Tonight we were sitting in Brandon and Rachel's apartment when we heard "booms" outside and realized the city of Chambery was shooting off fireworks. A day after Bastille Day and I don't know why they waited but the display was pretty good. We stood on their 6th floor balcony and watched with the dark outline of the Alps as backdrop. It doesn't get much better than that!
Earlier today we got on a train, rode for an hour and got off at Geneva, just inside Switzerland. It's a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains. It's on Lake Geneva, which is huge. From out of the west end of the lake flows the Rhone River, beginning its journey to the Mediterranean.
We had a great day and enjoyed ourselves. Though relatively small (under 200,000 people) Geneva has many unique features. To start with, it's one of the world's great financial capitals. It's also the home of the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. Besides that, it's where the U.N. has its European offices. It's a pretty natural connection, since it was home to the League of Nations, forerunner to the U.N., in the years following World War I.
And of course it's where John Calvin lived for most of his adult life. You can still see evidences of his presence. The most visible is in a large park in the old part of the city. There's a huge, long wall called "The Reformation Mural." It tells the story of the Reformation in terms of the historical movement from Roman Catholic dominance to the eventual separation of church and state. The centerpice is four huge statues, maybe 30 feet tall, of Theodore Beza, John Calvin, Guillermo Farel and John Knox. Along the rest of the wall are statutes and then quotes from various church and state documents, including the Mayflower Compact, that emphasize the theme of human freedom from tyranny. Not exactly what you hope for in a Reformation monument, in that it de-emphasizes the spiritual aspect of Calvin's work. But not inaccuarate, and not bad for a city that has become decidedly secular in the 4 centuries since Calvin died.
But I have to mention in closing what I learned from Wikipedia: that Geneva is the fourth most expensive city in the whole world! This completely squares with our experience. When we got there, it cost Connie a dollar-and-half to go to the bathroom (European bathrooms routinely charge, but this was the highest fee we've encountered). I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch; it cost 8 dollars. I was tired of paying high prices so I thought, "I'll go to McDonald's for dinner and show them who's boss." Silly me! We got there and a Big Mac cost $13! Without fries and drink! So we went to a grocery store and bought some bakery items.
We've had a pleasant stay here in Chambery. We've especially enjoyed being with Brandon and Rachel, Annika and Alexa. But tomorrow, speaking of expensive cities, we're going to Paris. It should be quite a show. I don't suppose we'll make a very big impression on Paris, but I suspect it will show us a thing or two.
Happy Bastille Day, one day late.
No comments:
Post a Comment