Geneva

Trips to Geneva (日内瓦) were made on two separate days, on 05 Sep (Sun) and 12 Sep (Sun), with my colleagues after the weekend trips from Copenhagen and Budapest. Only heard 'Geneva Conventions' for humanitarian treatment in war during my National Military Service period; I had no idea where Geneva was at that time. It's unexpected that many years later I was there exploring the city.

Geneva, or Genève in French, is second-most populous city in Switzerland. This French-speaking city is located on south-western end of Lake Geneva. Geneva is a global city, a financial centre, and a worldwide centre for diplomacy due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Transport Tickets

Free Transport Ticket was available for visitors arrived from Geneva Airport. This was offered by Geneva Airport for passengers with an airline document and valid only 80-minutes on second class transport mode.

Bright signage could be seen once exit from Geneva Airport (left photo below). The ticket machine is easy to operate; just need to press the button once to get the ticket (right photo below).


Following were my Free Transport Tickets for both trips:
We also rented a large locker at CHF 8 located in the Train station to store all our luggage (photos below). This allowed us to travel light in Geneva.



First Trip

We decided to explore Geneva by foot in this trip. First sight was Lake Geneva which is just minutes walk away from the Geneva Train Station.

Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva (Lac Léman in French, Genfersee in German, Lago Lemano in Italian, or Lai da Genevra in Romansh) is a crescent-shaped deep lake on the north side of the Alps, where the high summits of Grand Combin and Mont Blanc are visible from some places (photos below).
The largest cities on the shores of Lake Geneva are Genèva and Lausanne in Switzerland. Other notable towns include Nyon, Montreux, Morges, and Vevey in Switzerland and Thonon-les-Bains, Évian, and Yvoire in France. With a surface area of 580.03-square kilometers, this lake is shared between Switzerland (60%) and France (40%).

Jet d'Eau

Jet d'Eau, or Water-Jet in English, is a large fountain in Geneva Lake and one of the Geneva's most famous landmarks (photo below). Five hundred litres of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140-meters.

The Water-Jet is visible throughout the city and even from the air when flying over Geneva (photos below).
Old Town of Geneva

We then took a stroll along the narrow streets of the old town (photos below).


Happened to spot a shop selling Chinese and Japanese tea, which I didn't know that there can be such a wide variety of dried tea leaves (photos below).
St. Pierre Cathedral

Located in the heart of the old town, St. Pierre Cathedral (photos below) was built as a Roman cathedral but later became a Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. Built around 1160, the building was subsequently expanded to its present state.
Jardin Anglais

Jardin Anglais, or literally English Garden, is an urban park created in 1855. The most popular sight is the L'horloge fleurie, or Flower Clock in English (photo below). Around 6,500 flowering plants and shrubs are used for the clock face and it is the second largest flower clock in the world.

Singaporean Dinner

Decided to have dinner in this Singaporean restaurant: Jeck's Place since we missed Singapore food after staying in Switzerland for more than 5-months (photos below).


It was interesting how we got to know this place; the restaurant was first introduced to my colleague by an officer working in the Consulate of Singapore in Geneva. He was there for VISA processing as his passport was stolen in Italy. In turn this colleague introduced the restaurant to us, but never get the chance to eat there.

Besides food, there were Singaporean elements in this restaurant, for instance the signboard (left photo below) and the wooden sculpture of Merlion (right photo below).


Following were the food we ordered, from top-left to bottom right: Laksa, Char Kway Teow, Sweet & Sour Pork, Fried Kangkong, Chicken Satay, Rojak, Fried Banana Balls and Fried Pancake (photos below).
Could not comment if the food there was very authentic, but had similar taste as in Singapore. As it was paid by another colleague, I could not remember the exact price however it was close to CHF 50 per person.


Second Trip

Lunch at a fast-food Restaurant

Had lunch at a fast-food restaurant and ordered a beef burger and salad which cost CHF 12.30 (left photo below). Nothing special on the food but what caught my attention was a plaque in this Geneva fast-food restaurant that states it is the first McDonalds' restaurant in Switzerland inaugurated on 04 November 1976 (right photo below). For comparison, the first McDonalds was opened in Singapore on 20 Oct 1979 at Liat Towers.


After lunch, we took bus from the Bus stop outside the Geneva Train Station to the 'Nations' Bus stop in front of Palais des Nations.

Palais des Nations

Palais des Nations, or Palace of Nations in English, is the United Nations headquarters in Geneva (photos below).
Although the United Nations is now headquartered in New York, the organization still retains a large presence in Geneva, including its sister or child organizations such as World Health Organization.

In the Nations Square, in front of the United Nations headquarters, stood the 'Broken Chair Sculpture' (left photo below) sponsored by Handicap International. This gigantic 12-meters high wooden chair with a torn foot symbolizes the fight against the use of anti-personnel mines. Granite slabs, at both edges of the square, symbolize the diversity of nations (right photo below).
We then walked for about 5 minutes from Palais des Nations to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum is a museum opened in 1988 that exhibits on the 150^th years of humanitarian action history. The museum consists of three separate areas, namely 'Defending Human Dignity', 'Restoring Family Links', and 'Reducing Natural Risks'.

It was easy to locate this museum through its bright signages (photos below).


At the museum entrance, flags of Red Cross and Red Crescent hung up high (left photo below) while a group of sculptures known as 'el petrificat' stood in silence (right photo below).

🛫 Travel Trivia

'Red Cross' flag was officially approved in Geneva in 1863 and it is the name used in countries under nominally Christian sponsorship. This flag is the color-switched version of the Flag of Switzerland, in recognition of "the pioneering work of Swiss citizens in establishing internationally recognized standards for the protection of wounded combatants and military medical facilities". 'Red Crescent' flag was used during the armed conflict of 1876–1878 between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. Its symbol was adopted on the insistence of the Ottoman Empire in 1906, and so far 33 countries in the Muslim world have recognized it. Interestingly, the red crescent is similarly presented as being derived from a color-reversal of the flag of the Ottoman Empire.

While walking back to Bus stop, we saw the Musée Ariana, or Swiss Museum of Ceramics and Glass, diagonally opposite the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum (left photo below). Not far from this museum is the statue of Gandhi (right photo below).


As the validity of our free-ticket had expired, we then had to pay CHF 3 for the bus back to the Geneva Train Station.

With this, it marked the end of my trips to Geneva.