En Suisse

At the foot of Mt. Salève, at the bottom of Lac Léman, sits the little gem of Geneva. Today it’s a tidy combination of medieval charm and modern industry – banking, watches, high tech and tourism. Donna’s junior year abroad was spent here and she has some lovely memories of the city. We hoped to retrace her steps.

We rented an Airbnb about 20 minutes outside of town – in France! The little town of Archamps is a tech hub in the area. The border control between France & Switzerland here is unmanned about 24 hours a day. We had understood from talking to French acquaintances that getting into Switzerland was a strenuous exercise, especially with LuLu, due to Switzerland not being part of the EU – but Not So! We breezed over the border every time.

The first day, we took a bus into town – with LuLu. We headed straight for the Horloge Fleuri (Flower Clock) and the Jet d’Eau – tourist meccas for the beautiful view of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Next a visit to Vieux Genève. Some research had already revealed that the residence hotel where Donna lived her junior year did not exist any more. And the street that is was on, a bit outside the older part of Geneva, had been modernized a lot! We are not sure if the hotel was torn down and replaced with something Très Moderne or if it was remodeled to conceal its past life. Continuing on to the medieval section where classes were held also brought no joy. The steps we used to climb to get to class had disappeared and in their place was a modern new granite stairway with a modern new ugly building next to it. But once we were at the top, we found the school which remains a school for adults. So between a wonky, aged memory, and modernization, Auld Lang Syne was not to be had! Still, wandering around cobblestone streets has not lost its charm yet!

The next day we decided to go to Gruyères, where the cheese is made. Hoping against hope that this little village would have remained its quaint, cobbled self. We went off the autoroute and drove through some beautiful countryside – rolling hills, cows, tiny villages interspersed with modern industrial and commercial centers – including the first “Outlet Center” we’ve seen in Europe. You might have thought you were in Gilroy!

Gruyères did not disappoint! And by chance we arrived on the Saturday of a weekend Medieval Fête! So there were many people in period costumes – Lords and ladies, peasants, bakers, builders, musicians – you name it. Many of these folks were working the various demonstrations at the Fête, but many others showed up in costume just to enjoy the atmosphere. There may also have been a competition among the men for who had the biggest codpiece!

First things first! A pot of cheese fondue – Donna’s version of the Proustian madeleine. What a lovely gooey treat! And to think that Donna sent our fondue pot to the Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale! Boo hoo!

Sam took a tour of the castle and was tempted to get enarmored for a photo op, but decided it would take too long to put on several kilos of a stainless steel sport jacket and evening gloves. He did try on just gloves. The custom-made ones were way more comfortable than the stock items, even as they had the same form. There are many legends about the Severed Hand from a 15th Century battle, but it is not clear if it was friend or foe; an emblem of a fire that supposedly destroyed the castle but didn’t actually; a thief who lost the hand he’d used to purloin something. Recently it was put through a scientific assay and it is from a mummified man of the 4th Century. Why is it back in the exhibit after an absence: de main publique. Like a good fondue, you just want to dip into the imagination.

Stone paving; Brooks Brothers; armored-hand maiden; severed hand.

What follows in the museum are the restored rooms and what is most impressive is the sharp delineation of the rooms, each of which has name that in most cases relates to the person or purpose. The most striking thing are the paintings and the furniture. Jean-Jacques-Joseph d’Alt is recognized for “his influence on the interior design of the place.”

While he did that, Donna and LuLu toured the demonstrations. They watched a young woman build a daub and wattle fence, a mother and daughter doing needlework, a human powered treadmill crane to lift heavy stones, scaffolding being built with poles and ropes and boards, a potter, a stained glass maker… Everything you can think of to sustain a castle, a church and the surrounding village. Wandering around the castle garden, ramparts and court yard was accompanied by some lovely music performed on a bagpipe with lutes and flutes accompanying.

The last two pics on the right were taken through openings at the top of the tower.

But Italy beckons. So tomorrow we will head for Como and its beautiful scenic lake. George and Amal don’t know we’re coming, so this will be a BIG surprise for them and the twins!

Love to all,

Sam, Donna & LuLu

June 23, 2019