Europe 2019 - Day 7

13 May 2019, Monday

Again had to wake up early, shower, pack the bags and head to the bus station to take the bus to Geneva where we will stop for about 4 hours before ending up in Lyon. I thought I would be able to get some sleep on the bus but sleep eluded me I know not why.

We reached Geneva at about 2 p.m. We found a tourist information centre where we were given a city map and some directions to see some interesting things nearby. I bought fridge magnets for Amma (I’m determined to buy at least one fridge magnet from each country that I visit) and then we walked to the train station where they had lockers to keep our bags while we walked around. 

Geneva is situated towards the south of Lake Geneva, where the River Rhône flows out. Because we were so close to the lake, it was terribly windy, strong cold wind so that I couldn’t even hold my map out properly. In the distance you could see the Alps and the Jura mountain range, with presumably Mont Blanc somewhere there.

First we went to see a flower clock although unfortunately this was not very impressive. Its colour is supposed to change with the seasons and at 2.5 metres, its second hand is supposed to be the longest in the world. However there were hardly any flowers there and the clock wasn’t even working. A clock not working in Switzerland! Imagine that. 

Then we headed to old town to Plaza de la Madeleine where we passed a building called Palais de Justice which I assumed was a court but apparently it was some sort of museum. We also passed a place called Maison Tavel which was once the oldest house in Geneva, built in the 12th century. It is now a museum and closed on Mondays so we didn’t go in (this is just an excuse, I never really did want to go in). We also passed the Madeleine church, an Anglican Church and the Basilica of Notre Dame, a Catholic Church.

Finally we went to see the Reformation Walls which is surrounded by a park called Bastions Park. The wall features four huge stone statues of the men that led Geneva to become known as the “Protestant Rome”. I saw the Lord’s Prayer on the wall, as well as a carving of Oliver Cromwell though I’m not sure how he fit in with the reformation in Geneva. 

By the way, Geneva is also home to CERN, the Palais des Nations (the European headquarters of the United Nations) and the Red Cross and the Red Crescent (there is a museum) but we didn’t go to all these places due to lack of time. 

Then we went back to collect our luggage, buy some stuff to eat and went to the bus station. Overall, I like Switzerland. The people are reasonably warm, helpful and friendly, and the scenery is simply gorgeous. 

Unfortunately the bus was more than an hour late. We reached Lyon at about 8.30 p.m. and took a tram to the hostel. A dorm! My friend got scolded by someone already sleeping because she made a loud noise with her locker. This is another thing I hate about dorms. Inevitably some monkeys will be asleep at all times and you have to be like a mouse moving around to get things. Not to mention the lack of space and this particular hostel was so dark and gloomy you could hardly see anything. 

But anyway, as usual it was a tiring day and I was soon fast asleep.