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Geneva, Switzerland The word "Switzerland" is associated for me with three Cs: chocolate, cheese and clocks. My introduction to Switzerland begins even before I board the Swiss Air plane. At the boarding gates, we are offered Lindorf chocolates. Not bad! (Later I find out that according to statistics an average Swiss person eats 714 kilos of chocolate during their life. Imagine that!) And they feed us on the plane! Nowadays, that's almost surprising. And in the "morning" they hand out hot moist towels. I feel like I've been transported some ten years back in time. Swiss Air is pretty luxurious. I want to fly only with them. Like that old Jew from the joke, who didn't like it in either location, but liked the food on the plane. Yeah, I definitely like the food on the plane this time. I am seated next to a middle-aged emigre from Cuba. He was a professor of math at Berkeley, but then he took an early retirement and now he works with some non-profit organization that helps poor and sick people back in Cuba. They send medical supplies, drugs etc to Cuba. Recent US laws, he tells me, prohibit such charitable donations being sent over and also limit the contact that Cuban emigres can have with their families who still live on the island. It's supposed to make the Cubans mad with Castro; instead it makes them mad with the US government. Families lose contact. It's all very familiar to me. I talk to him for a long time. Turns out that he goes to Geneva to make a presentation/speech at the UN (or is it the UNESCO? or some other such organization?) in hopes to improve the situation. I hope his trip makes a difference.
After a long sleepless night we land in Geneva. The airport is small and really cozy. The officer at the passport control (I go through "other passports" window), who is probably used to all kinds of foreigners by now, smiles when I greet him in French. Yes, people here (unlike in Montreal) are happy when you speak French, even if it's not very fluent and you make funny mistakes. Morning Geneva looks and smells freshly washed after the night rain. Everything is green and in bloom. After late, brownish-greyish snow back in America, this spring look of Geneva is really exciting. I want to go for a walk, even though I am really tired. I leave my things at the hotel and go for what I plan to be a short walk. It turned out to be so enjoyable that I walked all day long. The first interesting thing I see is the Geneva Synagogue. I must be a real Jew after all if my feet bring me here! It is nice that I saw a picture of the synagogue on the internet before the trip, otherwise I'd have a difficult time figuring out that it was one. The building looks very much like a combination of a mosque and a church. There are a lot of Moorish architectural elements. The only thing recognizably Jewish about it are the Star-of-David-shaped windows on top. The most important tourist attraction in Geneva -- definitely not to be missed on the shortest of trips! -- is the Fountain. There are many fountains in Geneva, but this one is really special: it's the tallest fountain in the world! The first time I saw it -- it was still pretty cloudy that day -- it looked higher than the clouds! And sometimes there is a rainbow around it. No wonder it grew to be the symbol of Geneva. Since 18 July 1891, 500 liters of water are taken from the Lake Geneva and propelled to 140 meters at a speed of 200 km per hour (124 miles/hour). By the way, it is possible to walk under the fountain although I didn't find time to do that. I can still do it next time. My first day in Geneva turned out to be the Easter Monday, a national holiday. The town seems deserted and looks a bit like Yom Kippur in Israel: shops are closed, and there is barely any cars on the streets. Which is a good thing, since for some strange reason I keep thinking that they drive on the left side of the street here (like in England). It takes me a while to learn to navigate the streets. So I practice carefully. There are very few people on the streets that day, mostly tourists. Most restaurants are closed. Hunger brings me to an Italian restaurant-pizzeria "Molino", and they have a non-smoking room. As I found out later, this is a pretty rare thing in Geneva, almost a miracle. They smoke EVERYWHERE in Geneva! Most restaurants don't even have non-smoking accommodations (and they look at you funny if you ask for it), while some have non-smoking tables right next to the smoking tables. Does the air know where one section ends and the other one begins? Already on the second day in town, my eyes start hurting and itching, I am choking from all the smoke everywhere. Finding a restaurant where I can eat without inhaling much smoke becomes a real challenge. Usually, it involves eating at an unusually early or an unusually late hour, when restaurants are less crowded (with smokers). Another problem is finding AFFORDABLE food. Everything in Geneva is extremely expensive. Food is about twice as expensive as in New York. Even in small "bistro" establishments. In fact, I noticed that it is in bigger, fancier restaurants that one can find better lunch/dinner deals. At least for lunch, it is often possible to get the so-called "plat du jour", which are cheaper than the dishes on a regular menu. Some restaurants also have the so-called "petite portion" or "entree" versions of most dishes; they are cheaper but still pretty satisfying quantity-wise. Geneva is truly an international city: a tea packet features an inscription "black tea" in twenty languages. No joke. I still can't figure out what some of these languages are... And the sugar packets feature statistical figures: as it turns out, during our lives we spend on average 12 years in front of the TV, 3.5 years eating, and only 2 weeks... kissing! How sad... A little bit of geography. Geneva is situated on both banks of the river Rhone, where it flows out of Lake Geneva (also known as Lac Leman in French). After leaving Geneva, Rhone flows through Lyon in neighboring France (so Lyon-style cuisine is very popular here) and finally brings its waters to the Mediterranean Sea. On the Left Bank of the Rhone (or Rive Gauche, in French) we find the Old Town, the University of Geneva and most theaters, museums and residential neighborhoods. The Right Bank (or Rive Droite) is home to various international and diplomatic organizations, as well as a whole network of beautiful parks (more on that below). I spent most of my time on the Left Bank and ventured onto the Right Bank only in the last day of my trip. But more on that below... Lake Geneva stretches for 72 km, with a maximum width of 14 km and a depth of 310 meters. It covers the area of 582 square kilometers, with a volume of 89,000 billion cubic meters and 167 km of (incredible beautiful!) shoreline. In my first day in Geneva, I manage to see a lot! In addition to the synagogue and the Fountain, I take a walk in the English Garden (Jardin Anglais). It was created in 1854 and enlarged throughout the years. This is one of the most beautiful parks in Geneva (and there are quite a few of them here). In the waters of the Rhone I see not only ducks but also swans. They are so graceful! One of the most interesting features in the park is the National Monument, symbolizing the attachment of Geneva to the Swiss Federation on September 12, 1814. Two ladies with their arms encircling each other's waist, perched on a high pedestal -- it is certainly very monumental and its pomposity reminds me of the many Soviet monuments. But the main attraction in the English Garden is the Flower Clock, created in 1955. This clock used to consist of one big circle (you can still see it like that on some old pictures), but since the beginning of the new millennium, it has been redone in a more modern style with eight intersecting circles, filled with 6,500 flowering plants according to the season. And best of all, it shows the precise time -- how could it not, being a Swiss clock and a symbol of the Geneva’s watch industry of world renown. The English Garden is also where cruises on Lake Geneva leave from. I decide to go on a cruise! The waters of the lake rock our little boat, and it has a very calming effect on my tired body and mind. We see many interesting locations on the two sides of the lake:
After the cruise on Lake Geneva, I spend some time window-shopping (which proves to be the only kind of shopping I can do here). I just can't tear myself away from the gorgeous displays of clocks and chocolates (are there any chocolate clocks here, I wonder?). Finally, I go up a narrow street to the Old Town. Almost every house here tells an interesting story or carries a memory of some famous person. Every step on the cobbled streets brings me to a new discovery. The very first house that greets me in the Old Town is the birthplace of the Red Cross (see below on the visit to the museum dedicated to this organization). Right around the corner is the house where Jean-Jacque Rousseau was born. Next door -- a house where Voltaire lived. Almost across the street is the childhood home of Albert Gallatin, one of the authors of American Constitution and the fourth U.S. secretary of the Treasury (1801-14). On the narrow Tertasse street that winds down and out of the Old Town is the former home of Ferdinand de Saussure, the father of modern linguistics. In the same neighborhood we find the Dante Alighieri Society, whose goal is to promote Italian language and culture in Geneva (they are doing pretty well, I should say, judging by how much Italian I've heard during my stay: it is certainly among the five most commonly heard languages in this city, after French, German, English and ... Russian! I hear a lot of Russian and these people look to me like "New Russians", judging by the money they spend). The streets of the Old Town are so narrow that I almost manage to touch the houses on the two sides of the street by stretching my arms. Almost! By the way, the Old Town is still inhabited by ordinary Genevans... And the little shops! They are so cute! For example, one of them, "The Little Prince" (after the character in Saint-Exupery's novel) features exquisite baby clothes. A T-shirt for your one-year old would cost you 80 Swiss francs (or about 75 US dollars). Another cute shop is cramped with toy cats, dogs, bears and horses. Prices start at 300 dollars. The tallest building in the Old Town is Saint Peter's Cathedral. The construction of the Cathedral started in 1160 and continued for centuries. A series of fires led to reconstructions and restorations, so the original design was modified many times over. Hence the Cathedral looks like a mixed bag of styles: a neoclassical portico does not fit with the two towers of differing styles, while a strange-looking green spire was added at the end of the 19th century and looks like it was pasted from another church. However, once you walk in, all that architectural hodge-podge gives way to austere and simple interior: in 1535 Geneva accepted the Reformation and most of the decorations -- including altars and paintings, sculptures and organs -- were removed (most of them vandalized first); only the stained glass remained of the former glory. Inside the Cathedral we find "Calvin's chair" and next door to it -- Calvin Auditory -- a small, very austere-looking church built in the 13th century. After the advent of the Reformation, Geneva became a safe-haven for religious fugitives from all over Europe, many of whom didn't speak French, so Calvin made this building a gathering place and prayer house for speakers of different languages, including Dutch, German, Italian and English. So this is truly the first international and multilingual building in Geneva and perhaps in the world. Among the many who preached here is John Knox. Even today services are conducted here in many languages, so the tradition continues. Next to the Cathedral is the Hotel de Ville (the Town Hall, not a hotel!), which for over 500 years serves as the political center of Geneva. To this day, the Council of the State assembles here. Within these walls, countless treaties were signed, conferences held (alas, not ours!) and illustrious visitors received. It is in the Alabama room (so named for the mediation carried out here in 1872 between the United States and England, following the American Civil War, concerning the British ship "Alabama") that the first Assembly of the Geneva Convention was held on August 18, 1864, from which was to emerge the International Red Cross. And later, on November 15, 1920, the first Assembly of the League of Nations convened here. From the architectural point of view, the most interesting element is the large, winding paved ramp, enclosed in a square tower (and looking like the staircases in Escher's works). It enabled the members of the Council to go up to the top floor without dismounting from their horses (and you thought it was due to a concern for disabled citizens, eh?). An added bonus was the possibility of dragging cannons up. Today, these cannons stand at the Old Arsenal, across the street from the Hotel de Ville. Behind the Hotel de Ville building is the Promenade de la Treille -- a long romantic promenade, with two rows of chestnut trees, shading the longest wooden bench in the world (126 meters!). According to tradition, the leftmost chestnut tree is the official tree of Geneva, and the day its first bud blossoms is officially considered the first day of spring. A city official makes a note of it in a special register and these notes go back to 1818! But the best feature of this Promenade is the breathtaking views of the city. Before I leave the Old Town, I give my feet a rest in a small restaurant, where I am tempted into ordering the famous Swiss specialty -- cheese fondue (a dish of melted cheese served right in a pot on a burner, into which I dunk pieces of bread on a long fork). Despite its seeming simplicity, this is a delicious dish. I devour this delight at an outdoor table, but I am joined by birds who don't seem to mind the cheese so much. After the supper, I go down by way of the Tertasse street and walk onto the Place Neuf, where I pass by the Conservatory of Music and the "Grand Theatre" (the Opera Theater of Geneva). The history of this theater is as dramatic as a good opera: it was built in 1879 as an exact replica of the Opera Garnier in Paris (which is why I had such a deja-vu impression when I first saw it). But on May 1, 1951 during a rehearsal of Richard Wagner's "Walkyrie", in which Brunhilde is encircled by flames, the stage and then the rest of the theatre took fire. In a few hours, the building was reduced to ashes. The restoration took some ten years and now it's even bigger and better than before (and is said to boast a magnificent stage curtain). I hope they installed a good fire alarm system there... Boulevard Saint George leads me past the famous Plainpalais cemetery (with the burial place of Jean Calvin) back to the hotel... So, to recap my first day in Geneva: chocolate -- check, cheese -- check, (flower) clock -- check. The minimum program for Switzerland is completed. But there is still so much I want to see. But I spend the next two days at the conference, at the University of Geneva, in a building with a strange name Uni-Mail (do not try to pronounce it in the English fashion). My next walk in town will have to wait till Thursday... On Thursday, I decide to escape from the conference and go for another walk. I am not so lucky with the weather this time: it's grey and drizzling. I go back to the Old Town, I am so charmed by its narrow streets and old houses... Up by the familiar Tertasse street, past de Saussure's house (can't escape linguistics completely!). My first destination is Maison Tavel. It is the oldest house in Geneva, and with its grey-blue facade it's an excellent example of medieval residential architecture. It is even more special because only very few medieval residential buildings remain; there are a lot more churches that were preserved. But this is only natural: in any war or conflict, residential (and commercial) buildings are destroyed first, while the churches are usually spared... who knows with them gods, even if we don't worship them, they can still hurt us, right? Back to Maison Tavel now. It was lucky: nobody tried to destroy it, although it was burned in a fire in 1334, and after that it was rebuilt by an aristocratic Tavel family, who gave it a look of both a castle and an urban palace. During the following centuries, the house passed from one owner to another and finally in 1963 it was purchased by the city of Geneva and restored to its former glory. Today it's a museum of city history, but its focus is not on kings or battles, but on the daily life of the city's inhabitants throughout the centuries. The collections include furniture, glass, ceramics, silverware, engravings, photographs and ... doors! In the attic we find a relief model of 1850's Geneva (made in 1896). But I am most impressed by the two embroidered "paintings" depicting scenes of city life. What patience must one have to make something like this! Incredible! As someone who struggles to embroider much simpler cross-stitched designs, I am really stunned by these pictures. Another exhibit that attracts my attention -- and another fine example of Genevans' patience -- is dedicated to an art very popular in 19th century Geneva, the art of silhouette (also known as "decoupage"). Some silhouettes are cut out of paper (white or black), others painted on paper or porcelain. Among the exhibits are not only portraits, but also landscapes and genre "paintings". The trees on some are absolutely stunning -- you can see every leaf! Another picture depicts a family, with a girl presenting her parents with ... this very picture. So it is a picture inside a picture. Wow, talk about recursion! After my visit with the Tavels, I walk over to the Place du Bourg-de-Four, the center of which is graced with a flowering fountain (built in the 18th century). The square is surrounded by houses built in 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, which now host numerous cafes, bakery, chocolate shops and bistros. Since the days of the Ancient Rome, this was a market place, but today it's more of an open-air restaurant, but the corner building houses the Palais de Justice (the court house). Just below it is the Place de la Madelaine, a little square with a colorful merry-go-round, frequented by Geneva's youngest residents. My nose brings me to a little shop which sells olives and various olive-related products. The scent -- delicious as it is -- thanks God is free... But my stomach begins to growl. So I begin to study the menus of the restaurants surrounding the square (it is really convenient that, by law, all restaurants must exhibit their menus outside, so no unpleasant situations arise after you order something you can't afford). Just the names of the restaurants would make the mouths of the most discerning gourmets water: "Au pied d'un cochon" (At the Feet of a Pig), "Le Carnivore", etc. I inspect several places and decide on a restaurant called "Les Armures" (in honor of the very same cannons in the Old Arsenal just across the street from the restaurant). Its fame lies with the fact that Bill Clinton had a meal here some ten years ago. But this turns out to be only one of its strong points: as a result of its Bill Clinton fame, the restaurant attracts many Americans, who for the most part don't smoke, so I can enjoy a meal without smoke for a change. Not only that, but the restaurant is very tastefully decorated with armor and muskets, and the food is delicious! I am having their (reasonably priced) "plat du jour": a skewer of beef and little "merguez" sausages in tomato sauce, served with stuffed tomatoes and what else... potato gratin! The meal is complete with a pear cake, so delicious that it deserves an ode, if I could write one... I liked this restaurant so much that I came back here on my last evening in Geneva... My third walk in Geneva (on Friday) is dedicated to "Religious Geneva". I start at the Park de Bastion and the Reformation Wall. The construction of the Wall began in 1909, the year which marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jean Calvin and the 350th of the foundation of the Academy of Geneva. The monument is backed against part of the ancient defensive walls that surrounded the city until the middle of the 19th century. At the center of the wall, five meters high, are the four great figures of the movement (which reminded me of the Mount Rushmore in the USA):
The rest of the wall, with its sculptures and relief images, tells the 150-year-long story of the Reformation. After the Reformation Wall, I skirt the Old Town and walk to the Art and History Museum. Erected between 1903 and 1910, monumental and classical, the building houses a truly encyclopedic museum, covering western culture, from its origins (Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome) to the present days (a "painting" consisting of a bunch of women's dirty underwear under a glass cover; yep, I am perplexed too why it is called art). Most Geneva museums are small and dedicated to one special topic (for example, Clock and Watch Museum, unfortunately closed for an indefinitely long restoration, or Museum of Telephones, or Museum of Swiss Cutlery, or History of Pharmacy Museum, or Museum of the Pipe, or Museum of Ceramics and Glass, on which more below), and in contrast the Art and History Museum makes a depressing impression. It feels like a huge department store ("You want coffee? Look in the tooth paste aisle!"). Still, I manage to see many interesting things:
When I exit the Art and History Museum, I walk the streets surrounding it. The most interesting thing to see here is the Russian Church (Eglise Russe) with its white walls and gilded "onion" cupolas (restored in 1966). The church was built in 1866, with the financial aid of Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna Constancia, sister-in-law of Tsar Aleksandr 1st and aunt of Queen Victoria. She had lived in Geneva for many years. The church houses numerous icons of the 16th to 20th centuries, but I didn't manage to go inside. Besides, that was enough Russian icons for one day. On my way back to the conference I pass the Petit Palais (which looks more like a villa than a palace), which houses a museum of French modernism (1870-1930), but I don't go in. Enough of art museum for one day. Friday night we have our conference party, which takes place in a hall owned by a (still existing!) corporation of musketeers! Wow! Like Dumas novel! The only thing missing is period costumes... well, and gentlemen could be a bit more gallant too... And on Saturday (the last day of our conference) I manage to see only one sight in Geneva: the Flea Market at the Plaine de Plainepalais. But even the "fleas" here are Swiss, that is very expensive, but it's still quite an experience just to walk along the many stalls, looking at the merchandise (and even more at other people around, most of them Genevans, not tourists). I decide to spend Sunday (and alas my last day in Geneva) on museums. As I mentioned earlier, there are several dozens of museums in Geneva, and many of them are either free or have a free admission day on the first Sunday of the month (which this day is), so it is hard to chose where to go. I make a decision to go to the Right Bank (for a change). My first destination this Sunday is the Ile Rousseau (Rousseau Island). In the 16th century it was surrounded by walls and served as a bastion for the city. In 1628 it was transformed into a shipyard and was called "Island of the Boats". It was only in 1832, with the construction of the Bergues bridge which was linked to the island by a footbridge, that it was renamed in honor of the great Genevan philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In his lifetime, there was no bridge, so he had to come here in a little row-boat -- and you didn’t believe that physical exercise helps thinking (rowing and thinking -- Cambridge, UK is another place that comes to mind). My next stop is at the Quay de Mont-Blanc and the Brunswick Monument, a mausoleum of Charles d'Este-Guelph, Duke of Brunswick, built "in an eminent and worthy location, executed according to the established concept by the finest artists of the time, without consideration of cost", as per his last will and testament. As the Duke stipulated, the monument is in exact replica of the Scaligeri family tomb in Verona, Italy, work of the 14th century. So yeah, amass lots of money, bequeath it to the City of Geneva, and you can have your chosen work of art replicated in your honor. Sounds like a plan. This part of town is its financial center. Most buildings carry proud gilded plaques "Private bank". One of them is named after Jacob Safra. (Jews are everywhere! But I am happy for our people!) On Sunday (my last day in Geneva), as on the Easter Monday (my first day here) everything is closed. This is still early morning by Genevan Sunday standards, so the streets are nearly empty. The only people around are tourists, who like me can't wait to get blisters on their feet, and one local family (with three kids), all on bikes and rollerblades. Even the tourist information center is closed (I wonder where one gets information about opening hours of tourist information center?). But what I really appreciate in Geneva is that all streets carry signs with street names (so with a map you can't get lost) and with brief information about the person whose name the street bears (year of birth, year of death, what he is famous for). So even by walking around and reading street signs one can learn a lot. My way goes through the railway station Gare Cornavin and up north... And my destination in the northern part of the city is the Palais de Nations, the headquarters of the UN in Geneva (on my way I see also many other buildings housing international organizations with abbreviated names that I don't stop to decipher). The headquarters of UN in New York -- check, the headquarters of UN in Geneva -- check. I wonder whether my fellow traveler succeeded in his mission?.. Behind the UN building is the Arianna Museum, the only museum in Switzerland (and the world?) dedicated solely to ceramics and glass. Admission to this museum is free and well worth it. Over 20,000 objects illustrate the history of porcelain, faience and glass. If you have enough patience to read long texts in French, you can learn a lot about how these materials are produced. I wanted to learn the difference between porcelain, faience and earthenware production, but I must admit I was too lazy to get through the pretty technical texts in French. The building itself, designed by Gustave Revilliod in the neo-classical and neo-baroque styles, is located in a beautiful park. It seems turned inside out: the outside walls with their pastel pink and green colors seem more appropriate for the insides of a boudoir, and the inside colonnade of the second floor gallery creates an impression of an inside yard. So far, park -- one, museum -- one... My second museum of the day is the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. It's considered one of the best museums in Europe and I can see why. It makes a very strong impression, despite the apparent simplicity (and paucity even) of exhibits.
I spend the rest of the day walking through Geneva’s beautiful parks. Altogether I visit seven parks:
In the Park Perle du Lac I take in the magnificent view of the Mont Blanc (hurray!) and visit yet another (third in one day!) museum, History of Science Museum. It is located in one of the most beautiful buildings in Geneva, Villa Bartholoni, built in 1828 in the neo-classical style and named after its former owner and the founder of the Geneva Conservatory of Music. This museum is the only one of its kind in Switzerland. Its excellent collections (which I had only a cursory look at, alas) include dozens of (mostly 18th century) scientific instruments, including barometers, microscopes, sundials, astrolabes, as well as books and documents from the estates of Geneva's scientists and scholars. I am most attracted (or repulsed?) by a collection of medical (especially, ob-gyn) instruments -- BRRRR!!! It makes me happy that I live now and not a couple of centuries ago. This is the end of my trip to Geneva, the city of parks and fountains, museums and monuments, narrow streets and expensive little shops, the city of cheese, chocolate and clocks. I feel sad to leave, but if I don't, I can't come back... Goodbye, Geneva! Goodbye, Switzerland! ... And one last thing: when I leave the plane in New York's JFK airport, I tell the stewardess "Au revoir" ("Goodbye" in French) and she replies "Bonnes vacances" ("Enjoy your holiday", roughly). What holiday?! I have to learn English again... Copyright© 2004-2008 Asya
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