Bern, Lucerne, and the Swiss Alps

Before I dive into the past two weeks of adventures I need to begin with what has been going on in Geneva lately. Now that we've hit the dog days of summer it is festival season in Geneva and there is plenty going on. One of the biggest festival attractions is the Ciné Transat, which is a film festival where the films shown are voted on by Geneva's residents and the winners are shown every Thursday - Sunday night outdoors at Parc de la Perle. It is actually really nice and scenic, especially if there is a cool breeze blowing in off the lake. I went to the opening night of the festival to see an old favorite of mine, The Goonies. For those who have not had the pleasure of seeing the movie, here is a little clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45_Xg3lto_I

And here they are today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOUXa5RERPQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oyc5tAhOGU

Overall just a great movie and a nice way to the spend the evening relaxing after work.

Two weekends ago my whole group went on a full day excursion with our Geneva program coordinator to Bern, Luzern, and then through the Swiss Alps. It was a whirlwind day that began bright and early at 7 am at Gare Cornavin, where we met up and caught the train to Bern. I should mention that we were all quite fortunate that our coordinator here is good friends with the former director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose son now works for the Swiss Tourism Board and was able to gift us student passes for the Swiss Rail entirely gratis. This was really a big deal since these passes are usually CHF 412 so we were quite lucky that this worked out. The only catch is that you have to travel on non-consecutive days, which is one reason why we crammed so many things into one day. Anyways, back to Bern...we arrived around 9 am and had a few hours to explore the city and see the administrative buildings where the Swiss National Council meets and then see parts of the old town and even the bears of Bern! You definitely get the sense that you are in the German speaking part of Switzerland and no longer in the French speaking part, mostly due to the architecture. Bern is also situated on the River Aare, which is crystal clear since it originates in the Bernese Alps and it makes for a very scenic setting for the city. Since we only had a few hours to sight see, we did not see too much, but it was nice to explore for a little bit.

The Swiss Confederation National Assembly building in Bern

Panorama view of Bern with the River Aare and the Bernese Alps in the distance

From Bern we got back on the train to go to Lucerne, which is about an hour east of Bern. Lucerne was also really nice and we had about an hour and a half to walk around the Chapel Bridge and the old town of Lucerne before we boarded a boat to cruise around Lake Lucerne. The lake is pristine and I wish I could have gone swimming, even if the water was frigid, since the temperature outside was quite hot. The origins of the Swiss Confederation are found on Lake Lucerne as it borders the three original cantons of Switzerland, Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The town of Rütli is the traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation and also borders the lake. Once we arrived on the other side of the lake, in a town called Flüelen we got back on a train, albeit one with a panoramic car this time, to head up to Göschenen, where we transferred onto the Matterhorn Gotthardbahn line for a ride through the Swiss Alps down to Brig. The Alps were pretty breathtaking from inside the train and I can only imagine what it is like outside the train. In Brig we caught a train back to Geneva and we arrived back a little after 11 pm, exhausted and worn out from a long day of touring.

The Chapel Bridge in Lucerne

View from the boat ride on Lake Lucerne

Another view of the Alps from Lake Lucerne

The insignia of the three original cantons of the Swiss Confederation in Rutli

View of the Alps from the Matterhorn Gotthardbahn train

A little trailer camp in the foothills of the Alps

Here's a rough map of our trip:
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Gen%C3%A8ve+Gare+Cornavin,+Rue+du+Mont-Blanc+30,+Gen%C3%A8ve,+Switzerland&daddr=Berne,+Switzerland+to:Lucerne+Railway+Station,+Lucerne,+Switzerland+to:Fl%C3%BCelen,+Switzerland+to:G%C3%B6schenen,+Switzerland+to:Brig,+Switzerland+to:Gen%C3%A8ve+Gare+Cornavin,+Rue+du+Mont-Blanc+30,+Gen%C3%A8ve,+Switzerland&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=46.209454,6.143167&sspn=0.00155,0.002411&geocode=FcoawQId1rddACFEFW1RBneLrynBWEVoJ2WMRzFEFW1RBneLrw%3BFVJezAIdgJhxACl3GzrUwDmORzGaZVcE_l9Vyw%3BFYztzQIdG85-ACHSb2j-p6ekkinJbsuHmPuPRzHSb2j-p6ekkg%3BFZ-jywIdC5eDACk5QRa5kESFRzGDMIClbRamWQ%3BFYgbyAId-v-CACmZfKrQOm6FRzEcnm6mfdiA2Q%3BFQSzwgIdC955ACmtMu-iLWmPRzF0v34tz53wfw%3BFcoawQId1rddACFEFW1RBneLrynBWEVoJ2WMRzFEFW1RBneLrw&oq=ge&mra=ltm&t=m&z=8

That's all from that weekend but you can be sure that another post will be up from this past weekend soon. Keep your eyes peeled.

What I'm listening to: "The Promise" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrhOBKXRU4Y

Une Weekend a Paris

La Republique statue commemorating the French Revolution

Don't worry blogosphere, I'm back online after a week of trying times with the John Knox Centre's Internet connection. The good news is I have the day off since our group is being briefed at the American mission this afternoon so I can take advantage of the decent connection this morning. So as most of you have probably discerned from the photos uploaded to Facebook, I was in Paris last weekend, for the first time, and it was a very nice weekend. I was able to take a long weekend which made it even nicer but even with the extra day I still did not get around to as many places as I'm sure many of you who have been there before were hoping, but rest assured this won't be my one and only time in Paris.

After work on Thursday I raced back to my room to grab my travel backpack, change, and head down to Gare Cornavin to catch the TGV to Paris. As it turns out I ended up sitting across from a man and his niece who were both American, from Oregon and Washington, and we had a nice conversation. He works for Barclay's Bank in their anti-money laundering department, which made me a little skeptical since I feel like Barclay's would be a bank that might be heavily involved in money laundering, but he was a friendly guy and it helped pass the time on the train. The train ride from Geneva to Paris is quite scenic and the French countryside was beautiful in the setting sun. I arrived in Paris at Gare de Lyon and after making my way to Gare du Nord, I was able to settle in at my hostel, St. Christopher's Inn...or not; unfortunately when I arrived the front desk staff kept on assigning me to beds that didn't exist in the rooms (to be fair there was some extensive remodeling happening, but still I just wanted to set my stuff down and take a quick shower) but finally they found a match and I took a load off, quickly showered and went out to meet up with the Gross boys. We hung out for an hour or so and then I raced back so I could make the last Metro train back to Gare du Nord.

On Friday Josh and I met up for cappuccinos in the 3rd arrondissement, where the Gross brothers' apartment was, and did some mid-morning people watching. After taking in the sights and sounds of the Rue de Bretagne for a little while we walked around and ended up back on the Rue de Bretagne at the Marche des Enfants Rouge (not sure about any Communist Party associations) for lunch. The market was bustling and had quite the variety of options to choose from. We settled on an Italian place (I know, I know...how could we eat Italian in France? It was quite good though.) and I had a nice plate of fried calamari and prawns and it was even better because they were lightly fried, like tempura redux. After lunch Josh and I went for a nice leisurely stroll along the canals with Josh stopping to sketch while I jotted down travel notes in my little flip notebook. It was an absolutely perfect day and we ended up walking from the 3rd arrondissement up to the 19th arrondissement to Parc de la Villette. Here's a view of the canals opening up:

Since we had spent all afternoon walking in the sun we decided to grab some shade at the park before exploring a little more. For those that don't know, Parc de la Villette is a fairly modern park in northeast Paris and there are all sorts of unique sculptures and other interesting areas within the park, including a recovered U-boat from WWII, a geo-sphere, and the Museum of Science and Industry. We were both pretty fatigued afterwards so we opted to take the Metro back. Later in the evening we met up for dinner back in the 3rd arrondissement at a seafood tapas bar. We split a dozen oysters, prawns, and sea snails and all were pretty fantastic. Following dinner we met up with some of Ben's friends from his time in Paris last summer and we went down to see Notre Dame at sunset and hung out along the Seine on the Ile de St. Louis (unfortunately I didn't bring my camera). After sharing a late night platter of fromage we went our separate ways for the night.

On Saturday I met up with the Gross boys at the same cafe in the 3rd arrondissement for un petit dejenuner although I have to say they really emphasized the "petit" aspect. From breakfast we headed towards the Louvre to the Museum of Modern Design to see an interior design exhibit of the Bouroulec brothers work where we rendez-voued with Ben's friends. The exhibit was really interesting and definitely something that Papa Jack would have truly enjoyed, below are some pictures.

After spending a few hours at the exhibit we made our way back to the Marche des Enfants Rouge for some lunch and Saturday's choice was sashimi which we took to go to have a picnic at a nearby park. Post-lunch we ended up walking around back towards the Seine around the Hotel de Ville neighborhood and continued to enjoy the glorious weather. It was another enjoyable afternoon but the evening was even better. Since it was the Gross brothers' last night and mine as well, we decided to have a nicer meal for dinner. We ended up at Cafe de Musee where we split an order of escargots to start and then I had a Bubba staple for my main course, hand cut beef tartare with thick cut fries. Dessert was even more spectacular; I had absinthe ice cream on top of a rhubarb compote served with walnut brittle on top. This dessert definitely had the most unique mix of flavors I think I've ever encountered in all my years of eating. Our post-dinner activities consisted of lounging along the canal taking in the sights and sounds of a lovely Saturday evening in Paris.

Since the Gross boys had a very early flight to catch on Sunday morning I was on my own, but that was just fine. After checking out I made my way up to Montmartre, which was absolutely lovely aside from the multitudes of tourist shops along the way. I walked up to the Cathedrale de St. Pierre and took the tour inside and I got the bonus perk of seeing services in action. Here's a photo of the cathedral:

And here's a view of Paris from the top of the steps:

From the cathedral I ended up wandering around Montmartre for a few more hours, eventually stopping at a cafe for lunch which was a starter of escargots, canard a l'ancien which was basically like a duck confit with potatoes and tomatoes (and was excellent) and some more fromage francaise for dessert. I made my way back to the hostel after lunch to pick up my bag and then head back to Gare de Lyon to get on the TGV back to Geneva.

All in all Paris was wonderful and while I didn't see the Eiffel Tower up close, make it into the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, or the Musee Pompedou, or stroll down the Champs Elysees, I know that I will be back again to go see all those sights and I definitely appreciated the side of Paris that I experienced over the weekend.

That's all for now, just waiting for my laundry to finish so I can have some clean clothes to wear to the U.S. mission.

What I'm listening to: 

"Song of A Baker" - The Small Faces

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jYgctXpajs

"Long Tall Sally" - Little Richard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxNSvFMkag

Geneva Going Ons

The past few weeks have been relatively uneventful here in Geneva as I've been fairly busy with my internship and have not done much traveling outside of the city but that doesn't mean it's been all quiet here. Two weekends ago I was able to meet up with my Josh Gross and his immediate family as well as part of his extended family as they were in town for a relative's Bat Mitzvah. It was nice to catch up and get to spend some time with Josh and I'm actually leaving for Paris tomorrow after work to meet up with Josh and his older brother Ben for the weekend, but more on that later. Josh's visit coincided with the Fete de la Musique in Geneva which is a weekend-long celebration of all genres of music and various locations within the canton of Geneva, including all over the city of Geneva, host different concerts. I went with some friends to hear some reggae music one night and saw a few blues bands on a separate afternoon and overall it was quite enjoyable and the weather was great if not a little too hot. I also was able to check out a great open air market that weekend and enjoyed a delicious falafel sandwich from a Lebanese food stand but was so hungry I forgot to take a picture to share with you all so my apologies.

This past week and weekend were pretty laid back. A few of us went for Chinese and may have found a decent dining deal in town as they have a buffet with plenty of options. Last Sunday I went with a few others in our group to a brunch hosted by a local organization involved in promoting eco-friendly and sustainable living and also working to collect donations for refugees from the Syrian civil war. The food was great! They served a typical Middle Eastern spread including hummus, baba ganoush, a meat and tahini dish, a tzatziki-type dish, and of course, plenty of pita. After the brunch we were directed to a park across the street where there were free jazz performances all afternoon long so we spent a few hours in the sun soaking in the sweet sounds of jazz music.

Canada Day was relatively uneventful here; unfortunately I didn't receive an invitation to the Canadian mission's party or the party hosted by the Canadian family on my block (but I can't really fault them, I truly doubt they know of my Canadian roots). Since I didn't receive an invitation to the American mission's 4th of July party tomorrow, I figured what better way to celebrate than to travel somewhere so after work tomorrow I'll be hopping on a TGV train bound for Paris and I'm quite excited for my first time in the "City of Lights." Obviously I won't be able to do everything but I'm looking forward to a relaxing and entertaining weekend of exploring Paris so I'll have plenty to write about when I return.

That's about all from my end, I hope all is well with all of my dedicated readers. Until next time....

What I'm listening to: "Keep Fishin'" by Weezer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOIsYA1QDuk

A Weekend in Lyon

View of La Basillique de Notre Dame from La Rive Saone

Well, I'm sure most of you were wondering where I've been for the past week or so and to tell you the truth, I meant to write this blog post earlier in the week but the Internet connection in my room is not really all that stable and from previous experiences, attempting to write a meaningful post and include photos while dealing with a poor connection is very frustrating. So, in a nutshell, that's why I'm writing this post today, although like the old adage goes, better late than never.

Last weekend, a group of us decided to go check out Lyon and I must say that this was a great decision. Lyon is roughly a 2 hour train ride from Geneva so we all met up at the main train station in Geneva, Gare Cornavin, after work, ready for a fantastic French experience. We arrived in Lyon late Friday evening and after setting our things down at our hostel, we went out to explore briefly. Fortunately most of us were pretty exhausted from  a long work week and we decided to turn in after an hour of exploring so that we could get the most out of our weekend.

We started our Saturday off right with a nice little breakfast from a sidewalk boulangerie/patisserie. I had a quiche that had tomatoes, eggplant, and mushrooms and a giant pistachio macaroon (my first proper French macaron). Needless to say I was on a sugar rush for the rest of the day. I don't know how Manischewitz gets away with calling those Passover cookies "macaroons;" ingenious marketing move I suppose but nothing compared to the real deal. 

After a breakfast of this magnitude we decided as a group that we needed to do a lot of walking to get our bodies back on even keel, a theme that would repeat itself for most of the 40 hours we spent in Lyon. For those that don't know, outside of Paris, Lyon is considered the capital of French gastronomy so needless to say we indulged just a little bit over the weekend. It was nice to discover that really good meals are pretty affordable in Lyon, which is quite a difference from Geneva.  Now, let me get back to the weekend...From breakfast we walked up to the Place Bellecour and then down to the Saone river. The area of Lyon that we were staying in is a peninsula split by the Saone and Rhone rivers (French speakers forgive me, I'm typing this on my Dell so now French accent keys, although I am getting used to my Swiss keyboard at work!) so we got a nice view of both riverbanks. We walked along Quai St. Antoine to a nice Saturday market that had plenty of goodies.

After taking in the sights and smells of the market, we crossed over the Saone to Vieux Lyon, where we spent the rest of the morning and also had lunch. The difference between Vieux Lyon and modern Lyon is incredible and I'm amazed at how well maintained Vieux Lyon is. Our first destination upon setting foot in Vieux Lyon was the Cathedrale Saint-Jean, which was built on Roman ruins very close to the riverbank. As you can probably tell from the majority of my photos, the weather in Lyon was absolutely beautiful all weekend long but it was also extremely sunny which means that there were some exposure issues in some of the photos.

The front of the Cathedrale Saint-Jean

The cathedral was built sometime in the 15th century and has some pretty neat history (look at the photos in my album from Lyon for more detail). From the cathedral we chose to trek up the hill to get to La Basillique Notre Dame de Fourviere rather than take the cable car up. The journey up was intense, but well worth it given the views we were able to take in. The photo below is a panorama of the view of modern Lyon from the hill.

The Basillica was also quite impressive and similar to the Cathedral, was also completed in the 15th century and is quite immaculate. There are plenty of pictures in my album of the insides so I'll spare the details because words won't do it justice. From La Basillique we made our way over to the ruins of a large Roman amphitheatre and again, I was just amazed at the condition that the ruins are in. Even more interesting is that the city of Lyon uses the ruins to stage concerts and other events during the summer, which is very cool. Take a look for yourselves.

After spending most of the morning out in the sun trekking about in Vieux Lyon, we needed some nourishment. Luckily for us, there is no shortage of cafes in Lyon, especially Vieux Lyon, so once we had descended back into the town, we promptly found a place to sit and relax and enjoy a good meal. Many of the cafes in the area had special prix fixe menus starting at 15 euros, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I started off with la salade Lyonnaise, which consisted of greens, croutons, a poached egg, and bacon in a lite dressing. For my main course I had a lemon chicken dish with rice and some greens in a citrus vinaigrette and for dessert I had a slice of apple-rhubarb pie.

In typical Lyon fashion, this lunch took about two hours and it was nice to just sit and take in the atmosphere while people watching. After coming out of our food comas, we made our way back across the Saone in search of some gourmet chocolate, which we were successful in finding and it was delicious as well. The chocolate gave us some renewed energy and we made our way to the Hotel-de-Ville aka the city center of Lyon. As it so happened, there was a big Pride parade taking place on the same day and our timing was impeccable as we got swept into the frenzy for a few blocks before jumping out of line to take another break. 

By this point in the day, we all decided that we should probably make our way back to our hostel to clean up for dinner, which we had at a restaurant recommended to me by my supervisor at work. The restaurant, Le Sud, is one of four relatively well-priced brasseries run by Lyon's most famous chef, Paul Bocuse. Again they had a prix fixe menu which was what I went with. I started with a chilled dish of pureed eggplant and spinach and then had a Moroccan style lamb dish served on a bed of couscous with a side of potatoes. As was expected, the food was quite good, have a look for yourselves.

After dinner we went and explored Lyon's nightlife for a while and then called it a night. We woke up a little later on Sunday and as is typical in many European cities, we weren't missing much since most shops, etc... are closed. We were able to partake in market life once again and the markets did not disappoint. We spent the remaining hours wandering around Lyon, stopping for lunch at a place that specializes in moules frites. Needless to say, I was more than happy to partake in the house specialty. All in all it was the perfect way to cap off a great weekend of gastronomy and sightseeing in a great city and I'm already looking forward to a return visit sometime in the future.

What I'm listening to: "Stranger in a Strange Land" - Leon Russell and the Shelter People

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVMmyRdjlA

Lounging in Lutry

View from the Lutry pier of Lac Leman and the Alps

I apologize for the lack of writing in the last week or so, I've had some longer days at work and unfortunately the Internet wifi connection back in my room is just okay and nothing special compared to what I had when I was living in Korea or back home. I also wanted to make sure that I had enough to write about.

Having written all that here's a little update on the last two weeks of my time in Geneva. My second weekend here those of us in the program that had already arrived were taken over the border to France for some less expensive groceries (somewhat debatable but the selection was great) by Werner. Part of me thinks that we all trick ourselves into thinking it's less expensive since prices are in Euros and not in Swiss Francs. Anyways I was able to get some essentials and some pretty tasty microwaveable dishes since the microwave back at the Centre is the extent of the cooking appliances at our disposal. After grocery shopping at Migros we took a route through some smaller villages back into Switzerland to avoid the customs officials and ended up on the other side of the Rhone river in a little village called Dardagny where we stopped for un peu de cafe. From Dardagny we made our way back to the Centre with plenty of groceries in tow. For those who are interested here is a map with our route: https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Chemin+des+Cr%C3%AAts-de-Pregny+27,+Pregny-Chamb%C3%A9sy,+Switzerland&daddr=Migros,+CC+Val+Thoiry,+Thoiry,+France+to:Auberge+de+Dardagn+Restaurant,+Route+du+Mandement+504,+Dardagny,+Switzerland+to:Chemin+des+Cr%C3%AAts-de-Pregny+27,+Pregny-Chamb%C3%A9sy,+Switzerland&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=41.546728,79.013672&geocode=FcGAwQIdEpddACk7d3gx9mSMRzHQsL8vDJLITg%3BFa1lwQIdEnBbACEmpLtE0mDkKCkR28N4WoiMRzEmpLtE0mDkKA%3BFU3awAIdw3xbACHRrnQ5gmnnmimXBPqt8YeMRzHRrnQ5gmnnmg%3BFcGAwQIdEpddACk7d3gx9mSMRzHQsL8vDJLITg&oq=Che&mra=ls&t=m&z=12.

The past week of work was pretty busy and as a result I didn't do too much Monday-Friday. On Friday night a few of us decided to go out for a little bit and we ended up as spectators at a genuine European freak show. This troupe was performing outside of a little bar in a fairly residential area and unfortunately the pictures I took on my phone were not great so hopefully my words will do their act justice. These performers  did a little bit of everything, from lying on a bed of nails to fire-eating to smashing plates and it was all accompanied by some lovely accordion music...only in Europe. After the show we figured it was probably better just to call it a night before anything else to strange took place.

Yesterday a group of us decided to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Lausanne by train, which is roughly 50 minutes away. The scenery was beautiful on the ride there as you pass alongside the Alps and Lake Geneva. When we arrived in Lausanne we walked around for a bit before deciding to stop for some amazing gelato, which was a nice refreshment given the nice weather we had. After a little more walking around Lausanne we hopped aboard a bus and headed out to Lutry, which is a little village 15-20 minutes from Lausanne. Lutry is known for its vineyards, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had decided before going to Lutry that we would take the evening trolley ride through the vineyards so we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the pier since Lutry is situated right on Lac Leman.

Here was our view:

It was a little humid and muggy down on the lake, hence the fog, but it really was quite scenic with the Alps in the background. There were also numerous sailboats anchored in the harbor and it felt a little like I was strolling along at the Yacht Club in search of the Rayzel.

After grabbing a bite to eat we hopped aboard the Lavaux Express, our evening trolley ride up into the vineyards. As fate would have it the weather was pretty decent on the way up and the views were spectacular but it started to downpour as we were on our descent and our poor driver got soaked. Unfortunately he had to cut our trip short but we were promptly dropped off at the wine bar where we were able to sample a few of the wines produced from the vineyards we had driven past, including a white, a rose, and a red.

A view of the vineyards and the impending weather

View of the vineyards, Lac Leman, and the Alps

The town of Lutry from the vineyards

Thankfully we really didn't get stranded in the rain for very long and we made it back to Lausanne at a decent hour and took the train back to Geneva to end a nice day trip. Today a few of us went to go check out the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent's museum, which was interesting, pretty interactive, but a little expensive at 15 Francs. 

That's about all for now, it should be another relatively busy week at work but stay tuned because there is strong possibility that a group of us will be going to Lyon next weekend and I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about and many pictures of delicious foods.

What I'm listening to: "Dig A Pony" - The Beatles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfK67uzz83o

Settling In

Just hanging out on the Right Bank of Lake Geneva

 Now that I've had a few days to unpack and get settled in I figured it was probably time for me to write up another post so I don't lose my dedicated readers. It really is too early for me to say how I have been adjusting on the whole; I slept in until 1 PM on Monday, which while not great, was fine since I don't begin my internship until Wednesday. However, for the most part, I feel like I'll be able to get into a pretty good routine in Geneva.

The John Knox Centre, where I am living while in Geneva, is very conveniently located. It was a short bus ride from the airport to the nearest bus stop and then just a 15 minute schlep uphill with my bags to the Centre. For those of you that have been able to view my pictures on Facebook, you know that my room is not very spacious at all and it has taken a little getting used to but thankfully I packed well (wonder where I learned that?) and there has been enough closet and shelving space for all my things. I also have a desk but I haven't used it much; it's more comfortable for me to use my computer in bed. The Centre is located in the village of Pregny, which is roughly a 20-30 minute walk from the Place des Nations a.k.a. the UN headquarters. The Centre is also just 750 meters from where I'll be working which is great. Public transportation in Geneva has been pretty accessible as well and there are bus stops located nearby. I actually just went on my first grocery run at the local COOP supermarche. Next to the Centre there is also a great trail that serves as the perimeter to a vast area of fields and there is a great view of the mountain range surrounding Geneva and Lake Geneva. I look forward to going on many nice runs/walks along this trail.

Now to the really fun stuff...On Sunday I met up with two of the other students who are from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University who are participating on the same program as me but are working for different organizations. One of the students had been here for a week already and the other student arrived just a few hours before I did last Saturday so we all decided that we should go exploring and get to know a part of the city that wasn't Pregny. We ventured out towards Lake Geneva heading down to the Right Bank. Geneva is similar to Paris where there is a Left Bank and a Right Bank, but instead of being divided by a river like the Seine, Geneva is split up by the lake. Anyways, after taking in the scenery along the lakeshore, we hopped aboard a water taxi and went across the lake, past the famous Jet d'Eau to the Left Bank, where the Vieille Ville (Old Town) of Geneva is located. This is definitely the more historical part of Geneva and it was interesting to walk along the cobblestone roads and stumble upon Catholic cathedrals that were converted after the Reformation into Calvinist churches along with many other landmarks. We even found ourselves in a  park with human-sized chess boards and checker boards and we were able to play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f5BTOaGoJ8), even if we were the only tourists there; it was a popular place for the older gentlemen of Geneva.

View of Lake Geneva and the Jet d'Eau

I've spent most of my time since filling out various forms that are necessary for my organization to have before I can begin my internship position. However, yesterday evening we met with a man named Werner who is a close acquaintance of one of the Maxwell School faculty who helped to arrange this internship program. Werner was very nice and took us around and then out to dinner at a nice cafe where I had steak du boeuf avec une sauce aux poivre vert which was delicious. Afterwards he drove us to Pregny's neighboring village, Chambesy, where we had a great view of Lake Geneva at dusk and then from there we headed to a remote location down on the lakefront for a great view of Geneva at night. All in all it was quite a nice welcome to Geneva! That's all for now, I'll try and get another post up by the end of the weekend.

Oops!! Wrong Werner!

What I'm listening to: "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" - LCD Soundsystem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj8JrQ9w5jY

Jetting Off to Geneva

View of the Jet d'Eau and Lake Geneva with the city in the background

It certainly has been a while since I last posted on the blog but I figured now would be a good opportunity for me to get everyone up to speed with how I've been and what I have on tap over the summer. As most of you probably know, I never did get around to writing up my 2 months of travel around Southeast Asia after finishing my teaching career in Korea and I'm sorry about that; I hope that at some point in the future I will be able to sit down and be able to concisely write about those 2 months and post it to this blog. Most of you also probably know that I was fortunate enough to be selected for a summer internship in Geneva, Switzerland with an international organization. Unfortunately because I'm not sure about how strict this agency is about what gets posted on the Internet, I'm going to leave my position and agency unlisted until I find out more about their social media policies. Anyways, I'm leaving tomorrow evening and I thought that the blog would be a good forum for me to communicate with all of you about my happenings while in Switzerland. Additionally I will be taking plenty of pictures and uploading them so there should be lots of eye candy for everyone. You can access these pictures from this blog by clicking on the link to My Picasa Pics on the right hand side of the blog. Otherwise I'll be posting them on Facebook as well. If you would like to subscribe to the blog via email you can do so by signing up on the right hand side of the blog. Lastly, the URL for the blog has changed, I figured wolfishinkorea didn't really apply anymore so the new URL address for the blog is wolfishworldadventures.blogspot.com, please make sure to bookmark it! And of course, I couldn't forget what I'm sure was a highlight of the blog for many.

What I'm listening to: "Caught By The River" by Doves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE7W44TPXvM