The night before my departure from Cape Town, a tragedy occurred. Paris, often the city of vitality, became a somber capital wrapped in violence and horror and my heart goes out to the city of light and to those who's lives were lost. As a result, the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday shook the world in a way that made even the bravest of travelers cower in fear of another attack. I, being one of these individuals, felt a wave of apprehension as I boarded my twelve hour flight to London this weekend. My next journey before heading back to the United States consists of a solo trip in Geneva followed by two weeks in Paris. Between finding my way, alone, in a foreign city and continually updating myself with the most recent news coming out of Paris, this time of reflection in Switzerland has not been the typical Eat, Pray, Love experience, yet.
Having been all over the world, I, surprisingly, have yet to discover a place all by myself. It's quite an interesting experience especially when English is spoken a lot less than expected. I left my friends at a terminal bus stop in London and embarked on a journey to peaceful Switzerland. While at Heathrow, I jumped through hoops to get from terminal to terminal in layers of clothing seeing that I had to fit all of my belongings for the next couple of weeks in a tiny carry-on bag. After some suspicious delays to my departure time, I finally boarded my Swissair flight to Geneva. I tried to sleep, but the television was playing an ongoing info-rmercial about "zoo babies" and I, naturally, could not peel my eyes away from the reel of baby animals on the screen.
After landing among rolling hills and sprawling lakes, I sort of guessed and got on a train that took me to the center of the city and with all of my belongings I played a game of geographical Jenga, walking from street to street hoping that I was traveling in the right direction. A lot of people tell me that I'm geographically-challenged, but when you're alone, your brain has no choice, but to turn into Google Maps.
Naturally, in my six-person dorm room, I received one of the top bunks right above an incredibly strong LED light fixture. I used my mattress cover as a towel after washing off the stench of my twenty-four hours in transit. Not a pretty sight, I am certain of that.
Food...? I had been so preoccupied that I had forgotten to eat. After living in South Africa where their currency is about as strong as a limp noodle, I was snapped back to Swiss reality as I paid thirty dollars for a cheese pizza and a salad. I could have purchased an entire five course meal in Cape Town for that price...including wine!
Exhausted, I actually watched Eat, Pray, Love since I had no idea what to do with myself. That Liz Gilbert really makes the whole solo journey look very easy. I went to sleep as my roommates, all speaking different languages, conducted their nightly beauty regiments.
My morning brought aimless walking all around the city, a city so clean that you can't walk one block without seeing a man with a leaf blower, undergoing the impossible task of cleaning up fallen foliage. Missing the African sun, I bought a beanie in a local H&M that was so much better than the stores in the U.S., might I add.
Feeling under-dressed, I watched women in never-ending coats and men in dapper suits pace down the streets smoking cigarettes and drinking espressos. Away from the bustle, Old Town was desolate and by desolate, i mean empty. I felt as though I was walking around a movie set for Les Miserables. It was all very quiet. However, I did find a playground with swings and I sat there and breathed in the crisp, autumn air that was pleasantly mixed with the aroma of a college student smoking some early morning ganja while finishing an assignment. I walked all around the city and eventually found myself at the Bains des Paquis. This place is like a beach club with a pool and diving well built right into the crystal-clear Lake Geneva. There, you can buy lunch which for me was fondue du cremant pour une personne. I ate my weight in gruyere and bread while many older people came for the plat du jour. Eating alone is quite the experience especially among the above sixty-five crowd donned in fur coats and scally caps. Highly suggested. However, all of my meals today were eaten by myself, so tomorrow, I'll be putting out an advertisement asking for an English-speaking meal buddy which is apparently hard to come by. Despite my complaints, Geneva is beautiful, clean, peaceful and a bubble when looking at what's going on all around the world.
I guess I couldn't have chosen a better place to get some me-time as I continue to travel seeing that the world seems to be imploding outside of the Swiss borders. The only thing imploding in Geneva is my wallet.
Alright, alright, no more complaining...Ok, one last complaint...the older woman staying in my hostel dorm room (who I think is a Russian spy) snores. So, bonsoir everyone! I'll be staring at the ceiling praying for ear plugs.
