Geneva

The weather in Geneva was fair and warmer than the previous cities I went.

Once again, I arrived at another city without securing accommodation. A staff at the train station advised me to seek help at the tourist information office in the General Post Office. It's there that I got to stay at the Geneva Youth Hostel for three nights.

The way to the youth hostel was quite a distance but otherwise easy to navigate without any obstacles. I got to pass through the central district which was full of restaurants and shops.

The hostel was housed in a factory-styled building. It looked slightly older than the one in Basel but it did come with a handicapped bathroom. The facilities here were even better than some of the hotels I stayed in.

Had my dinner in the hostel's kitchen and it was my first meal complete with pork, carrots, potatoes and salad! This kitchen didn't just offer meals for the occupants but also to anyone with limited money. A dinner was as low as CHF15!

More pictures of hostel and food at the lower half of this blog post.

20 Oct:

A refreshing rain in the morning was welcoming and it stopped in time without destroying my plans for the day. I had decided to visit CERN first.

However, reaching CERN was not easy as it's faraway. I had to take a tram to the crentral interchange, then to take another very... long tram ride to Vaudagne, and followed by a bus ride. When I arrived, I was greeted with the greatest disappointing news ever. The LHC was in operation and thus most of the facilities were not open for visitations. Worse, even the usual minimal guided tours were reserved for students that day!

Therefore, I was left with visiting the Microcosm and, across the road, the Globe of Science and Innovation that had a permanent exhibition on the Universe of Particles.

More pictures here...

21 Oct:

I visited the United Nations in the morning. Security was as tight as the airport. A photo ID was created on-the-spot for visitors.

One must also joined a guided tour to enter the compound proper. The price was CHF10. It wasn't a long tour too as the guide just showed the different conference halls and exhibits given by various countries. She was giving quite an amount of information in an allocated time such that I could never remember now. There wasn't enough photo-taking opportunities given as well.

Next stop, lunch at The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum. True to their cause, I was only charged a half-priced ticket for entrance to the museum exhibition. It showcased the history of first aid in wars and the Red Cross. I got to know how the Red Cross is founded, the contributions of it in wars and the role of the modern Red Cross.

I spent the rest of the day in search of the Rolex Headquarters. I went up and down Route des Acacias looking for Rue Francois-Dussaud while the building was already within my sight.

I wanted to get a watch for my mum and foolishly thought the source should be of the best price. In actual fact, the headquarters doesn't even have a showroom! So the last and safest place to buy was the airport...

More pictures here...

Wheelchair Accessibility

• Accommodation

I would very much go back to stay in the youth hostel than trying to get a hotel. It's cheap, convenient and handicapped-friendly. You may even reserve a family room for four in advance.

• Transport

I had absolutely no problems with the trams and buses.

I left Geneva and Switzerland in the afternoon of 22 Oct though I arrived early at the airport in the morning. Miss catching the plane was not something I could afford to do so I left the hostel early. With my conservative calculations, I had ample of time to struggle with my luggage upslope, tram to central station, and train to the airport from the central station. In the end, I had to wait for more than two hours to check-in.

At the duty-free shopping arcade, I got the Rolex watch for my mum, cheese for my family and chocolates for everyone else.