Europe . Switzerland . Geneva: Land of fountains, chocolate and gold speckled roads

Wednesday, October, 11th, 2006

As per usual we decided not to call ahead and book a hostel in Geneva, and when we showed up at "City Hostel" we were informed that they were full. Luckily there was another hostel around the corner so we didn´t feel like complete fools. The hostel resembled a small apartment building and had laundry facilities and breakfast included, which pretty much means that it was a palace in our eyes. :)

There was a brief awkward moment in our assigned dorm room when we were putting sheets on our assigned beds. A very polite french man came in and looked at us and our beds with confusion. He asked what we had done with the stuff that had been on the beds. There hadn´t been anything on the beds when we entered... so we were confused and didn´t want him to think that we were thieves. Eventually we learned that the cleaning lady had brought their belongings to the front desk so they wouldn´t get stolen, so our names were cleared!

We went out and wandered around the town, mainly trying to see the "Jet D'Eau" (otherwise known as "Tyler's beloved" as he was promised a million points if he went in it) which sprouts straight up in the air 140metres, it´s very impressive to see. It shoots up that high due to pressure and it is cold and painful to stand close to it but we did that on a different day. Anyway we found a catwalk that went over the lake and ended at a lighthouse, the area was swarming with birds and majestic swans who refused to put their bums up in the air for Tyler to take a picture (they sure have a lot of attitude).

We discovered a love for cheap, spicy gyros from "Al-Amirs" which was basically the only affordable place to eat in Geneva. They should call it "expensive city", but then they might not get as many tourists. You always hear that it´s really expensive but deep down you´re thinking "It can´t be THAT bad, they´re just exaggerating"... but you´d be wrong! It is a beautiful city though, the streets have a glitter to them, like you´re walking on streets speckled with swiss gold. Perhaps they have so much gold that they decided to put some of it in the streets, I wouldn´t be surprised if it was true.

We unintentionally entered the Red Light District, that was interesting.... Luckily no one propositioned us (the girls must have been too intimidated by my immense physique). The most we got was a helpful prostitute informed Tyler when he dropped his sweater, and I´m pretty sure that wasn´t a pick-up line, but you never know with those Swiss...

We also felt pretty smart when we were doing laundry even though we couldn´t read the instructions and just guessed, we did better than another couple in the hostel who flooded their machine with soap which drooled all over the floor. Also of note, the vending machines in Geneva are tricky and try their best to steal your money without giving you the precious Swiss chocolate. Luckily I was able to outsmart it and enjoyed my Swiss chocolate with a smug look on my face.

-Jenny the conqueror-