An Alps Adventure

During the summer, some family friends who live in Annecy, France casually invited me to visit them. Well, me being me, I took them up on it. I arranged a time, took the TGV from Paris to Annecy on Friday night, and spent an entire weekend in the Rhone Alps. Not only did they let me stay with them, but they fed me. It was a wonderful change from my normal diet of baguettes and cheese (and little else). We had toasted raclette and potatos, which was possibly the most delicious meal I've ever had. They have a spectacular view of the Alps out their backyard window.



Annecy is right across the border from Geneva, Switzerland, so I decided to take the bus and spend Saturday there.

I was a little worried at first, because the bus stop was in a modern, rather ugly-looking part of town. But once I got by the lake, it became the picturesque Geneva I expected it to be. I had bought a walking tour on my iPod, which was great because I could go as fast as I wanted and pause to take pictures.

Rousseau Island

I was excited to finally see some PROTESTANT stuff. After spending most of the rest of my stay in France looking at Catholic churches and Catholic relics and Catholic artifacts, it was quite refreshing to see some Calvinism.

Calvin's Auditorium, where he used to give lectures

Calvin's chair

Reformation Museum

Reformation Wall

I also went to the top of the cathedral. I always try to do that when I visit someplace, because then I can get a feel for the city as a whole. I took a plethora of pictures of the Geneva skyline.

You can see the shadow of the cathedral

At one point I asked a couple fellow tourists which mountain was Mont Blanc, since it was too far away for me to make out. "Oh, it's that one," the person said, then added, "Do you know you are standing right where Empress Sisi of Austria was assassinated?" "Uh, no, I didn't know," I replied (since I had no idea who Empress Sisi was). "Here," he continued, "I will take your picture!" And he proceeded to take my picture with Geneva's geyser and with the plaque marking the spot where she died. It didn't mean anything to me at the time, but a few weeks later, on my Austria trip, I learned how important Sisi is and how interesting she was. Thus, this little incident is now one of the highlights of my trip. More on her later...

Finally, I ended the day with a boat cruise on the lake. Pretty snazzy.

I went to church on Sunday morning with my family friends. We sang what my family calls "wall songs" (you know, the modern Christian songs that are projected on the wall?)...but in French. Thus, "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord," became "Ouvre les yeux de mon coeur."

I spent the afternoon wandering around medieval Annecy, which is a cute old town. In the U.S., an "old" town would be built in the 1800s. Well, in Annecy's case, we're talking 1200 A.D., complete with a castle.

Old Town

Oh, really?

The castle