Montreux to Geneva

Montreux to Geneva

Eating breakfast on a third floor terrace overlooking Lake Geneva really made us feel like we were jetsetters.  The day was clear and sunny and it was just a lovely experience sitting on that terrace.  

The journey between the two towns, Montreux to Geneva, takes just over an hour so we didn’t have to rush today.  The train looped around Lake Geneva.  We were able to easily find our hotel and settle in comfortably.  At Interlaken, mostly German was spoken.  At Montreux and Geneva, French is the language of choice.  It is an interesting quirk in this central European country.

Geneva is well known for having the headquarters of the United Nations, and the headquarters of the Red Cross located in the city.  As we only have this afternoon here, we had to forgo visiting these places. We set off to explore Geneva, walking down to the waterfront to see the famous fountain, Jet d’eau.  We could see it from our room, but by the time we got there it had been turned off.  

As tourists are able to travel for free on public transport, we took one of the little yellow boats across the water to see the fountain up close, but alas it was not to be.  At least the boat trip saved our legs from walking round the long way.   

In the English Garden, Jardin Anglais, we found the famous floral clock, L’Horloge Fleurie, but were not terribly impressed with it.  It is very hot today and we both resorted to wearing hats to keep the sun off and drinking lots of water.

The main shopping streets are nearby but as we strolled through, we found they were a bit high priced for us.  Many of the shops were selling expensive watches and other high priced goods.  I don’t know who actually has the money to buy these things, but someone must.

The old town, Vielle-Ville, is just behind these streets and we climbed up the hill to see the cathedral amongst other buildings.  The cathedral is dedicated to St. Peter (Cathédrale Saint-Pierre) built between 1150 and 1230, originally Catholic, it is now a fine example of a Calvinist church. It became a protestant church in 1536 during the Reformation.  A wall dedicated to the Reformers, Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox is located a short distance away.  

Nearby was the Ancien Arsenal , the old city arsenal, and now the place where several cannons from the Napoleonic Wars are stored.  It was interesting to see the ornate decoration on these cannon.

Dinner tonight was at a small Italian restaurant near our hotel. We ate our meal while our clothes were in a dryer at a local Laverie, or Laundromat. There are just some things that just don’t happen by themselves, even when you are on holiday. The Laundromat is in the middle of the red light district. The ladies overtly apply their wares on the street. This made for some interesting viewing.