Lac Léman – Some pictures

Here are some more pictures of Geneva Lake called Lac Léman.

You might be wondering why there are two types (scanned & digital) of pictures on my blog. The reason is very simple.
When I reached Geneva I had a still camera with me (I am a big fan of still photography, specially B & W photography). The quality of digital pictures are no match to still ones.
However, the ease of use and expenses involved are the main advantages of having a digital one. So, after sometime I also bought my first digicam, an expensive one and used it for 3-4 months. Then a colleague borrowed it for two days and lost it ! I decided not to buy another one for at least a year. Hence back to still camera. Some places I visited twice so you’ll have mix of still & digital pictures. Enjoy !! As always click on the picture for an enlarged view.

This was a ship always standing near the bridge. I think it must have been an old ship. Every weekend it was booked by locals to host some party.. full with music and wine till wee hours. If I get I’ll show you some pictures of nightlife on this ship. I am sure I have them somewhere. We were never invited though. :((

The lake is full of these lovely swans. They are just not scared of humans and eat anything that is offered to them like bread, croissants, fruits etc. In the background you can see people going towards Jet d'eau.

The water jet. It was always fun going near it as even from a distance, the sky touching showers always make you wet. If you enlarge the picture, you can see hundreds of sail boats parked near jet area. Also, can you see buildings in the back ground ? My apartment was in one of them.
Green on the left side is a huge park.

Standing tall and alone. The light house in the lake.

Quiet wintry evenings by the lake.

Dreams or Nightmares ??

On my other blog I was tagged by Sigma. I was asked to describe my three dreams / desires / nightmares or a combination of them .. whatever I want to share.

Well, I have already posted about five of my weird dreams which are actually desires and I don’t see dreams quite often. The only two dreams that I remember are coincidentally related to travel, so I thought more apt to post them here as well. Here they go..

ONE - This was also my first dream that I remember and I still remember the exact details.

I was six years old then. My father was transferred to Bharatpur (Rajasthan) and we had already moved to that tiny quiet city. But within 15 days of shifting I dreamt that we had just got down at Bharatpur railway station.

It was a wintry late night and there was no conveyance to go to our place. Fortunately my father got two rickshawallahs from somewhere and we were ready to go to our place. He made me sit in one rickshaw with all the luggage saying I was a big girl now and could take care of luggage and travel alone ! And he, my mother and younger sister sat in another with some more luggage. Being a quiet child, I didn’t say anything but was extremely scared. On top of that my rickshawala didn’t know the route so was told to follow theirs.

I was feeling very cold in a pink lacy frock. I had kept an eye to their rickshaw which was racing ahead of us in those narrow lanes. Suddenly as the luck would have it, the chain of my rickshaw got stuck and he had to stop.
According to me he took ages to correct it and by that time the other rickshaw was nowhere in sight. We went left and right in some lanes but couldn’t find them. Street lights were not proper and at a distance some dogs were barking.

I started crying very hard.. so hard that I was actually crying in my sleep ! And then my mother rushed to me and asked whether I saw a bad dream. I must have been crying for long .. my pillow was all wet. I was relieved to see her and after telling her about my nightmare I clung to her for the rest of the night.

It was very strange to have such a nightmare because of several reasons. First, we had already moved into the city. There was no need to see going there again. Second, we never had to fetch a rickshaw for transferring our luggage..lol.. it was always big trucks with many helping hands to do the needful. Third and most important, at that age my parents would have never left me alone in that rickshaw.

TWO - The next dream is quite contrast to the above one. That was of my childhood and this is just two years old. While the first one made me cry this second one left me laughing out loudly. It is about air travel and is bizarrely funny.

Here also I remember everything including my seat no. but here I’ll keep it short.

I was flying high when suddenly our airplane exploded in pieces up there in the sky. Fortunately or unfortunately at that time I was sitting intact reading a magazine with my seat belt on.

When I felt a little cold, I looked around and found myself in the clouds. I could touch them. So, I tucked my magazine securely to read later, checked my seat belts... they were jammed.

It was a scene to watch.. me sitting comfortably on my seat, all alone plummeting down but feeling and admiring the white clouds.

I had a big grin on my face and I wanted to be there forever. I never bothered about other people’s fate though I could see some burning pieces of aeroplane going down. Then a few moments later I came below the clouds and within no time I could see the sea below with no sign of land anywhere.

Instead of worrying about my life, do you know what thoughts came to my mind ?

“Oh my God ! How am I going to swim to the shore in a sitting position with this seat stuck to me ? And the article I was reading is still incomplete !”

Geneva – Lac Léman

Without Lac Léman, Geneva is incomplete and without Jet d’Eau (Water Jet), Lac Léman is incomplete. They are both integral parts of Geneva. The city's most noted landmark, the Jet d'Eau is situated in Lake Geneva. Its 140-metre-high water column is visible from many parts of the city. This jet remains closed for three months during peak winter. Also, in year 2000, Geneva was awarded the Wakker Prize for its architectural heritage.

This freshwater lake is very big in size (more than 70 KM long) and spread to France also. A small part of it is attached to Geneva which is called Petit lac (small lake). The remaining part is attached to France. So, the ferries are another way to go lakeside French area. After a ferry ride of 10 minutes we are in France. As far as I remember the max. width of the lake is approx over 10 kms.

In this lake the main leisure activities are sailing, wind surfing, boating (including water skiing and wake boarding), rowing, fishing, scuba diving and bathing. And yes, swimming as well. There is a separate section of shallow water for children. It was always fun watching all these activities. As I said earlier, my first apartment was very near to the lake.. just 100 meters of walking distance !!

Almost all the people have their own boats which are ‘parked’ here and in weekends one can see them coming in cars, parking the cars alongside and take the boats for rides to other places to spend the weekend. I felt so jealous of them at that time. :)

You can see the parked boats and

the parked cars along the lake.

Water jet is in the back ground in both the pictures.Click on them for enlarged view.

The railway track along the lake provides a scenic beauty to long distance train travelers. More on that in some other post. :)

The path or promenade along the lake is very wide and long just like we have in Bandra bandstand or Worli sea shore in Mumbai. But compared to that, these two are very small stretches, both in width and length. People of all age group come there regularly for jogging, walking the dogs and most importantly skating. The weekends were busy with skating competitions and stunts. But the whole area becomes extremely cold during winters.

The petit lac portion is so small that we used to walk along the sides to go to the other side (crossing a bridge) where we had our favourite ice cream kiosk ! The distance is hardly 2 kms. [ Around CHF 2 for an ordinary vanilla/strawberry flavoured cone :(( ]. CHF is the Swiss currency also called the Swiss Franc in English speaking countries.

In this picture you can see all – The Jet d’Eau (water Jet), the place where I stayed and my favourite ice-cream shop.

The world famous Geneva festival (a post will describe it later) happens along the lake and on the last day there are splendid fireworks right in the middle of it.
I have at least 200 pictures of this lake alone. I can speak on and on about this lake as every weekend I used to go there for strolling and I remember every tree/corner/building of that area.
Only one thing I missed out (that remains in my wish list). To read a novel lying leisurely on a free boat on a sunny afternoon near Jet d’eau.

My first apartment in Geneva

When I landed in Geneva I moved into a fourth floor apartment of this building but in a month’s time I moved out. Reason ? I have described below. Please don’t laugh, my reason was very peculiar and a simple one. First something about the apartment.

It was a three bed-room apartment with a large living room, a small store room, kitchen, a full-fledged bathroom (without the commode) and a separate toilet. There was a passage in the middle and on both sides there were rooms. Here is the map (not to the scale), just to have a rough idea. Click on any of the pictures to have an enlarged view.

Now the reasons.

First (which was my official reason also), it was far from office. Office being on the other side of the lake, I had to take two buses or a bus-tram-bus combination to get there.

But most important, genuine and basic reason was, that the toilet was sans a water tap !! Only a tissue holder.
It was just a small toilet with no water connection and between bathroom and the toilet there was a small room.. all the doors were opening in the passage from right side. On left side there was kitchen and other rooms. So if one wanted to use the water in bathroom, he had to cross more than half the length of the passage to go to bath. Ha Ha.. With all strangers around, one can very well imagine.
Now while I am writing this post, it makes me laugh at the stupidity but I needed water, if not on all days then definitely on certain days. I somehow managed there for a month then opted out.
And mind you, this is not only in Geneva but I think the whole of Europe has same funda. Even in Lille (France), they have similar dwellings. Hmm.. one more secret is out. :)

This was the only solace for me in that unknown city. The lone Indian shop just below my building. And in the whole year I never saw this shop opened because of my odd office timings. But on regular intervals the objects displayed were changing, so I can’t say that the shop was non-operating or an abandoned one.

Once I saw Bindi packets being displayed for CHF 2. Almost Rs. 64/- for what we get for Rs 2/- in India. I immediately knew what I am going to do if I am bored with my current job. Sell Bindis in Switzerland !!

CHF = Swiss currency called Swiss Francs approx Rs. 35/-

Reaching Geneva

Geneva, my first on-site city. It makes me smile, for, it has given me countless nice memories. And it is like my second home after my India.

Mumbai-Amsterdam-Geneva. That was the route I was taking. Though I was traveling alone, unlike many first time overseas travelers I was not nervous at all. I was excited. New place, new work and new challenge. I just wanted to run away from Mumbai because it was mid August, raining horribly and I hate Mumbai rains and roads.
At the airport all usual questions were asked.. who packed your luggage, are you carrying a knife etc. I had a suitcase and a rucksack besides my handbag. No hugging/kissing/crying and last minute advice for me as my family was in Delhi. Only people came to see me off was the family I was staying with.

The flight was comfortable and on time.. nearly 8 hours to reach Amsterdam. I didn’t have any difficulty with seat-belt, overhead indicators or closing/ opening of washroom door. I knew all. The only thing that really irritates me is blocking of my ears and when the airplane decides to descend at a speed which starts hinting you through your stomach to say your final prayers.

I slept for sometime as next day was Monday and I had to report to duty (Ohh how much I hate my SBU head for that). The connecting flight from Amsterdam was in 50 minutes, so not much time wasted there.
At Geneva airport one of my seniors had come to receive me.

After waiting for good one hour for my luggage (there were many like me), I came to know that due to overloading at Amsterdam, my suitcase along with many other passengers’ was held back, to be sent within 24 hours to Geneva. They said this was a normal practice due to heavy traffic within Europe.

One can imagine my predicament as within two hours of landing I was supposed to be in office and there I was standing confused in jeans and a Tee without a single set of extra clothes with me !! However, I had learnt my lesson, after that started carrying one set of clothes on my person.

The Geneva airport is very small compared to other international airports like Frankfurt, Sydney, Singapore or Amsterdam. I found it extremely clean and shining. In fact whole of Switzerland is so pure and clean.

Can you see those painted small birds at the ceiling ? Restrooms are on the right.

Come out of the arrival section and you have to pay for using the restrooms. That’s what I also did. My first use of foreign currency abroad was for using this facility. But I didn’t mind paying because they had kept it absolute sparkling clean and dry. Going from India to Switzerland, everything looked so good and beautiful. :)

The airport has an underground railway station from where frequent trains run to Geneva city and other cities of Switzerland and neighbouring countries. Come out of the building and you have bus service connecting to different parts of Geneva.

But we took a cab (first time in my life I sat in Merc, In Geneva most cabs are Mercedes Benz) directly to the place where I was supposed to stay with other colleagues in a rented apartment, very close to the lake.

I looked outside and smiled. The weather was wonderful. Geneva was welcoming me with open arms...

Switzerland

Switzerland, the heaven on earth and to me the land of milk (jahan doodh ki nadiyan behti hain) was the first country that I visited for official work. I was posted in Geneva. Initially the assignment was planned for just three months but as we neared the completion of my stay, fortunately (for me) or unfortunately it got extended twice to make it a trip of around one year.
So, I took this as a lifetime opportunity to see the neighbouring countries as well. Which ones ? You’ll come to know. :) Be a regular and watch this place. And no, don’t think I was on a relaxed job there. Working for around 60-65 hours a week does take its own toll. So, whenever I could, I made it a point to run away from that dead(ly) schedule and fulfill my passion of seeing the world, of course on my own expense.

Since it was quite a long period in Switzerland, I will talk about all I learnt about this country. Its people, culture, cities, mountains, festivals, transport, utilities, education system, survival of fellow Indians.. for that matter everything. As I said earlier, I am not writing this blog to send some tourists to these places; instead these are my recounting which I intend to treasure and cherish.

I think I am going to have innumerable posts on Switzerland. After all, my many firsts are associated with this.

In between I’ll take you to tours of other places as well. :) For this one year sojourn, you’ll find both kind of photos - scanned (taken from still camera) and digital pictures.

Before I proceed, something about Switzerland.

When people say Switzerland is heaven on earth, they are not wrong. I have been to many countries but never have I seen such a beautiful place. This country is much more beautiful in real than all that we see in Hindi movies (especially in Yashraj films). Where else such breathtaking panoramic views are spread over the entire country ? Of all the places I have been to, only landscaped countryside of New Zealand could somewhat be compared to Switzerland’s evergreen beauty. (Ohh there goes the mystery for one of the places :P)

Did you know Switzerland has four official languages? More on this later. Confederatio Helvetica, the country's official Latin name, means Helvetic Confederation. The use of Latin avoids having to favour any one of the four languages. The abbreviation (CH) is used for the same reason.
It shares its border with five countries (France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy) and it is one of the world’s most expensive country, expensive than Japan which many people think to be the most expensive one. Also, it is not a part of European Communion (EC). They still use Swiss Francs (1 CHF= Rs. 34 approx.).

Keep this map in your mind and I’ll take you to a tour of Switzerland. Click on it for an enlarged view.

It was absolutely fascinating wonderful experience for me in all aspects. Just one example, where else can you think of doing your weekly grocery shopping by going to a neighbouring country carrying your passport ? No wonder my passport looked ten years old in a single year.
And Shhhhh !! I had a Swiss bank account as well ! ;)

Ha Ha.. I am sure I am going to enjoy writing this blog. There is so much to write about.

Antwerp – The Harbour City

So, that was Antwerp.. the beautiful romantic city of diamonds and silvers. But do you know Antwerp is famous for one more reason ?

'The Scheldt river owes its existence to God, and Antwerp owes its existence to the Scheldt river' is a popular saying that shows how important the river Scheldt is for the city of Antwerp. Yes, Antwerp also has Europe's second largest and world’s fourth largest harbour. And its operating assets such as cranes, buildings, bridges, docks, roads, the electricity distribution network, data and stock management, planning, budgeting, reporting, performance tracking, internal and external outsourcing are being managed by IBM .
The following clip is taken from my colleague’s handycam, showing a passenger ship at the port. Before that day I had never seen a ship in my life, let alone this big. This time I didn’t have my camera so showing only the clips. Audio is bad, bear with me.

Of all the ports on the North Sea, Antwerp is the most central vis-à-vis the largest European production and consumption centers. Although the open North Sea is about 60 km away from Antwerp, the river is so large that sea-going vessels and large oil tankers can sail to deliver their products in the vast port area of the city.

Though the more common language in Belgium is French, this small city speaks Dutch, perhaps because of its proximity to Netherlands. Most buildings are old but a treat to eyes.. total architectural wonders. Many Indian restaurants, one doesn’t feel out of place.

Not as big as the 'Grand'Place' of Brussels, but certainly equally beautiful and crowded is the 'Grote Markt' of Antwerp, also known as Market Square.

In the background the tower of Our Lady's Cathedral completes the magnificent view.

One of the grandest buildings in Antwerp is the 'Central Station'. It welcomes visitors who arrive by train in Antwerp like a modern day cathedral. The part of the station where the platforms are, is covered by an immense metal and glass dome (typical for turn-of-the-century railway stations in Europe).

Following is the clip of a model of Antwerp Railway station stationed inside the railway station and then the real station itself. Got confused ? :))