After attempting to sleep on the cold marble floor of Athens Airport, the organised and clean streets of Geneva were warmly welcomed. A somewhat spontaneous deviation in my travel plans, I decided to spend the weekend in Geneva, Switzerland for one last adventure before hitting the bright lights of London. After spending a wonderful two weeks on the rocky shores of the Greek islands, to see an abundance of trees again was refreshing to say the least.
I was lucky enough to have my friend show me around Geneva and show me all the hot spots this little city had to offer. I loved the cobblestone streets in the old town and the fact you were always a hop skip and a jump away from the beautiful lake side. I felt like everything had its place here and it all seems to work harmoniously (which unfortunately comes at a hefty price!) We spent an afternoon exploring the likes of a small medieval French village, Yvoire, which was only a short ferry ride across the lake. This was one of the cutest and most picturesque places I have been and is supposedly one of the top 10 villages in France!
The following day I took the train up to Lausanne and explored the official Olympic Games Village, the harbour and of the course the breath-taking views Lausanne had to offer. My last day I found my way to the Swiss-French boarder and caught a cable car up Mont-Salève. From here I walked to the summit and around the rocky pathways soaking in the fresh alpine air. My day ended by sitting lakeside in the sun eating Swiss chocolate.
I’m not sure why I liked this place so much, it could be because I had my very own personal tour guide for the first two days, or perhaps the fortunate good weather, beautiful buildings and clean clear waters? Or maybe the fact that, by the sound of it, their government actually listens to the people… However, when really thinking about it, I think I enjoyed how organised it all was, sophisticated and efficient, like a modern city should be. One example being that there were free drinking water fountains everywhere as well as public toilets. This may sound silly but as a backpacker these things really make a difference to your day!
Jetting off into the sunset (literally) I knew I wanted to explore more of Switzerland (perhaps with a little more money behind me), to see the North, South and come back when there is snow on the already pretty mountains!
Genève
They sure do love their watches
Up Mont Saleve
Yvoire
Lausanne
