It was our final day in Switzerland and after days of experiencing the natural
wonders of the country we would end the trip by visiting one of its most populous cities,
Geneva. We would make the drive from Zermatt to Geneva, stopping a bit in Lausanne.
Lausanne is the fourth largest city in the country and hosts the International Olympic
Committee. Joggers, climbing gyms, and various people rollerblading help to build up the
image that Lausanne is a popular area for sports. The area also has beautiful cherry
blossoms along the waterfront, perfect for a stroll down. We, however, did not have much
time here after lunch, but since my brother was always the type to want to see everything I
ended up following him about a mile down the waterfront. I’ve never been the most athletic
person and choosing to wear about four different layers of sweaters wasn’t exactly helping
me run. By the time I got back to the tour bus I was drenched in about two layers and
breathing extremely heavily.
At least I had a good rest on the bus as we made our way to Geneva. Geneva is a hub
for international organizations, most notably the United Nations. Our tour through the city
mostly consisted of looking at buildings that were the “International Building of [Insert
Organization Here].” Despite the constant foreign presence, Geneva definitely has a culture
of its own. The St. Pierre Cathedral is one of these cultural mainstays. Known as the home
church of John Calvin, the church today belongs to the Reformed Protestant Church of
Geneva. The city also has the Reformation Wall, a 100m wall depicting and honoring the
main individuals of the Protestant Reformation. Just like how it was easy to see the people
in Lausanne take part in their city’s history of sports, we could also see how diverse the
people were in Geneva and also how they chose to spend their time around the history of
the city. Crowds of people came to play chess in the parks, and numerous student groups
were touring the areas.
One place that was definitely a tourist hotspot was the Flower Clock in the English
Gardens. The clock is made up of flowers as its base, but it is an actual working clock. The
time is transmitted by satellite to the clock where it winds it way past nearly 6,500 flowers
and plants. The flowers are changed depending on the season, but no matter the day I’m
sure it’s a fun sight to watch. Right next to the gardens was Jet d’Eau. One of the largest
fountains in the world, the fountain jets 500 litres of water per second up to 140 metres in
the air. Based on the wind direction the spray of water can even drench unsuspecting
pedestrians.
And just like the precise hands of a Swiss clock, our tour came to an end. Thank you
to everyone who joined us on this journey and I hope we’ll see each other again on our next
Indonesia Media adventure. ( Stacey Irawan / IM )
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