One lake two names

On the way from Solothurn to Lausanne we heard less and less German and more and more French. There was also a change in the signage on the cycle paths: The perfectionism of German-speaking Switzerland was no longer to be found in the French-speaking part. Several times we searched in vain at crossroads for the beloved clues and at two construction sites between Lac Neuchâtel and Lake Geneva our scavenger hunt, which had always been successful up to then, became an unsuccessful odyssey, so that we finally decided to cycle on the normal road to Morges on Lake Geneva. From there we followed the Velorout 1 (Rhoneradweg) and arrived with 102 km in the legs at the camping site of Rolle. We were tired and decided to rest and do less in the following days and visit Lausanne and Geneva instead by train. Furthermore, we wanted to enjoy the last real lake of our tour - as far as we know, from now on we follow the river Rhone and then the Mediterranean Sea. This lake is generally known in German as “Lake Geneva”, while in French the nicely meant translation “Lac Genève” is not very helpful as it is called “Lac Léman”.

So on Saturday August 4th we had a real break day, washed our laundry and then took the train to Lausanne. This nice little town nestles against the steep slopes to the lake. we had a hard time to orientate us because the uphill and downhill combined with stairs, bridges and elevators was confusing for newcomers. The walk through the city is very nice nevertheless and the view from the cathedral square to the lake is beautiful. Lausanne also has some interesting museums to offer. We visited the exciting Musee d’Art Brut - thanks to the free entrance on the first Saturday of the month even for free. It collects art created away from the official art market and often created by artists who live on the margins of society. We were especially taken with the artist Paul Amar. He turns shells of all possible shapes and sizes into colourful works of art. We also visited the Musee de design et d’arts appliqués contemporains. However, the current exhibition on the subject of war was too weapon-heavy for us. We liked the modern, very cosy and lively Flon quarter better.

The next day, we pedaled not quite 45 km to Geneva in the morning. Here we had booked a hotel the day before. We wanted to go to the most international city in Switzerland. Half of the inhabitants are from all over the world. After some ups and downs we came directly to the main station, which was opposite to our accommodation. Düsi we locked up in front of it, because that hotel had no special place for bicycles. In order to avoid theft, we robbed ourselves of our saddle and our camera position. The sightseeing we did with the public transport ticket which is included in every overnight stay. We enjoyed the lazy rides through the city, and thus we arrived at the newly designed museum of the Red Cross a short time later. This museum is up to date and impressed us both in content and design. Thoughtful about the tragic fate of millions of people and happy to be able to travel on our own free will and with the necessary belongings, we headed for the next destination, the city museum, in which there is a detailed relief of Geneva of the year 1850. It was built by the architect Auguste Magnin in 18 years of work and is still being consulted today for urban planning questions due to its exactness. In the following city stroll we visited the ramp of the town hall, over which the high gentlemen rode in earlier centuries to the meeting up into the hall, as well as THE landmark of Geneva: the water fountain, which is actually a relief valve and is copied nowadays several times in Switzerland as landmark. - We had already noticed the water fountains on Lake Constance. - We particularly enjoyed the lively, Mediterranean atmosphere on Geneva’s waterfront promenades, of which the city has two due to its location at the mouth of the river. There were street musicians, jugglers, fairground attractions and stalls with sweet temptations like churros with Toblerone sauce. From one side of the shore to the other, you can easily cross over with the small yellow boats called Mouettes (seagulls). These are included in the normal Öffi ticket. In the evening we followed suit the Grnevian and let the day end in the urban seaside resort “Bain de Paquis”. For an entrance fee of 2 francs, one can refresh oneself there with a swim, warm up in the sauna, relax with a massage and eat cheese fondue in the buffet at moderate prices. The next day the tour of the headquarters of the UNO will conclude our city tour. Geneva is often referred to as the “City of Human Rights”, as both the Red Cross and the UN are based here. The latter is by far not as well organized as the Red Cross Museum. A curious mixture of control measures, security checks, confusion, missing signs, long waiting times and humorous guides gives the impression of an improvised event instead of daily routine. The adventure “UN inspection” begins with the search for the entrance, which is not at the bus stop with the designation UNO as well as the alleged main entrance, but about 5 to 10 walking minutes away from it, twice around the corner after the next bus stop. One orientates oneself by the other tourists wandering around. If you have mastered the challenge number 1 “find access”, number 2 “get access” comes next. After you have passed the security check and the luggage scan, where visitors, guests and employees are mixed, you get an identity card at the counters after the call “The next please”, with which you get admission at the immediately following checkpoint. Here, one should not be deterred by the multiple information signs that require an identity document. The motto is “one for all”, so that it was no big deal that we had forgotten our passports in the luggage storage at the hotel, as Matthias carried his identity card with him in his purse. After the check we descended a staircase to queue again. A nice young lady then explained that you could only visit the UN with a guide, put an orange collar on our necks and could not give us any further information. Only at the counter, to which the que led in the end, we learned the price for the guidance as well as available languages and time slots. We bought the tickets there. Then we were sent to another building in the visitor centre. The signage there is more than sparse, but it is not advisable to get lost as you are not allowed to be a visitor in the other areas of the site and there is a risk of being expelled immediately. The visitor centre has a certain similarity to the waiting room of a dentist’s office, the previously promised snacks turn out to be automat sandwiches, chocolate and chips. We enjoyed getting one of the last seats while watching the foyer slowly fill up for the next hour. The tour itself was very interesting and our guide was able to present the facts in a memorable and humorous way. Now we know that there are currently 193 UN member countries in the world and several thousand languages, that the UN has less fixed budget available than the New York police every year - that’s why UNICEF and Co absolutely need donations - and that diplomats can laugh on the instructions of their interpreter without having understood the joke. We were also impressed by some of the artworks that the UN had received from countries, as well as the feeling of standing in places where historical events such as peace negotiations took place. Finally, a note to all architects: If you ever plan a negotiation hall for the UN or other similar institutions, it is advisable to build two equivalent entrances so that the two parties to the dispute can enter on an equal footing at the same time.