Our train left at 6:45am. We picked a train that went straight there, meaning we did not have to change in Zurich, Basel, Bern, etc. The plan was to sleep on the train, but we ended up chatting the whole way there. We pulled into Geneva at about 10:45am and immediately set out to find the United Nations Palace of Nations.
We toured the UN at noon. Instead of finding a map and taking the most direct route there, we decided to stroll in the general direction of the Palace of Nations by way of the lake. Lake Geneva is the number one attraction for Geneva on TripAdvisor and I now understand and 100% agree with this ranking. Although it was cloudy when we first got to Geneva, the clouds eventually broke up, leaving us with a gorgeous, sunny day.
The UN was very cool. The tour was only about an hour, so very quick. But for this history nerd, who knew exactly when the UN was founded when asked by the tour guide (1945 in case anyone was wondering), it was amazing. We toured both the new building, built in the 1970s, and the original Palace of Nations, built in the 1930s. Both Kelsey and I were surprised at how modern and new the Palace of Nations looked. We realized that although the 1930s is relatively old from an American perspective, from a European perspective it is in fact quite new.
The Human Rights Conference Room set up for a conference beginning Monday! We were one of the last tour groups able to see it, since it will be closed during the conference.
The League of Nations symbol is on all the doors in the Palace of Nations. Say hi to my reflection in the glass door!
After the UN, we went to an Ethiopian/Indian restaurant for lunch. I was able to have some delicious Indian food, something I've been missing from the US.
After lunch, we just wandered throughout the city with no real plan. It was very nice, especially since the weather was so beautiful. We walked into a few churches, some stores, and sat by the lake. If I lived in Geneva, I would be at the lake all the time. It was absolutely breathtaking, especially with the Alps as a backdrop. The beauty of it won't show up in pictures, so you'll just have to trust me that it was wonderful. Apparently, on clear days, you can see Mont Blanc from Geneva. It is the tallest peak in the Alps, and technically in France. It wasn't quite clear enough to see it when we were there, but at least I was able to see it from my plane from Madrid back to Basel over Spring Break. I will never get tired of seeing the Swiss Alps, whether it's from across Lake Geneva, from a train window, or from the top of the tallest University of St Gallen building.
There was a regatta going on when we were there. I wish that I could have hopped on a boat and joined them!
We grabbed sandwiches from Migros (a Swiss grocery store) and ate them on the train back to St Gallen. Again, we were able to find a train that went all the way to St Gallen and didn't require any connections. When we stopped in Fribourg, Switzerland, however, they made an announcement stating that we all had to get off the train. Nobody knew what was going on. Kelsey and I checked the other trains coming through Fribourg to see if we could take another one to a bigger city/train station and connect there, but it didn't look like we had many options. About five minutes after we were told to get off the train, they told us to all get back on, and we continued on with no other incidents. It was odd, but at least we made it back to St Gallen!
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