Winter had been exceptionally good to us this year, until December 27th. That Saturday morning we were leaving France around 6:30 to drive to Geneva, Switzerland. Tom's brother and sister were flying in for the week and we were scheduled to get to the airport in three hours, plenty of time or their 10:20 arrival.
Sadly, the weather completely foiled our plans. We knew snow was coming, but we highly underestimated the amount and speed at which the snow would be falling .We survived the Polar Vortex of last winter and the snowstorm which closed down Lake Shore Drive back home, so we were optimistic about our winter survival tactics.
When our initial SUV broke down back in October, we received a manual, four wheel drive version and that may have been our saving grace through out this storm. The three hour drive took us five and a half due to the weather. Once we made it through the mountains, we saw hours worth of traffic backed up in the opposite direction and were grateful to just be moving along, even if it was at a snails pace. The next morning we found out one person died and thousands were stranded on the roads, we were very fortunate we left as early as we did.
We ended up meeting at the hotel due to our large delay. The weather in Geneva was chilly and rainy, but I gladly took such dismal weather over the snowstorm we just survived! We borrowed some umbrellas from the hotel and went exploring.
Geneva had a very easy to navigate train system. The main station was across the street from our apartment and we were able to get from one end of the city to another with ease. Our first stop was the United Nations building. The rain really picked up when we arrived, so our stay outside was very brief.
As we boarded the train to the Altstadt area, the weather had begun to clear. We walked through the shops, popped into St. Pierre Cathedral, and investigated the free Maison Tavel Geneva History Museum. Previously, we had only been in the German speaking parts of Switzerland, and it didn't occur to me Geneva would speak French, not German, due to their proximity to France. I can navigate a German country and ask for the basics, but my knowledge of French numbers one through ten and oui and non would not be getting me far here. Shannon to the rescue. Tom's sister is fluent in French and made the entire visit a breeze for the rest of us. Knowing the language is such an advantage.
The streets of Geneva with St. Pierre in the background.
By early evening, we were starving and began wandering the streets in an attempt to locate a place to eat. Due to European culture a number of places were not open yet and we ended up taking an accidental walking tour of the city in our efforts to find food.
We walked by the flower clock, along Lake Geneva, and through the city center where we finally ended up eating at a diner two blocks from our hotel. The rain came and went, and by the time we sat down to eat, my boots and socks had become thoroughly soaked. After refueling with pizza and an ice cream sundae, we walked the short distance to our hotel and turned in early. It was hard to believe so much had occurred in one day.
Jet d' Eau
The following morning came too soon. After packing up and eating a hotel breakfast, we drove to one final sight, the Jet d' Eau. The Jet is a famous water fountain in Geneva and one of their most well known landmarks. A gray hue hung in the air from the previous rain and oncoming snow, making it difficult to do the fountain justice in pictures. We walked all the way to the edge of the pier to get a very up close look before heading out. On our way back to Stuttgart, we had plans to stop off in Lucerne and were ready to get on the road.
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