Blown Away in Geneva

And I mean that literally. From the time we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, May 13, until just before we left on Thursday, May 16, the wind howled  across the city from the NE at 20-30 MPH (35-50 KPH), with considerably higher gusts. The "bise" made for some interesting walks.

Lon is truly windblown along the lake.

 The windchill was probably

 close to freezing at the time.

Flags were flying straight out and the water was rough in the Rhone
 River. But at least the sun was out and the sky was
 brilliantly blue and clear.

The wind necessitated some changes of plan on our part as far as sightseeing activities. See the Jet d'eau--a major symbol of Geneva-- in Lake Geneva? Nope--the fountain gets turned off in high winds. Use the "get 4 free hours of rental bike" deal to travel further afield along the lakeshore? Don't think so--not that crazy. Boat trip on the lake? Didn't look like the best idea. So we adjusted our expectations and still had a wonderful time. 

Geneva lies at the far southwestern tip of Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), which is one of the largest lakes in western Europe. It's a relatively small city of approximately 200,000 people, but has quite an international influence. Geneva contains the European headquarters of the United Nations. It is the headquarters of the International Red Cross, which is only appropriate given that the Red Cross was founded in Geneva in 1863. During the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Geneva was the center of Calvinism. And of course, there are lots of watchmakers and lots of banks.

We spent midday of our first full day on a 2-hour guided walking tour of Old Town and a few other "significant" spots close by. The buildings provided a sufficient wind block to make it a comfortable outing.

Opportunities for chess and checkers in the Parc des Bastions

The Marronnier de la Treille, said to be the
world's longest bench. 120 meters long and originally
built in 1767.

L'horloge fleurie, or flower clock, undergoing seasonal
maintenance and planting 

Reformation Wall, an homage to individuals significant to
the Protestant Reformation--most prominently featuring
Calvinists. Martin Luther has a mention apart from the main wall,
but was considered too "catholic" by John Calvin.

Have tower, will climb. That has been our motto through our years of travel and Geneva was no exception. St. Pierre Cathedral, in Old Town, was built as a Roman Catholic cathedral in the 12th century. During the time of the Reformation in 1535, the cathedral became a place of Reformed Protestant worship and John Calvin's "home church". Under the austere form of Christianity that was Calvinism, the interior of the church lost its altars, statues, paintings and just about anything decorative.

A side view of the exterior of St. Pierre Cathedral.
5 francs and 157 steps up provided stunning
views of Geneva

View over Old Town from the North Tower

View over Old Town and Lake Geneva

And yet another perspective on Geneva

In the afternoon we visited the Patek Philippe Museum--everything you ever wanted to know about watches but were afraid to ask. I love watches--interesting watches--but there was so much there that we went into mental overload after about an hour and had to leave.

It was still windy on Wednesday, so we strolled up to the neighborhood that houses the United Nations just to say we were there. Forty-five minutes to go through security for an inside tour held no appeal, so we settled for the exterior view.

The front of the UN headquarters in Europe

The "Broken Chair" sculpture, designed and built as a statement
against the damage caused by land mines

Mont Blanc is somewhere there in the white on the horizon.
Geneva is not as close to high alpine peaks as other Swiss cities.

As our final activity of the day we decided that we would do Movie Night!!!!!  Weekly movies on Tuesday are part of our life in St. Petersburg, often with friends Jon & Renea (and snowbirds Ken & Brenda when they're in town), and it's something we're missing. OK, so this was Wednesday, not Tuesday, and the price per ticket was around $20, not $5 (ouch!), but it was fun to be back in a movie theater.

Got to see the English language version
of the movie. We just had to overlook the
French and German subtitles.

 We are now back in France and picking up where we left off with boat preparation.