Yes, it’s true: I love trains in Switzerland. They are amazing, and they will take you ANYWHERE, no matter how remote it is. Our hike Sunday was so much fun. We took the regional train from Nyon and climbed way up into the Jura mountains (beautiful views on the way up!) before finally stopping at the “La Givrine” stop. We were immediately greeted by cows and, yes, GIANT cowbells hanging around their necks. They really do wear them, and the sound of the tinkling bells is almost unreal. I think it is the sound of the Old World J The scenery reminded me of the Sound of Music, and we had a really nice time walking/hiking for about 1 ½ hours. Then we took the cute little train back down, and I explored the waterfront in Nyon for a bit before returning home for a shower and some homework. Yay.
Me with the cows!
Sound of Music scenery
Monday morning our class visited the International Committee of the Red Cross, which was fascinating. I won’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that I really admire what this organization strives to do, but again the realist side of me just doesn’t see how it is ever going to work. Good for them for trying, though. After lectures around the ICRC and International Humanitarian Law, I headed across the street to the U.N. Library to print some articles for my paper. I felt really official going through security by myself with my badge. French class in the afternoon was fun—lots of talking, a few writing exercises, and some usual vocabulary for our homestays. Virginie is a really good teacher, and she tries to keep things interesting. Martine and I had bread, cheese, and salami for dinner because she had to hurry off to a meeting, but I had no complaints because it was delicious! Tuesday morning we gave group presentations in class about the libraries that we visited last Friday, and Tuesday afternoon French class was very similar to Monday. Martine made filet mignon for dinner, which was sooo nice of her! She is very very good to me, and I feel at home here. I got a lot of work done on my essay Tuesday night, and I’m proud to say I’m about halfway done with it already! I guess I really have learned awesome time management skills at school…. You can take the girl outta Duke, but you can’t take the Duke outta the girl! Yesterday morning’s lecture was somewhat of a disaster. I was initially excited because it was about international law, but unfortunately our lecturer was an old French man who was a complete spaz. He basically hopped around the room jumping from subject to subject without warning, and everyone was extremely bored and restless, including our Academic Director. It was kind of funny though. Sophie, Kaity, and I got lunch at the grocery store and then headed down to the lake to eat before going to the U.N. Library. It was really windy down by the water and the air felt like fall. I was actually pretty productive at the U.N. library, and it was nice to have some more of the pressure off. Last night was the much-anticipated fondue welcome dinner, and it was so much fun! We went to a restaurant high up in the Jura, with a beautiful view of the sunset over the valley. The drive up there was pretty winding and harrowing, but it was worth it. It was really fun getting to meet other people’s host parents, and Martine and I sat with Sophie and her new host parents at dinner. They were delightful and told me all about how their daughter does competitive swimming. She’s a butterflier like me, and she’s really really good. After drinks and appetizers, it was time for the main attraction….traditional Swiss fondue! In this region, fondue is made with Gruyère, Vacherin, Kirsch, and white wine, I think. Each table had a basket of sliced bread, and you just break your bread into pieces, spear it on your long fork, dip it into the bubbling cheese fondue, and voilà! It was so delicious, and extremely filling. But I saved room for lemon tart, of course. Oh and we drank hot tea, which was the closest thing to sweet tea that I’ve had outside of the South! It was delicious J I was so full after dinner though that the ride down the mountain was NOT fun. Martine and I made some hot tea when we got back, and that helped.
Alice and me in Gruyères
Today was a holiday in Geneva—“Jeune Genevois”—a.k.a. no school for us! Most people decided to stick pretty close to home, but my friend Alice and I got up early and headed to the town of Gruyères in the canton of Fribourg. First we took the train to Lausanne, then switched to a train to Payzieux, and finally a little local train all the way to Gruyères. By some miracle everything ran smoothly and exactly on time, and our trip took less than two hours…did I mention that I LOVE Swiss efficiency? When we arrived at the train station in Gruyères, we did the 10-minute walk up to the medieval walled city and it’s main attraction, the Chateau de Gruyères. The town is famous for both the chateau and its delicious cheese, so it is pretty touristy, and lots of tour buses go there every day. However, in spite of the tourists, we found the town to be relatively quiet and very charming. It is way up on top of a hill with cobblestone streets, cute little houses and buildings, and gorgeous panoramic views of the valley and the “foothills” to the Alps (which look like mountains). We spent our first hour wandering around, taking in the sites and even stumbling upon a random group of cows just outside the city walls.
Cow friends :)
Beautiful flowers in the Chateau garden
Hello, beautiful view
After a delicious lunch of Breton crêpes, we wandered for a little longer and then headed to the chateau. Our visit started off with a really cool film about the chateau’s history, from its construction in the 1200s to the present day. It was so interesting! Then we explored the entire building and gardens, which were gorgeous. Inside the chateau was really cool, because there was furniture and artwork from many different time periods. We learned a lot and had fun taking silly pictures with the self-timer on my camera. Finally, after a quick look around the Maison du Fromage (SO. MUCH. CHEESE) we caught the train back to Nyon. Good thing, because I was exhausted. Alice was a great travel companion, and we found out we have a lot in common. All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend the day. I have class in the morning, and then Sophie, Kaity, and I are heading off to Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfraujoch this weekend. So exciting!
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