The final leg of my flights for the day was to Geneva from Dubai, I had realised a friend of mine who is based on Dubai works for the airline so I flicked her a message to see if she was on that flight, unfortunately not.
This flight had some better seats, this time not down the back of the plane like the last couple of flights and the movie collection was a lot better too, strange how a smaller plane had better movies than the last one. took approximately 7 hours, thankfully I was able to get some broken sleep on this leg, about an hours worth, but it's better than nothing.
31 degrees today, certainly noticable when you get off the plane, after collecting my bag and heading through customs I made my way to the train station, not know where or what train to catch, thankfully I have a number of apps on my phone which all pointed me in the right direction. Looking at what options to pick, I just picked the first, probably the most expensive being about 17CHF (approximantly 32NZD), I did contemplate just grabbing the cheapest ticket, but didn't know what would happen if I got caught. I brought my ticket and found a spot on the train and sat, I was expecting to get my ticket checked, but no... The train begsns it's trip to the next station where I continued to sit, I checked my travel app, which was clearly showing my gps location in a different spot, I flicked out continued on doing some other stuff and then flicked back only to find... Hey I was actually at the correct destination... I quickly grabbed my bags and jumped off before the train could take off with me in it. From there it was just a short 5 minute walk to the hotel, just my luck to turn up just as a large bus had arrived, thankfully a lady greating everyone realised I wasn't with that group and was able to check me in separately. As she was checking me in, she asked me if I had my travel pass... Confused I asked her what it was, thinking that perhaps I had to buy something else... Turns out that I should have received a pass at some stage giving me acces to free public transport (including the trading from the airport), thanks Flight Center👎. Thankfully she was able to print me off another one which means all I have to do is carry it around with me in case I get asked when I'm on public transport.
I got to my room, and really contemplated just laying down and taking a nap, not surprising really after 30+ hours of flying, being awake for about 34 of 37 hours or so, but decided to just shower and get changed into something s little more comfy so I didn't waste a lot of a good day.
I made my way down to the Brunswick Monument, this was the first stop as it was on the way to Lake Geneva just a couple of blocks from my hotel. It was built in 1879 in memory of Charles II, Duke of Brunswick, who left his fortune to the city of Geneva when he died in 1873.
From there it was a short walk along the river bank and over a bridge to the English Garden (Jardin Anglais), honestly there wasn't much to see apart from a fountain and a ferris wheel... And before you ask, no. I did not go on it. I couldn't really find any info on the fountain, so carried on to probably the most well known spot of Geneva, Jet d'eau.
The Jet d'Eau is one of the most famous landmarks in the city and apparently one of the largest fountains in the world. It was originally constructed iin 1886 as a water jet used to release excess pressure from a hydraulic power network. After it's popularity grew, they decided to relocate it to it's current location in the Geneva Harbour in 1891.
The Jet d'Eau shoots water up to a height of around 140 meters into the air, although up close it doesn't look that heigh. The fountain is illuminated at night, which I'll try see during the rest of my stay, I can only imagine how stunning that would look.
Next to the Jet d'Eua was a little lighthouse, known as Lighthouse of the Eaux-Vives (Phare des Eaux-Vives), it was originally built in 1893, resembling a tradional lighthouse with a tower and lightroom. It was built to guide boats into the harbour (obviously) and while it is no longer used these days, remains as more of a symbol of the neighborhood and a nice spot to go take some photos.
I decided to take a stroll on the way back to the hotel, by this stage I was getting a little tired, partially from the heat, but also due to the lack of sleep over the last 40+ hours (I think about 4 or so hours since I woke Monday morning). Navigating my way through some streets I came across an art museum, I decided not to pop in, purely as I was just so darn tired, but instead continue on toward the hotel.
The trip back to the hotel took me past Reformation Wall, a wall which was built to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the birth of John Calvin and to honour others involved in the Protestant Reformation. The wall is long and has large statues representing key figures from the Reformation movement, they include John Calvin, William Farel, Theodore Beza and John Knox. They all played large roles in shaping the religious and social side of Geneva and beyond during the 16th century.
Back to the hotel, a little after 5pm and I'm done, completely exhausted. After just a few minutes I was asleep.