Swiss trip - day one

Day one - 26th May, Thursday

We almost didn't make it. The previous night I forgot to set the alarm before going to bed - in fact I'd just fallen asleep when some subconscious reminder brought me back with a start to the real world to set the alarm clocks that will create the early morning cacophony to wake us up from our Kumbhakarna slumber.

We were at the airport by 5 a.m. My tickets hadn't yet been paid for so we headed to the KLM counter to pick them up. I was quite excited not just at the prospect of the trip, but also because it would be my first trip abroad on the new British passport. I had my first joy of the trip when the lady at the ticket counter asked me to pay roughly 80 pounds less than what I had been told earlier. Now, that's how I like to start my holiday!

Vaiju & Ranga had already checked in before us, so after checking in we proceeded towards the gate. We were in the line at the security check when we had the second surprise of the day. Shoba spotted her cousin Nishant who she had not seen for almost a decade. Nishant was on his way for a month's holiday in Cuba (wow!) and was travelling with us upto Amsterdam from where he was to take the long haul to Havana. Shoba's and Nishant's conversation went into the catch-up mode we all slip into when we meet up with long lost acquaintaces. We met Vaiju & Ranga at the gate trying their best to keep Aditi in check as she entertained herself with a box of jingles & critters.

At Amsterdam, we bade goodbye to Nishant & boarded our flight to Geneva. We had our first glimpse of the Alps on the flight into Geneva. All the peaks were snow covered and all of them looked like my idea of the Matterhorn. The entire range was glistening in the sun. The Alps run all through Switzerland and three days of our trip was to be spent on some it's highest peaks.

Geneva, for it's reputation & name, seemed quite a small city. The flight path gave us a nice bird's eyeview of the city & of it's main tourist draw, the 140 metre high Jet d'eau fountain. The airport itself was quite compact - the first plane we saw when we landed was an Air India jumbo which fitted well with my impression that we Indians now constitute a significant proportion of the visitors to this beautiful country.

The temperature in Geneva was a stifling 32 C. This was all the more apparent as we walked back from the hotel to the airport that afternoon to catch a train into town. Vaiju & Ranga were still at the hotel but Shoba & I decided to spend the second half catching the sights of the town. Geneva is a small compact town with the usual array of souvenir shops selling cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives & Swiss chocolates. We walked to the waterfront guided by the beacon that was the Jet d'eau. This fountain shoots a half cubic meter of water per second about 140 metres - the force of the water can only be felt from up close as a column of water about 6 inches in diameter gushes out of the exit pipe at almost 200 kms per second. We spent the afternoon wandering around that area, admiring the floral clock & the English gardens (Jardin Anglais) and then finally we got to the Tourist Info office where a bored looking fellow gave us a couple of maps of the city.

In the evening, Vaiju & Ranga came into the city and we met them at the railway station before heading off to the UN building. I think that was the disappointment of the day - to begin with, it was closed and then there were roadworks going on right in front of the building leaving only the small footpath and the huge gate to stare through. This wasn't much fun though the bus loads of Indian tourists didn't seem to mind. We then came back to the city to soak in the evening atmosphere, once again close to the waterfront. Dinner was at the local McDonald's where they still serve veggie burgers (unlike their UK counterparts which serve up a horrible quorn alternative).

I was so exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel that I cannot even recall Prashant calling me when they got in at 11!!