Unplugged... Kind of

Geneva did not fall short of the descriptions I've heard of Switzerland. If I could personify the city, it'd be rather unopinionated and impartial, so as not to cause a stir. It is a clean, efficient city and the center of lots of business related to the United Nations, as well as the Red Cross Headquarters. Not surprisingly, it reminded me quite a bit of Brussels.

I flew, 45 minutes by plane, from Nice to the picturesque city seated on Lake Geneva, as if to take a vacation from a vacation...

Quality is top notch in CH (initials for Switzerland... weird right?), but that means that everything is hellishly expensive. Maybe part of it is just the price of being in Switzerland, because it is such a perfect, neutral country where it seems little goes wrong.

So, on the last night, I paid a fair amount of Swiss francs (almost exactly the same: 1 CHF = 1.01 USD) for a pot of cheese fondue and too large a basket of bread to eat inside a wood-fire heated cabin out on a boardwalk over crystal clear Lake Geneva. A partner would have been helpful in finishing the fondue, but nonetheless, a very enjoyable "Swiss" experience if I do say so myself.

I should also mention that I accidentally and fortuitously left my phone in the apartment in Nice and consequently had no GPS and camera to rely on. The adventure wasn't much different, as I had brought my computer with me, and despite the sad fact that I have no beautiful pictures to share of the swans in among docked antique boats or the towering snow capped mountains in the distance, of Swiss flags flying and pots of fondue, it felt rather liberating not having that little weight on me wherever I went.

Then again, maybe I'm accustomed to a less attached lifestyle because, since the first flight out of New York, I've only been using wifi to stay connected. But thinking back. as I realized in security that I'd left without my phone, I'm thankful that my first reaction was not to freak out, but to think "oh well, this will be good for me." I'll take any opportunity to work towards that social ease absent in the many millennials who'd rather use their screen to prevent a face to face conversation with someone.

I love Switzerland, and maybe I'll go back if I can save up for years in advance, but for now I think I'll stick to the places where I can buy a good coffee and a croissant for less that seven dollars. And already, returning to Nice was like coming back to a second home and to family. I had a home-cooked meal and happily went to bed, only to wake up to some unsettling news overseas. As much as I wish I could keep traveling around Europe for the next four years, I'll have to settle with the exciting month I have left!

#main