Geneva
SWITZERLAND Diary : Day 8 - 12th April 2014
Geneva City lies at the western tip of the crescent shaped 'Lake Geneva', occupying the South-Western tip of Switzerland. It is the second largest in the country. The city is home to the United Nations and has a list of notable achievements. The World Wide Web (internet) was born here. The first ever Swiss Watch was made here. The city also prides in having the longest wooden bench in the world, found in its old town. The botanical garden here is 100 years old. Travel from the Airport to the City Centre is free. Geneva city also bears a special 'Chestnut tree' that notifies the arrival of spring, by sprouting fresh leaves just before the season begins. It has never failed in this forecast.
On the 8th day of our visit to this beautiful country, using our SWISS PASS, we boarded an early, direct train at Interlaken West, where we stayed, to reach Geneva by 9:30 am. The journey lasted 3 hours. Our visit toGeneva aimed at visiting the United Nations and get up close with its famous Water Jet. We had scheduled to visit the MORGES TULIP FESTIVAL, during the second half of the day. The train arrived at the Cornavin station on time. We walked from the station to Mont Blanc Quay( referred to as the QUAI DU Mont Blanc), one of the view points of the Jet D'Eau (Water Jet). Our fist views of the High and Mighty spurt of water didn't cease to impress. The Lake side seemed busy with people going about their daily routine. Lake Geneva rippled gently below the bridge on which we stood. The bridge extended itself on all 3 sides of the lake, creating perfect views from every corner. We walked along the bridge to get a view as close as possible. The history behind this water jet left us stupefied. The Water Jet was never meant to be one. In the early 19th century a hydraulic pumping station on the river was established. At the end of each day the huge machines were shut down, followed with opening of a certain valve to release the water pressure into the air. The pressure made the water jump up so high that the commoners would simply wait to watch the phenomenon. It soon became famous and soon was here to stay. Today, the applied pressure is said to displace 500 litres of water per second, spurting it to a height of nearly 140 metres. It is one amazing spectacle.
A short walk from the bridge took us to the "English Garden". The Garden hosts a large floral clock. Till 2005, it was recorded as the world's largest flower clock, after which Iran beat the record with its new launch in its capital city of Tehran. The clock is said to have a diameter of 16 feet. A lot of planning went into sowing a wide variety of flower seeds into the clock. As a result, around 6500 live flowers grow and bloom, at different times, giving the clock a new look each time with their varied colour combinations. We were in awe of the pretty sight created by the combination of yellow and purple. We lazed around in the garden. A short saunter around the place brought us in front of a tall memorial , wherein a seemingly royal couple, carved in black metal, stood in harmony next to each other.
The foot of the memorial was strewn with pretty flowers in combination of white and dark pink. This memorial signified the union of Geneva with Switzerland.
We spotted a red toy train at a distance and decided to take a tour of the city in it. A short walk led us there. Paying the driver for our tickets , we boarded the train. It soon tugged us along the city roads, with a few stops at important points. The grandeur of the city was all bundled up in this 45 minute road ride. The first stop was at the Quai Gustave Ador, the entrance point to get up close with the Jet D'Eau.
A wooden pathway led us to the closest proximity of this mighty fountain. It is something to be experienced. It was exhilarating to get sprayed & all wet, by the downward cascading gush of water. We felt dwarfed against its height. We spent nearly 10 minutes enjoying ourselves. We were soon called out for, by our driver, hinting us to get back. The rest of the tour was calm and composed, viewing the city from inside the toy train. We were wet for a while, before the bright sun ensured to get us dry. We returned to the Starting point at the scheduled time. We crossed the road and walked around, peeking into shops and admiring the surrounding buildings and architecture. We got on to a tram in a bid to reach the United National building.
We got on to a tram in a bid to reach the United National building. As a result of our confusing communication with one of the Non-English passengers on board, we had gotten into the wrong one. When another passenger helped us understand that, we got out in the next stop, only to board a wrong bus this time. Fate led us to a handsome & kind gentleman in the bus, with looks of TOM CRUISE, who drew out a short map on my palm with precise instructions on how to get to our destination. We followed him to the "T" and reached there in no time. Fate led us to a handsome & kind gentleman in the bus, with looks of TOM CRUISE, who drew out a short map on my palm with precise instructions on how to get to our destination. We followed him to the "T" and reached there in no time.
We spotted the off-white United Nations building at a distance. The flags of all member countries fluttered outside the mammoth, yet simple building. The iconic BROKEN CHAIR w A large ground in front of the building , with lot of seating in the form of long benches, brought relief to us. The iconic BROKEN CHAIR was installed at the beginning of this ground , separated by a street, opposite to the UN BUILDING. We perched on a bench and relished our home-cooked lunch. The children ran around in circles , as a part of their game, after lunch. We slowly walked towards the Broken chair. The 39 feet tall, wooden chair, with one broken leg, was built originally to symbolise the victims of armed violence, charter bombing and land mines. It aims to remind the member states to help protect such victims.
Bidding goodbye to the city, we boarded a bus from the Appia stop to get to the Cornavin station. A direct train from here reached us to the town of "Morges Gare" railway station. Known for its wine, the town, lies on lake Geneva and is situated at a train distance of 30 minutes from Geneva. We were in the town to witness the TULIP FESTIVAL. A pleasant stroll along the promanade, brought back some bounce in us. We came across a town fair and stopped by to entertain the children in the group. A fun ride and some cotton candy did the trick. The CHATEAU DE MORGES (the Morges castle), which hosted the said festival, was at a walkable 10 minute distance from the railway station. The festival was held in the Castle's royal gardens. The entrance to the Tulip festival was free.
The colourful flowers welcomed us. We reminisced our " tete-a-tete" with tulips in Kashmir, the previous year, around the same time. In contrast to the earlier "tulip farm" experience, this was in a well laid out "Garden" format. Varieties of tulips blossomed at every corner. Tourists flocked the extensive park to witness the perfect blooms. We spent about an hour moving from one arrangement to another, in the "photo-mania" mode. We didn't get to visit the interiors of this 13th century castle which is said to house 5 museums inside.
It was time to get back to Interlaken. Right outside the castle, near the quayside, we could see a new boat being painted. We walked back to the Morges railway station, boarded a train to reach Bern. Another train from Bern got us to Interlaken West. This was end of day 8 in Switzerland.