Our September holiday in Geneva, Switzerland
This month our holiday was to Geneva, Switzerland. It was a nice four day, three night holiday. The flight is under an hour and a half, barely enough time to pull out the portable DVD player for Sophie. We decided to take the express train to/from the Gatwick airport this time, something we haven't done before, usually we take a car service. But after a nightmare car ride from the airport this summer which left all of us sick and Sophie literally vomiting all over everyone and everything in the car, we thought the train might be a better idea and we were right! (providing you pack lightly enough and it doesn't rain too hard on the walk to the tube...).
Geneva was a small city with not a lot of major sights, but it was nice. Lake Geneva is absolutely gorgeous, so clear and clean. It is also really expensive! We ate at McDonald's one night and the conversion in USD was $30 for two value meals and a happy meal! They use the Swiss Franc for currency. The primary language in Geneva is French. Some people speak English, thankfully for us since our French is not great. In other areas of the country German is the main language.
The first day in the city we mostly walked around and shopped a bit. We walked by the Jet d'Eau, Europe's tallest fountain, and the emblem of Geneva. It sends a plume of water shooting 460 feet in the air--quite a sight. Since we are without garden at our flat, we love to spend time in green space and enjoyed the Jardin Anglais (English Garden) located right on the harbour. The flower clock is a main sight, although it was past peak. A leisurely day...
Our second day was much more ambitious. We rented a car (our first car rental in Europe!) and drove around Lake Geneva. This was fantastic! One of the best things we have done lately! This is considered Western Switzerland area which is filled with rolling hills, atmospheric medieval towns, small villages and beautiful ancient churches (amazingly on this trip we didn't visit one church). We loved it all! We stopped at several small villages along the way, including Nyon, Lausanne, and Montreaux. We ventured up into the hills of Vevey, where rows of grape vines line the hills. The views were unbelievable over the Lake with the mountains on the other side--just stunning!
The highlight of the day though was our visit the Chateau de Chillon. It was an enchanting medieval castle set on a rocky hill on Lake Geneva. It is one of Switzerland's most evocative sights. It dates back from the 11th century. It was beautiful and a great visit! Sophie loved looking out all the windows in each room over the water.
On the way around the Lake we drove back on the French side. We made sure to bring our passports with us and I was a little nervous about what to expect at the border. We just got waved through by the French border control, they didn't even stop us! I couldn't believe it was that loose. It was even loosier on the Switzerland border going back in--no one as at that border! Interesting...Jeremy did a fantastic job of driving and he only got honked at once and it was because we were going quite slow and enjoying the views. The signs and round-a-bouts were manageable. Now we are ready to try it in England, the only difference is driving on the opposite side of the street from what we are used too...(we hope to rent a car in November, of course I will keep the blog updated with this!)
The third day in Geneva we window shopped in the morning. Everything is closed on Sundays, even grocery stores, except a few tourist shops and some restaurants and the Musees d'art et e'historie Geneve. Usually Sophie can be entertained for a good hour and a half in a museum, but apparently not on this day. After 45 minutes she was done. We did get to see the paintings, which is what we are most interested in anyway. Jeremy and I really like Impressionism pieces and enjoyed these the most. We have been to so many museums lately that we were not all that sad that we missed the silverware, pewterware, or musical instruments displays.
In the afternoon we took a tram to the United Nations which I understood was open, it was not. Since we were in the area we then ventured to the Red Cross Museum, which I understood was free, it was not and frankly spending $20 to see this museum was less than desirable to us at that point. So with Sophie napping comfortable in her buggy all nice and dry, we got down poured on while walking back to the tram and headed back into the city for a relaxing evening at the hotel.
The fourth and final day was spent shopping for some gifts for family and friends. Switzerland is known for its watches, clocks, music boxes, chocolates. Of course we had to try the chocolates. We did buy Sophie a beautiful Reuge music box as a keepsake from Switzerland. She charmed the owners of the shop with her French and they gave her a little travel music box that she played nonstop all the way to our flat!
Switzerland is a gorgeous country with lots of diversity in the landscape. We had a nice low key trip. Anytime I am not cooking and cleaning, I am happy! Onto Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic for a 10 day holiday in October...
posted by Chris @ 4:23 PM
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