Adventures in France: Genève, Suisse

Day Sixty-Six

I spent the day in Genève with Amelia today! The weather called for cloudy and rainy but thankfully it was just a little chilly with sunshine. We walked into centre ville (center of town) and found the Mur des Réformateurs (Wall of Reformation) of Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox who were all pioneers (internationally) for the Protestant Reformation. It was a very cool monument in tribute to their efforts. The wall was in a huge park and they had five or six human-size chessboards with chess and checkers pieces. They also had ping pong tables! It was a sunny day so everyone was out playing games and enjoying the good weather. Amelia and I played a game and we didn't realize until the end that what we thought was the "king" was really the queen...so I had lost a couple moves before haha. We also walked in St. Peter's Cathedral which is where John Calvin preached from 1536-1564! It became a Protestant church in 1536 and so the cathedral's altar, furniture, paintings and statues were removed.

Had lunch at a café and it was so delicious! I am going to miss european bread. Something about it just tastes so good and makes all the difference! Then we took the bus out of centre ville to visit Les Palais des Nations (Nations Unies = United Nations). Originally where the League of Nations was located and later became the United Nations. I was initially confused because there's a United Nations in NYC but learned during our guided tour that the one in NYC is where the Security Council and General Assembly meet (mostly focused on political issues), whereas the one in Geneva has a focus on humanitarian issues (the WHO, ILO, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights/Refugees and many more) are located there. If I pursued a civilian route--that would be my dream career. However, I could never live in Geneva (more on that later). We took an hour tour and it was so interesting! I've visited the UN in NYC so it didn't have the same "wow" factor as the first time I was able to see the large conference rooms but it was still a treat. We saw the initial assembly hall for the League of Nations. It's just humbling to think of the great people who have passed through these rooms, who made such a difference in world history to demand international cooperation for the promotion of human rights. Amazing, absolutely amazing. Forgot to mention, when we were walking through centre ville, we happened upon the Hôtel de Ville (town hall) where the first Geneva Conventions was signed! Again, INCREDIBLE! We couldn't go inside but just to read the plaque marking the room where this document was signed was an experience.

Some interesting facts I learned today:

the UN working languages are English and French. Some meetings are in French/English/both and whenever they have delegates come, the seating arrangements vary depending on which alphabet is used. For example: Germany in English = Allemagne in French. However, this has posed a problem for Iraq and Iran because their names are so similar and no other country comes between them, so they always sit next to each other which in itself can cause tension.
the 5 official lanuages of the UN are English, French, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian. Every UN delegate must be able to speak at least one of these five. There are translators for delegates and they translate in real time. Like they hear French or English and are translating the speech into their native language at the same time. Their shifts are 30 minutes followed by a 30 minute break and so on because of how grueling their job is. I can't even comprehend how this happens! It's not like they read off a script. Incredible!
Not really interesting, more like depressing--across from the UN is the International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. I was SO excited to see it and guess what? It's closed until May for renovations. :( So I did the next best thing, take pictures of the building. Nothing in comparison but I guess that just means I'll have to visit there again someday in the future. If I could work in the humanitarian field after I retire, I would be one happy person.
SWITZERLAND IS EXPENSIVE! You cannot be a penny pincher there or you will go out of your mind. Everyone had already told me it would be so expensive, so good thing we only spent the day there. Lunch (sandwich and drink) was 14 franks which is around 12 euros. And worst of all, buying our train ticket back to Lyon was equivalent to $48...It was about $15 when we came from Lyon to Geneva. We never knew, but fair warning to anyone traveling to Switzerland and planning on using the trains, there is a 10 frank automatic tax on foreigners for the trains. Say whaaa? They don't even do that in Paris. So we didn't have dinner in Geneva as we had planned haha. We decided to wait until we made our way back home. So lesson learned? Buy return tickets in advance IN france and realize that "you live and you learn." When I look back on today, I probably won't remember the frustration of 35 franks in comparison to the experience of visiting Geneva.
be more thankful for France! I learned this after coming back from Italy where everything was more expensive and there were a lot of hidden charges targeting tourists. Today I was once again reminded that I have it so much better in France. Yes, it's more expensive than the US but in comparison to other countries in this area, I've got it made. Crêpes are 2 euros and not 4,50. Sandwiches are 3,50 euros and not 10. Be thankful for what you have, that's for sure!