Having had a very social life the past
couple of weeks – and looking forward to even more events, I had decided that I
would take the day “off” Wednesday the 3rd and simply buy a day pass
for the public transportation system and wander Geneva.
There were a few ideas in the back of my
head, one of which was to visit the flea market at Plainpalais, but as it
turned out it was a good thing that I hadn’t had any as I didn’t even make
that.
Leaving home I headed for town then
deviated to run an errand near the Old Town. That in turn had me exploring
things that I had never seen: some architectural, the rear of the Russian
Orthodox church, an “installation” – even led to the discovery of a Henry Moore
sculpture that I am sure 99% of Geneva’s inhabitants don’t even know is there.
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| Architecture in Geneva is so varied |
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| Architecture in Geneva is so varied |
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| Architecture in Geneva is so varied |
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| François Lefort, Admiral and General under Peter the Great |
How did his statue get up on the bluff behind the Russian Orthodox church ?
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| The Russian Orthodox church under scafholding |
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| One of the seven golden cupolas down for repairs |
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| An "Installation", of 7 TV screens - nothing currently playing though |
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| The Henry Moore sculpture |
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| John Calvin's school had been recently renovated: still an operating high school |
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| Entrance to the State's Courthouse - on the right was the old prison |
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| The fountain at the Bourg du Four - a gathering place for many |
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| Entrance to the Courthouse |
It was close to noon when I arrived at the
Bourg du Four – the ancient center of Old Town -there where bread was baked,
where the market took place back in medieval times and where the inhabitants
gathered to talk. I remembered that the Lutheran Church had noon concerts so
wandered down to see what the day’s offering was: oh yeah Bach, Beethoven among
others played by the FOG trio (although it is simply the letters of their
names, they re-arranged them on purpose to spell FOG as – as the moderator said
– they are often not quite clear as to where they are going) and only a
half-hour to wait.
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| The Lutheran Church - built to look simply like a Manor House in order to not detract from the cathedral, it was the first "foreign" church to be allowed in Geneva after the Reformation |
What better place to do so than at the
coffee shop that replaced Mortimor’s (for the year that I worked with the first
pastor before he returned to the USA, he would often suggest that we go get
coffee and take a break as we worked flat out for five hours the days that I
was there). How the inside has changed, but the pastry and water were fine. Enjoyed the concert then headed off to have
lunch somewhere other than the usual places.
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| Building still the same |
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| Inside entirely different! |
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| The FOG trio: Christine Guignard, Olivier Fleury & Virginie Olsson |
This meant walking down the hill to a bus
stop – the one where I was planning on catching one to another of my recently
discovered places. I had determined to take either the 25 (Botanical Gardens)
or 9 (Délices) whichever showed up first, but when two had gone by without
either being them, I changed the plan to simply the third bus – fate had it
being one that went to the neighborhood where my older son had lived for
several years – and a park that he had just recently shown me. Starving and knew there was no restaurant so
grabbed a sandwich and a bottle of water at the local Coop then went and laid
out my newly purchased “Swiss” blanket in a small park tucked away from the
city. I did discover that perhaps my
bones are no longer made for laying on the hard ground, but took off shoes and
socks and stuck it out long enough to admire the sun and wind in the trees
above me and eat my sandwich.
Then it was across the foot bridge that
parallels the train tracks overlooking one of the most interesting natural
sights in Geneva: the junction where the Rhone River coming out of the lake
meets the Arve River coming down from the French Alps. The Arve on the right is
glacial water and very gray and murky: the Rhone has gone through the lake and
is pristine clear – such a difference.
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| Le Rhône et l'Arve |
Had my afternoon coffee in the Bois de la
Batie – another area of town known for its animal park and wonderful biking and
hiking paths – and much enjoyed the sign in the restroom.
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| "Toilets: limited to 5 minutes, Reading tolerated"! |
Then it was find the bus
heading home in time to arrive for the last preparations of a wonderful Syrian
evening. We ate well and way too much. I am blessed to have such friends: the
conversation around the table was lively, the food greatly appreciated. Indeed
a most wonderful birthday celebration. According to information that I
received, I share my birthday with 20 million others in this world – but I sure
felt special and only one that day.
