Saturday, July 29, 2006

Switzerland Trip – Part 6: Geneva (23-24 July 2006)

My final destination: Geneva. This is more like a "pilgrimage trip" for me, considering that there really isn't anything interesting in Geneva other than the Jet d'Eau, the Palais des Nations of the United Nations and the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I reached Geneva around 11am, and found that this place is distinctly different. The most obvious change is that this place is heavily French-speaking, unlike many other parts of Switzerland. Maybe it's due to the fact that Geneva is surrounded almost entirely by France, with only a 4km-wide connection to the rest of Switzerland.

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Reaching Geneva

Situated at Lake Geneva, there's plenty of water here as well. However, I thought I'd make a run for both the UN and the Red Cross first, since that's the reason why I came all the way.

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Getting off at the tram station

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All the flags of the member states

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Outside the entrance

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They even make a security pass on the spot with your picture

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The org chart of the UN

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One of the frequently-used conference rooms

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The Palais des Nations

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The garden (which is out of bounds)

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The monument

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The Soviet gift, a monument commemorating man's conquering of space

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The conference room where John F. Kennedy met Nikita Khruschev

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And the grand hall, the largest in the compound

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Yup, that's the end of the tour, short but informative

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This is just across the road

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It's "CICR" because it's the French version

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The building as seen from the UN entrance

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Monument outside the museum

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The red cross and red crescent emblems symbolising the movement

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The oldest known Red Cross flag ever used

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Walls and walls of record cards of PoWs in World War I

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The first Red Crescent flag used

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Sculpture of Henry Dunant writing

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Red Cross posters in China

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The newly unveiled Red Crystal, to be recognised equally with the Red Cross and the Red Crescent

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Mission statement

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A trip downtown, the Jet d'Eau, a water jet that sprays water 140m high, it's as symbolic to Geneva as the Chapel Bridge is symbolic to Luzern

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This is also another famous sight of Geneva

Well, like I said, nothing really much about Geneva. So I caught an earlier train and headed back to Zurich. That's the end of the trip, time to head home... to Singapore!

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