Cam landed an internship at an international organization in Geneva for the summer, and we decided that visiting him and having another European adventure was more important than saving money for retirement, and off we went.
July 4: Penang - KL, KL to Doha, Doha to Geneva. Flying into Geneva we see fields and houses, villages--neatness and charm.
The boy was there to meet us--7 am on a Saturday!
 |
| on the train into town from the airport |
He looks good!! His job is writing brochures on malaria and other health topics for the International Organisation of Migration (think UNHCR but for migrants as opposed to refugees).
K returns to the Geneva/the Palais after OMG 37 years. This is turning out to be old home year for her, with visits to Bangkok, Penang, Singapore and now Geneve.
July 5-6: touring Geneva avec Cam. He owns the place, which is much nicer somehow, more easy going, than I remembered. We took the Palais tour (peacocks still roam—yay!), bought bread and cheese and wine and had a picnic in the Botanical Gardens, which are large and nicely done. We searched for one apartment where I used to live, after I recognized the names of two cross streets, but no luck or not sure anyway. Made a detour to see the statues of Calvin and the other big names of the Reformation, which K remembers as about 4 times larger than they really are. Then we watched a World Cup match over our first biere a la pression. A fine first day in Europe.
 |
| outside the Palais des Nations |
 |
There are still peacocks at the Palais!
|
Later, picnic at the Botanical Gardens
 |
| K, full of shame below Calvin |
The next day we hopped in a rental car and made
our way to the Caillier chocolate factory for a fun tour (surprisingly well done) and as much chocolate
as we could eat in 5 minutes at the end. C had planned ahead and bought a liter
of milk, which enabled him to down a good 50% more than the average unaware
citizen. We bought many bars of chocolate, which later melted in the trunk of
the car as we enjoyed our first cheese fondue in a simple roadside café... Oh well, will have to eat those ourselves and buy more for presents :-).
 |
getting the most out of the chocolate factory tour
Between the chocolate and the cheese we took in the castle at Chillon. |
 |
| Chateau de Chillon |
 |
| how many prisoners had this view? |
 |
| Fondue! |
July 7 - 11: We leave Cam for the week (he works; we play), hitting the best (well, cheapest) coffee machine in Switzerland, at the airport, where we go to pick up a car to tour the
Alsace region of France.
France strongly appeals and promises to be a good deal less
expensive than La Suisse. We travel
along some of the so-called Alsace Wine route, mostly staying in towns that are
just off the main route and therefore less exclusive, but which turn out to be
every bit as charming.
First stop is
Colmar.
 |
| K wearing unfamiliar closed shoes and a jacket |
But it's just one picturesque, walled medieval town after another ...
 |
| wine press |
FRANCE ! We have traded oil palm fields for vineyards. The cows are so contented they lie down in the center of lush green fields.
We find we are on the route of the Tour de France, which will pass by in a few days just after we leave the area.
HAD to make a pilgrimage to Bergheim to see a 700 year old tree. It is lovingly supported by a couple of stout posts.
T masters each city map, each walking tour. Besides Colmar and Bergheim we visit Bebelheim, Ribeauville, and Riquewihr.
 |
| village street with vineyard just behind |
We leave Alsace
for Lorraine, passing through Munster (yes we bought cheese—so much more
interesting, read stinky, than the garden variety Munster cheese of the US) and
into Les Vosges, a ridge of low
mountains.
 |
hiking in Les Vosges
|
July 12: Back to Geneva at the weekend for another
day and a half with Cam.
Here is the boy at Geneva's famous jet d'eau. We bought beer, shared a duty free cigar, and sat on the jetty and watched the world go by.
 |
| Boy and jet d'eau |
On Sunday he took us up to Saleve, a sheer mountain face outside Geneva.
 |
| on the telepherique up |
We walked down--OW.
July 14: Said a bientot again to Cam, and in the early morning we left for Budapest.
It was too early for the tram so we had to take a taxi to the airport. It was a Prius. In Baku they were BMWs.
 |
| Budapest! Um, Pest actually |
We met up with old friends Laura and Greg for a bit of adventure halfway around the world from our homes in Washington...
Pest [say Pesht] is where to stay. The
castle hill in Buda is where to go and see the view and know the lay of the
land. The 24 hour transit card is the way to avoid the hassle and confusion of
tram/metro/bus tickets and even allows you to CRUISE THE DANUBE (about half an
hour, one side of the river to the other and down a piece).
The Danube was historically seen as a
natural boundary between Europe and
Asia. From the citadel hilltop
view we see the seemingly endless plains beyond.
Happy cows lie around in Hungary too.
The city has a Soviet era subway—so reminiscent of Baku and Tbilisi.
 |
| Tom in the lift at the apartment |
 |
| The entrance of the apartment we shared |
 |
| crown jewels (copy!) of Hungarian monarchy |
After just two days in Budapest, we said goodbye to our friends, and headed by train to an incredible spot in eastern n Hungary: Lillafured.
The Palota Hotel in Lillafured is from another world! A castle on a lake
nestled in striking hills, surrounded by lush gardens. Hikes, caves, rowboats
and charming villages to explore nearby. The onsite spa holds saunas and
Jacuzzis. Down the hall are a bowling lane and darts. The dining hall (demi
pension here), as the rest of the hotel, was built for dignitaries and is
furnished in over the top 1930s dark wood carvings, chandeliers and carpets,
and is reached by a wide and elegant staircase with Chinese vases at the
corners. We seem to be the only
Americans and one of the very very few foreigners. There is live music and both
dinner AND breakfast. Dinner’s is a guy on a keyboard with electronic
accompaniment. But breakfast--oooh--a bearded man dressed all in white, playing
classical guitar.
Strangers don’t smile on the street in
Hungary, but are friendly when approached and especially so once contact has
been made. We made room for a woman to
sit on a bus and later asked her if the next stop was the train station (it was
not). She waved goodbye and smiled energetically as she passed our window after she got off.
 |
| Just at the back of the hotel |
 |
| Hungarian specialty (can't remember name...) Think hollow donut. We got "Bounty" flavor, which was chocolate and cocount |
 |
| from the tower of the hotel. Every hotel needs a tower, no? |
 |
| Back garden of hotel |
 |
| T relaxing with coffee in the lounge (note fireplace) |
July 18: Three trains, two buses and a taxi took us
from Lillafured, Hungary to Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia, chosen by your resident
tour guide for its UNESCO world heritage charm and interest and by its relative
proximity to Hungary (since we have to return to Budapest to fly Easyjet HA-HA back to Geneva. One of the train changes
found us in Nove Zamsky, Slovakia, where we enjoyed an excellent cold draft beer
in a clean, attractive train station café for 1 €. Loving Europe.
Banska Stiavnica. The medieval town is amazing. The “old”
church is from 1230, the “new” from 1443-91. It was once the second largest city in the
Austro-Hunagrian Empire, after Vienna.
It was an important mining center, for both
silver and gold mining. The Turks tried unsuccessfully to take the town for 150
years in the 1400s+. The church, walled
in and made into a fortress, is credited for keeping them at bay.
 |
| The church became the fort |
The Kammerhof was where miners went to pay
their tax to the emperor, in gold or silver.
 |
| Kamerhof (I think!) |
 |
| close up of sundial |
We walk through the Botanical Garden, which
was founded in 1838. Through T’s diligence we locate the Lebanese cedar there.
Happily it is much larger than we imagined.
Post-mining, people found a good use for
the many tunnels that run under the town.
Refrigeration.
 |
| T in tunnel/mine |
People are so nice and helpful in Slovakia.
Many smile what I feel is a genuine smile when I say “d’akujem,” which I have
looked up, for "thank you". Only hours before leaving the country do I learn that
the “j” is properly pronounced as a “y”, so no wonder they smiled, yet I feel
there was a certain level of genuine appreciation for my ignorant effort amid
the amusement.
 |
| speaking of tummy rolls?? |
I love how many ladies have tummy rolls yet
wear stylish clothing (more stylish—well to my sense of style—than in
Hungary. There is lots of colored hair
here, as in Hungary. Prices in both are
vastly more reasonable than either France or Switzerland. We are spending our retirement savings, so
that has been good news.
Our last night in Slovakia, amid a folk
festival celebrating, I think, the birthday of a former ruler (Josef the 1st?
2nd?) we enjoy Vivaldi while sitting on the steps across the street
from a pub. The waiter brings drinks
over to anyone who asks. The stone steps are wide and have cushions scattered
around for sitters. Part of the stairway is roped off for passersby to navigate
without obstruction. The weather is
lovely and we sit amidst families and singles, enjoying the evening with a
coffee or a beer.
 |
| waiter taking orders from step-sitters |
 |
| festival action |
Along the way we have tried several draft
beers. I experiment by trying one dark brown brew I have seen in cans, called
Kokola. Turns out to taste just like Coke and come in at a whopping 12% alcohol
though you can barely notice.
Some nice food. K got to try potato pancake...yum.
And T, dumplings.
We heard music and went into a church, upstairs so as not to disturb the audience. Got to watch the organist in action
 |
| onstage at the church, part of the festival |
July 20: We leave Slovakia for Budapest, which requires a bus and three trains--happy to report we made all the connections!
 |
| T at Zvolen train station |
 |
| And later, at Nove Zamky train station |
A quick last night in Budapest and back to Geneva, for one last night with Cam. Instead of going into Geneva, we stay just across the border in Ferney-Voltaire. Cam hops the Geneva ciy bus to meet us. It’s
a Monday, the town is small and restaurant choices are few We end up in our hotel’s restaurant, which turns out to be quite good. T
gets his rare steak and I get my pastis—check and check, the must-do list. We
have to say goodbye to Cam, a fine, focused young man. Sigh.
 |
| In front of K, two delights--Cammie and pastis |
Seen in the village of Ferney-Voltaire: pizza from a machine.
July 22: Alas, time to head back to Asia. In the Geneva airport I get the pretzel I missed in Slovakia.
Bye bye Europe!
Back home, predictable, fun predicaments: a 9 ringgit—still thinking Euro/Swiss Francs--meal sounding cheap but being REALLY cheap, waking in the night and pondering the location of the bathroom, waiting in vain for the water in the kitchen faucet to get hot,
No comments:
Post a Comment