Sunday, April 13, 2008

BY THE SHORES OF LAKE LEMAN

GENEVA - OCTOBER 2006

Geneva is the seat of the European headquarters of the United Nations and of many other inter-governmental organizations. So, it used to be our destination for many years. In the intervals of the meetings, some time was dedicated to sightseeing...


"LAKE LEMAN - The crescent-shaped Lacus Lemannus of the Romans (Lake Geneva), on the course of the Rhône River, is the second largest freshwater lake in Europe, after the Balaton"


"LAKE LEMAN - Going up the hill?"


"HOTEL LES BERGUES, on the Rhône River and by the Lake, was Geneva’s first hotel when it opened in 1834. It was already a great hotel when I had the chance to stay there sometimes in the nineties; after 2005, as a Four Seasons Hotel, it's surely unbeatable as the place to stay in Geneva!"


"WATER JET - The most famous landmark in Geneva is the jet d'eau at the centre of the marina. This photo was taken from the island that in 1832 was given the name of the great Geneva-born philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Having served as a bastion for the city in the seventeenth century, the Island is now a (small) public garden, just close to the Mont Blanc Bridge"


"RAINBOW COLOURS seen from the English Garden. Originally a security valve for a hydro power generator, the jet d'eau became the symbol of Geneva"


"BEACH - «Bains des Paquis» is the popular downtown beach. The current jet d'eau replaced the former jet created in 1891. The exhaust pipe has been carefully designed so that the water jet is hollow and filled with microscopic drops of water, which ensures it remains opaque and white"


"JET D'EAU - The water fountain reaches a maximum height of 140 meters at a speed of 200 km/h and has been copied by many cities around the world"


"EVENING LIGHT - In 1951 the water fountain was provided with an autonomous pumping station, propelling 500 litres of water per second. At night, strong projectors light the fountain’s jet as it soars up in the sky"


"FLOWER CLOCK - Created in 1955 for the first time, redesigned in 2002 and located between the Mont Blanc Bridge and the Jardin Anglais (English Garden), it's composed of over 6,500 flowers and is one of 50 public clocks across Geneva. A symbol of the Geneva watch industry, the famous flower clock has the largest seconds' hand in the world (more than 2.5 meters long)"


"THE BRONZE FOUNTAIN at the Jardin Anglais was created in 1862 by Alexis André, a Parisian sculptor"



"SCULPTURES - Wooden at the Jardin Anglais, bronze at the Quai Wilson"


"SISSI - Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie (not Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty a.k.a. Romy Schneider), Princess of Bavaria, married Franz Joseph and became Empress of Austria. On September 10, 1898, while walking along the Quai du Mont Blanc before boarding a steamship for Montreux, Sissi, who was then 60 years old, was stabbed in the heart with a needle by an anarchist named Luigi Lucheni. It seems that Lucheni wanted to kill an Orleans prince but could not find him and turned to Elisabeth instead. He reportedly said afterwards: "I wanted to kill a royal; it didn't matter which one!"


"THE BRUNSWICK MONUMENT - Charles II d'Este-Guelph, Duke of Brunswick, lived part of his agitated life in Geneva. When he died there in 1873, he left all his wealth to the city of Geneva in exchange for the construction of a replica of the Scaligeri mausoleum in Verona. The city used the money to create the golden gates of Parc des Bastions and the city's opera, the Grand Theatre, and built the mausoleum in 1877 in the gardens in front of the Richemond and Beau Rivage luxury hotels. It seems that Brunswick once said that, «were not for his enormous wealth, he would already be in an insane asylum». No wonder the mausoleum is so awful!"



"MONT BLANC - At 4,810 m, it's the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe. It's not an easy task to catch it from Geneva, as one needs a very clear day, without any mist on the top. This was the best I could get..."


"OLD TOWN - Mont Blanc Bridge, Cathedral and the hills around town"


"SUNSET towards the Alps"

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Geneva, where Guida was attending a meeting at the UN, is an old acquaintance; we were there for the first time in 1975. However, this was probably when we got the best weather in the city. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
I’m still struggling with the grey background behind the pictures; I’ve tried several suggestions and the best I got, was a completely grey background, no distinction between main and sidebar… I’ll continue to try, and all suggestions are warmly welcome!
Have a great week, and thanks in advance for your comments!

Stella Bella said...

wow I am the second! hahaha
Very nice photos and that water fountain is amazing! :)

Have a lovely weekend and remember to send me some lovely egg tarts. lol
I had some when I was in Belem last time. They make the best ones!!!!

Nihal said...

Lake Leman, or say Geneva Lake, was one of the most pleasant routes for me in Switzerland a few yrs ago. I was going to to Montreux and Lausanne by passing by Lake Leman. You know Montreux rises like an amphitheater from the shores of Lake Leman! I have loved especially the Swiss Riviera and the train ride. I am really now in SwissMiss:)
Thank you for sharing my Swiss Love here on your journal, Gil. I liked this post very much:)

BTW, our weather turned to be very summer. All day long yesterday I was outside at Marina (to view the yachts) and close by the beach. Some sunburns -pinks- on my face, can you believe???! It's indeed summer here:)

Expressing you my sincere thanks for your very kind lovely comments on my page, and have a blessed Sunday, and warm greetings.

~Nihal via CrossRoads

Tinsie said...

Geneva looks beautiful in the sun :-)

I particularly liked the story about Sissi - I didn't know that's how/where she died. Thanks for posting it.

di.di said...

Just popped by to say hi, and I like the way you blog about Geneva.. nice

Joy said...

Hi Gil! This time I'm pleased to say that I am no stranger to the city and photos you posted.

Geneva is indeed a pretty place - but the one thing I really enjoyed there was the bakeries! Fresh bread, pastries and pizzas!!! Yum yum yum.

I must say I didn't see the Flower Clock. Perhaps next time.

But of course, all your photos were stunning!

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comments. Have a great week ahead!


joy
A Pinay In England
Your Love Coach
I, Woman

S-V-H said...

Hi Gil,

You can believe it or not: as a Swiss, I was living in Zurich for many many years and NEVER made it to Geneva!!!! Lausanne was the place I were visiting many times and I loved it, but never made it to Geneva. :-)

Next time when I'll be visiting Switzerland I will be there and watching the fountain. :-)

indicaspecies said...

Fabulous pictures of Lake Leman and the Mont Blanc peeping in the distance is awesome!

Have a great week Gil. :)

Shionge said...

I love that water fountain Gil, wonderful!! Makes me wanna jump right in :D I have only been to Lucerne when I was in Switzerland (1990)

Saw your Hoover Dam visit in the
80s too and heheheh...luv yr caption that Vegas is nonsense hahahah.....You beat me to it Gil, you visited it first ~ Cool!

Azer Mantessa said...

yes i enjoy the pictures particularly the wooden sculptures.

Nikon said...

Great series, Gil, & I'm another one that loves that fountain!
I spent one day in Switzerland - a day trip from Milan.
All I could think of was "this place is very clean" :-)

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hey Gil, Great great great!!!!

I red that you also would like to to Belgium? when you wre there was it that crazy with traffic as we were having (brussels and Antwerpen both too busy)??? Wow there was hardly space to park our car, but we made it!!
Thanks for visiting I posted photo's today from LEUVEN soon I post Brussels and Antwerpen.

Do you know that we are going SOON to swiss , last part of APRIL and beginning of MAY!!! maybe we have the same experience in your photography shown. :)

alicesg said...

Beautiful place. I think I saw the water fountain in the Amazing Race on TV. Cannot remember which episode. The water fountain is cool, can be seen from far. Thanks for sharing your photos. Lovely place.

leo said...

Sussi-she was stabbed with a needle? How tragic! Sorry this comment is for a different geographical place but Maman is indeed a big scary looking spidey and I love Ribera Market, your pic looks like a painting there -beautiful. and ok I know Cristiano comes from Portugal :)

Ming the Merciless said...

I was in Zurich & Basel a couple years ago but didn't make it down to Geneva. The week I was leaving to go back to NYC, my friends who lived in Mulhouse, France were heading to Geneva for a skiing vacation. So I always envision Geneva as a skiing haven.

I love the photos of Mont Blanc. It is what I see when I think of Switzerland.

And to respond to your question, I do read everyone's comment on the blog, including the answers to my daily questions.

Indrani said...

You work in United Nations headquaters? GREAT!

The flower clock works? Sad story of Elisabeth... the fountain shot superb.
Thanks for sharing.

alice said...

Tout d'abord merci de tout coeur pour tes mots si gentils au sujet de mes dernières photos, tes compliments me touchent., merci encore.
Genève est le premier endroit où je suis allée avec mon mari (qui n'était pas encore mon mari), il était inscrit à une formation professionnelle de quelques jours à Divonne, nous étions logés dans un bel hôtel et je me suis promenée dans Genève en été, c'était fort agréable. Je me souviens de riches habitants du Golfe (persique, pas celui du Morbihan!) qui se promenaient en famille dans les jardins publics le long du lac. Et les vitrines Bulgari.
Je te souhaite une belle soirée.

Anonymous said...

Que fotos tao bonitas ! parabens!
luisa

lyliane six said...

Superbe ville que j'aime beaucoup, j'y étais aussi en 1975,mais j'y suis allée la première fois en 1962, les douaniers m'ont retenus à la frontière, car je n'avais pas encore ma majorité qui était à 21 ans à l'époque et pas de permission de mes parents, j'étais partie avec des amis et entrée sans encombre.La promenade en bateau est aussi très interessante et agréable.

Noushy Syah said...

hhehehhe....I have the same pics of Geneva like you do..:) I definitely love the wooden sculpture.

BTW..OHHH what a day! Only a minute left and everything was changed!!

Looks like the Devil's again!!

Anonymous said...

Awesome photos!

Paz

Unknown said...

absolutely beautiful pictures, wished i was there :)

PeterParis said...

A city with a particular charm with a nice view of Mont Blanc (in France!)which you managed to capture so well! Had the opportunity to stay and visit (for the first time), longer than planned in May / June 1968, awaiting France to get more or less in order again after the "May revolution"! Thanks again for your nice hotel tips; unfortunately not adapted to my retired standard of living.

Lara said...

stunning blue! another great trip!

Lakshmi said...

Its scorching in India and your pics are already making feel so cool..Im just seeing blue everywhere
lakshmi

Lori said...

How lucky you are to have business in Geneva. It looks so pristine and beautiful. I can almost smell the fresh air from here. I love those water jets. How cool!

Dorothée said...

Bonjour Trotter,
Souvenirs, souvenirs...Voyons cela remonte à… quelques longues années!
En tout cas, c’est un endroit que j’ai beaucoup aimé et j’aimerais y retourner car hélas je n’ai pas vu le superbe jet d’eau fonctionner. Je passais seulement.
Merci pour nous faire partager ces très belles photos qui me rappellent aussi de bons souvenirs.

Sigma said...

This looks like a lovely place ... and the pictures are really nice and wonderful. Liked the lake, the statues, clock .. all of them :-)

My Unfinished Life said...

lovely pics!!..of all the building and monuments in geneva that u have put...my favourite still remians the JET D'EAU!!!

Cergie said...

Salut Gil !
Formidable avec les photos en king size, surtout pour apprécier ces statues. J'ai été au pays de Gex au printemps de l'année dernière (déjà !) et en descendant de la montagne -pas à cheval- (c'est une chanson française), c'est à dire le Jura et la France, on le voyait de très loin ce fameux jet d'eau.

JO said...

WOW! That fountain is so cool - I love all these pics... Beautiful! I really love the sky in your second pic... it looks like it was painted.

Dan said...

WOnderful pics and a great tour of Geneva Gil. I appreciate you taking the time and effort on showing me this great city. I have been to Lausanne but not Geneva, to my shame. I will make it a point to visit next time I have the chance.

I will be in Rome for about 10 days in early May. Somehow I will find the time to do some sight seeing while there. All work and no play....

If you have some suggestions for out of the way, off the beaten track places there I would love to hear about them.

hpy said...

Je suis passée par là un jour aussi, mais comme d'habitude en vitesse sans le temps de visiter quoi que ce soit. C'est donc un plaisir de découvrir ce que j'avais raté par manque de temps. J'étais sur la route vers une autre destination, sans doute moins intéressante car je l'ai déjà oubliée.

Dawning One said...

I love the monuments, Gil!
Most sad about Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie but the monument is just beautiful, so elegant.
We here in Canberra have a water jet the same as the one in Geneva that's called the Captain Cook waterjet. It can be seen many kilometers away.

Anonymous said...

That's a very beautiful place to be. :)
I really like the photos of the water feature. Especially the one where you showed the height of it. :)

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

lv2scpbk said...

The water shoting up seems really high and I like the photo of the colors on the one. Some of those statues are amazing.

I seen a flower clock in Canada when we went to see the falls. They are beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Geneva was first country as my official visit and lake leman has a special place in my heart. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you have seen the pictures of this lake on my blog.

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody! Thanks for your comments and sorry for having taken so long to reply to them, but arrived only today from my short South Atlantic professional trip!

Stella,
You’re the first! I won’t forget the «pasteis de Belém»; where do you want them delivered to? ;))

Nihal,
Thanks for your kind words! That section of the Lake (the large Lake, as it’s named) is probably the most beautiful side and Montreux is a wonderful place (with a fantastic Jazz Festival every year; this year it will last from July 4th through 19th).
As far as the weather is concerned, today Lisbon is reaching 32º Celsius; fortunately it’s a holiday… ;))

Tinsie,
Sad story that of Sissi…

Di.Di.,
Great to see you here. Glad that you liked!

Joy,
Thanks for your nice comment! Didn’t mention the bakeries; just reserving for the chocolates… ;)

Sue,
A Zürcher who has never been to Geneva? That’s incredible… or maybe not… ;)))

Celine,
I also love that Mont Blanc; I would say, it’s the best from Geneva (except for the chocolates maybe…)!

Shionge,
Lucerne is lovely; the Lake Lucerne or Four Canton Lake (Vierwaldstättersee) is surely one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland!
«Vegas nonsense», makes sense… ;))

Azer,
Thanks! Glad that you enjoyed!

Paul,
You’re quite right. It’s a clean city, even if you may think it’s sometimes much «dirtier» than many other Swiss towns… ;)

JoAnn,
Thanks! Never travelled with own car in Belgium, so never had traffic or parking problems… ;))
So, now Switzerland? I wonder who is the Trotter here… ;)))

Alice SG,
The «jet d’eau» is Geneva’s landmark and trademark…

Leo,
Sissi is a tragic story…
Thanks for the references to the Guggenheim post!
I knew you wouldn’t ignore the nationality of the best soccer player in the world… ;)))

Ming,
Your friends from Mulhouse must have been heading to Geneva to get a connection somewhere else for the ski (maybe to Chamonix and Mont Blanc), as there is no ski station in Geneva…
Great to know that you read the answers to your queries; I’ll keep answering then… ;)

Indrani,
No, I didn’t work at the UN Headquarters. My wife used to have meetings there…
I had many meetings in Geneva, but never at the UN… ;)

Alice,
C’est mon plaisir de visiter ton blog… et je suis heureux de te faire revivre des bonnes mémoires!
En ce qui concerne les habitants du Golfe tu as raison: ils occupaient des étages entiers au Noga Hilton Hôtel et achetaient tout ce qui était à vendre, pourvu que ce soit très, très couteux…

Luísa,
Olá. Tudo bem? Vai haver dentro em breve um post com fotos que tu conheces; incluindo mesmo alguma tirada por ti…

Lylianne,
Quelle histoire d’avoir été retenue à la frontière… Tu sais que je n’ai jamais eu de la chance pour faire la promenade en bateau… ;(

Noushy Syah,
Amazing that we have the same pictures of Geneva…
We’ll see what’s going to happen this weekend; and at least this week Riise did it right… ;)))

Paz,
M.Kate,
Thanks!

Peter,
68 in Geneva? I think you would have had much more fun in Paris… ;))
About the hotels, I’m glad I was there many years ago, as they are getting crazy with the prices nowadays… ;))

Lara,
Thanks!

Lakshmi,
I believe the weather in India must be difficult now! Enjoy the blues on post… ;)

Lori,
Those were the days… I no longer go to Geneva for work…
It’s beautiful, when sunny; but when it’s grey and misty, one is not so excited about it… The sun does a lot for a city!

Dorothée,
Merci de ta visite et commentaire. Je suis ravi de te faire revivre des bonnes mémoires… Le jet d’eau, il faut le voir! Attention, les Fêtes de Genève c’est du 31 juillet jusqu’au 10 août 2008… Bonne chance!

Sigma,
Thanks! Great pleasure to see you around!

Shooting Star,
You’re a girl with good taste!

Cergie,
Merci!
C’est drôle, mais quand je suis tout près de Lausanne chez la cousine de Guida on regarde toujours le Jura pour voir si la pluie va s’abattre sur nous… ;))

Jo,
Thanks!
Had a great chance to catch a fabulous weather during these days I stayed in Geneva…

Dan,
Geneva is worth seeing; definitely!
You probably know all the must see in Rome: Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Coliseum, Trajan Market, Vatican Museum, Trastevere, Piazza di Spagna, the 3 main basilicas… If you’re keen on archaeology, try the Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia, a bit off the beaten track…

HPY,
C’est marrant la quantité de places qu’on rate pour aller quelque part qu’on ne se rappelle plus… ;)

Dawning One,
Agree with you: the Sissi monument is pure elegance!
Missed Canberra on my different times in Australia, but one day will make Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide…

Alex,
That jet d’eau reaches quite up in the sky… ;)

Lv2,
140 meters high is impressive for a water jet! I think I also saw that flower clock in Niagara…

Cuckoo,
I saw your Leman pictures some months ago! Glad to revive your good memories…

Andrea Gerák said...

Hi Gil, this is another great place in the world, thanks for the post!

Anonymous said...

Andrea,
Glad to see you back!
Gorgeous new picture... ;))