Secret bank accounts and amazing scenery.

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We left the chaos and heat of Naples behind and headed to the order and cool mountain air of Switzerland. On the plane when the captain announced it would be 18 degrees in Geneva when we landed Triona burst out laughing as Peter was wearing shorts and a T-shirt still.

Coming from the insanity of Naples it was actually nice to arrive somewhere that was ordered and everything worked. After getting to our accomodation we decided to take a wander around the town. Geneva is a gorgeous city situated on the banks of a beautiful lake and surrounded by green hills, the lake is so clean that many people go swimming in it. Geneva is the location of over 200 international organisations such as the European arm of the UN, the red cross and WHO. It is also home to more banks than you could ever imagine, with banks like HSBC and ING having private banking services here and also a number of private banking firms who advertise at the airport offering discreet services for the mega rich. Walking around Geneva it was easy to see why the city is often voted as one of the most livable cities in the world.

We started our sight seeing in Geneva by visiting the UN, the European arm handles most of the comittees and when we there they were having a committee regarding nuclear disarmarment. The building was very interesting and used to house the League of Nations before WWII. Just across the street was the headquaters of the red cross, we wandered over and had a look at the mueseum which offers a good insight as to how and why the organsiation was started and what it has done in the past.

After spending two days hanging around Geneva we headed into the heart of Switzerland to Interlaken. The train ride to Interlaken went along the shore of lake Geneva and could have been a trip in itself. The train also went through the town of Montreaux, which hosts the famous Montreaux jazz festival. So what you say. Chances are you have never heard of the Montreaux jazz festival, right. WRONG. The montreaux jazz festival is a world famous festival held on the banks of lake genenva each year. One year somebody in the audience lit a flare and burnt down part of the festival equipment. In the audience where none other than 'Deep Purple' and this event led to the world wide hit song "smoke on the water." The first line of the song actually goes - "We all went down to Montreaux on the lake Geneva shore line." So without even realising it you are being given a history lesson and a guitar lesson all in one.

Interlaken is the second biggest adventure sports centre after Queenstown in NZ, however it is the most expensive with a 3hr whitewater rafting trip costing around €70. Noting that we weren't going to be tossing down over 100 Australian dollars on a rafting trip we decided to get head upto the mountains and do some hiking. From Interlaken we caught the train to Grimmelwald and once again found that the train trip woud have been worth it alone for the scenery. The countryside in the are around Grimmelwald is beautiful with rolling green hills and mountains just dusted in snow behind them. The area is super popular with hikers and mountain bike riders who hang about in the countryside having a good time. Our hike took us back down towards Interlaken and the amazing scenery we encountered on the way made it thourghly enjoyable experience.

On the sunday we headed back to Geneva and were met with beautiful weather and got a good insight into why it is such a livable place. When we wandered back down to the lake there was a Triathlon in full swing with all sorts of people participating, some struggling more than others. On the lake there was a mass of boats and people were sailing and windsurfing and generally enjoying the beautiful weather in this beautiful city.

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Photos

The Jet de Au in Lake Geneva
This superpowered fountain shoots water out at over 200km/h and upto about 150m high.

Triona and the beautiful lake Geneva
The lake is crystal clear and is set in beautiful surroundings

Peter at the UN
Apparently the top job was filled so Peter left his resume and is expecting a call any day now.

Peter new office
This is one of many conference rooms and is where the International Atomic Energy agency was created.

The Place de Nations
The UN building

Swiss mountains
Views on our walk