by some farms where they were starting to work the land and then there was a……John Deere dealership!!! It was sweet! I wasn’t fast enough to get a photo though.

The evening proceeded like the night before, with the small distinction that it was “girl night” as the film we watched was The Queen. It was a really interesting and even more relevant as we had just gotten back from London, and visiting Buckingham Palace. It was good.

Sunday morning, Melissa and I woke early and attended church at St. Pierre’s Cathedral. It felt good to be in a solid, organ playing protestant church. After the service, we sat outside in the sunshine, talking with some guys we had just met that were also exploring the city. They had been to the auto show – the biggest one in the world that had finished the day before. We headed back to Mirna and Jeroen’s. They were enjoying coffee on the sun-filled balcony. The afternoon and evening was filled with peaceful relaxation.

Monday morning we were up early to get out of their hair. Jeroen was at work and Mirna had an appointment so we three left at the same time. Melissa and I headed down to the water front. We sat and just absorbed the rising sun reflecting off the water. It was beautiful. Our train didn’t leave for a while, so we had time to kill. We found a Starbucks. I love Starbucks. Having a large mug of coffee is not something I’ll take for granted again. It was sooo good. We then headed to the train station and made it back to St. Étienne in time to do some laundry after picking up some produce. It was a great weekend!