Geneva

We have seen much of the German speaking part of Switzerland, from the spectacular Alps to tranquil lakes, but today we ventured for the first time into the French speaking part of Switzerland: Geneva.  Our students are becoming quite the travelers, and I think a few will be happy not to have to sit on a train again for a while after this trip is over, but train travel is by far the most convenient mode of transportation for city to city travel.  It also offers an amazing perspective of the landscape here, and we again we treated to great views of the Jura mountains, Lake Biel, and Lake Geneva.

St. Pierre Cathedral

Flower clock

When we arrived in Geneva, we were greeted again with warm sunshine.  Our first views of the city were spectacular.  We had a couple of hours of free time, where students did some shopping and explored the streets of Geneva.  Geneva definitely has the French feel to it, a little bit more laid back, and has architecture that is quite different.  The city sits on the shores of Lake Geneva, and all of us were wishing we had a bit more time to spend in such a lovely city.  I took the opportunity to climb the St. Pierre Cathedral, which gives a good view of the city.

Students feeding the swans

Original Red Cross Building 

 After our free time, we boarded a bus and headed to the United Nations building.  Originally the home of the League of Nations, the current United Nations is situated atop of a hill that also offers spectacular views of the city below.   We had a guided tour of the facility, and explored meeting rooms both old and new.  We had a chance to see the humanitarian conference center, and also the Grand Assembly Hall.  It was a humbling notion to think that so many countries around the world come together at this place in the name of equal rights for all.  With the recent tragedy in Boston, it was a positive place to be, especially when seeing the decorated signs desplaing the articles from the Universal Declaration for Human Rights.  It made me think that there are so many wonderful people in the world striving for peace, and we cannot let a few ruin it for the rest of us.

We arrived back in Basel, and we have made slight change to our itinerary.  We were planning on heading to the Rhinefall, but due to service to the railways, we instead are going to head into Germany tomorrow to Freiburg.  It will give everyone a glimpse at a true German town.  Auf Wiedersehen until tomorrow!