Four days in Geneva

Amsterdam to Geneva. You can see the top of the French Alpes in the Background as we descend into Geneva.

After Carnival I spent a few days visiting my girlfriend, Gaby, in Geneva where she is studying. It was nice to travel with an Australian again! The four days we spent experiencing Geneva which is a very interesting a culturally diverse city. Also frightfully expensive, even compared to Australia. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that clear most of the time too see the mountains. Also regretted not bringing my ski gear to visit some of the nearby ski fields. Geneva had a really good public transport system using trains and trams, as well as 'Brams': these long bendy buses that were electric and connected to the tram grid.

Most days we spent walking about Geneva generally soaking up the city vibe, which is hard to describe. Its a real mix! The city is quite dense, as its locked by the surrounding landscape, and the beautifully clean & sparkly blue lake. Theres a mix of really classic older buildings, as well as newer buildings that home to various banks and corporations in the city centre.

The old town was beautiful with the old architecture that you typically imagine of classic european cities, complete with the cobblestone street and snow piled beside the roads. Lots of small boutique shops and trendy little bars fill the streets adding to the vibe of the city.

Geneva has a cool mix of urbanisation where the city capitalises makes use of both its historical built environment and the natural surrounds; the snow capped mountains, beautiful parks and the lake. I was surprised to see how clean and blue the water in the lake was.

My trip to Geneva was really fun, and the chance to spend a few days un-rushed in a city is a great way to get a real feel for the people and the place.