Aarron Walter

I recently spent and extended, 5-day weekend in the beautiful city of Geneva, Switzerland. The city is situated at the base of the Alps on Lake Geneva, a crystal clear, chilly body of water fed by the melting snow from the surrounding mountain range. A swim in the lake will certainly wake you up! Geneva is one of the world’s most international cities as it is home to the United Nations in Europe, the Red Cross, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Trade, Organization, and the list goes on. Walking down street you might encounter visitors from dozens of countries in a single block.

On a clear day you can see Europe’s tallest maintain peak, Mont Blanc. An impressive 450 feet tall fountain jets out of Lake Geneva powered by two 2000 hoarse-power engines, which claimed the life of their creator when it was first turned on. The narrow streets of the old city make for pleasant exploring, where you will find shops and cafe of all kinds. Of course there are plenty of fancy Swiss chocolate shops with tempting displays of the finest sweets in the world.

I spent a good portion of a day riding a rented bike around the city, and then stopped by a park that had giant chessboards where old men sat around contemplating intense games. In the early afternoon I watched a fierce battle between two exceptionally talented players. One a refined, slow moving character smoked with legs crossed as he coolly surveyed the board behind mirrored sunglasses. The other was a grizzled bear that preferred to observe the game by walking amongst the pieces. I returned to the park late that night to find the same two opponents still locked in fierce battle. I challenged my friend Martin to a match, in which I crushed him using some of the strategy I had learned from watching the two pros play. (Okay, Martin beat me earlier that day, so we were then even.)

I spent some time in a paddleboat on the lake taking it easy, and nearly had an unpleasant run in with the Geneva fountain. Martin and Nicole narrate in this video, which might give you some idea of just how giant this thing really is.