Only 30 minutes drive from Annecy later we arrived in Switzerland and the town of Geneva. Being home to many banks and international organizations, everybody seems to be able to speak at least four languages and you mostly hear English on the streets.
Graced with more sunny days we enjoyed walking along the beautiful lake and taking the water taxi across, admiring the huge water fountain.
Despite the blue sky the temperature was quite chilly, which however didn’t prevent the weather-beaten locals to go for a swim during their lunch break.
Being Yang Ke’s first steps in Switzerland we started with a thorough exploration of the local food specialties. The Swiss department store Manor is a great place for such, with an amazing floor full of delicatessen.
Swiss food is a lot about cheese and after six years without decent cheese fondue, I was very looking forward to a proper Swiss fondue. I wasn’t disappointed! 🙂
Historically Geneva is less impressive than many of its counterparts, but it scores when it comes to museums and shopping. We went for a guided tour at the United Nations office, which was really interesting. It is offered in English and French and you get to see many areas of the big headquarter and learn about it’s activities and history.
Just opposite of the UN is the headquarter of the Red Cross, including it’s own comprehensive museum.
Initially we didn’t plan to go there but were keen to see a temporary exhibition on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The exhibition had a small but excellent collection on Gandhi and several inspiring art pieces related to his philosophy on non-violent resistance.
