Exploring the land of 
LAKES & PEAKS
With its Alpine villages and scenic lakes, Switzerland is a landlocked nation 
at the heart of Europe which has much to offer. Krish Kalia in Year 12 explains why:
We landed in Geneva on Wednesday 
and didn’t waste any time. After a bus 
journey from the airport we dropped our 
bags at the hotel and headed straight 
out to the beautiful Old Town. Here, we 
explored Saint Peter’s Cathedral and 
ascended the towers. The really tight 
and steep spiral stairs kept going round 
and round in a small space so it felt a bit 
claustrophobic at times. You couldn’t really 
look down because of how the steps were 
constructed but we could definitely sense 
how high we were going. My legs were 
shaking but it was part of the experience 
and made it more memorable! When we 
finally reached the top, the view was well 
worth our efforts. You could see across 
Geneva and the lake, and the famous Jet 
d’Eau (a very impressive fountain).
After descending, we enjoyed some free 
time in the Old Town, along and around the 
main high street, the Rue du Rhône.
We then headed back to the hotel for our 
evening meal which was decent enough, 
and it was nice to finally sit down after a 
long day. Afterwards, we went out to a 
pool hall; this was probably one of the best 
parts of the day. It was such a good vibe, 
everyone was relaxed and it felt like we 
could properly enjoy ourselves after a tiring 
day and a lot of walking.
Thursday started with an early wake-up 
at around 6:45, which was brutal after the 
long day before. The buffet breakfast was 
good and by 9am we were out of the hotel, 
each with a packed lunch, which was really 
handy since we had a lot of walking and 
exploring planned. We hopped on a bus to 
the United Nations.
The first thing we saw was the Broken 
Chair, which is actually huge and way 
more impressive in real life than in photos. 
It represents the suffering caused by 
landmines and cluster bombs and serves 
as a reminder to visiting politicians and 
diplomats. Then we went to the United 
Nations buildings themselves. We couldn’t 
enter the main conference room because 
there was a meeting taking place, but we 
got to peek through the windows on the 
doors, which was still pretty cool. Later, we 
headed up to the seventh floor where the 
interpreters sit and had a proper view of 
the conference room from above. Seeing 
everything laid out like that, and witnessing 
how the meetings actually run, was honestly 
fascinating. In a meeting room we enjoyed 
an engaging talk about the UN from a guide 
whose main role is as an interpreter.
After eating our packed lunches we went 
by bus and tram to CERN. Here, we 
met some of the current scientists, who 
explained how some of the experiments 
work. We even got to see the LEAR 
experiment, which was pretty cool. We 
also saw some of the equipment they 
had previously used and visited rooms 
that famous scientists had worked in, for 
example, the room where Niels Bohr had 
worked while he was at CERN. One of 
the highlights was the data centre, where 
we learned how the experimental data is 
stored and interpreted.
After leaving CERN, we caught a tram to 
Geneva’s more modern centre and had 
some free time to chill and explore a bit. 
It was nice to just walk around, look in 
shops, and enjoy the city without having to 
rush anywhere.
After returning to our hotel to relax and 
freshen up we headed out to a local Italian 
restaurant. My pizza was one of the best 
I’ve ever had – and I’ve been to 
Italy! After an incredible meal, we went for 
a long walk to a bowling alley, where we 
spent the rest of the evening. I actually won 
the first game, which felt pretty good; it was 
such a fun way to end what had been a 
very busy day.
Friday started again with a wake-up at 
around 6:45 and breakfast at 7:30. After 
eating, we took our cases downstairs and 
stored them in the hotel’s baggage room, 
which made it easier to move around the 
city without lugging everything with us.
We took a bus to the lake and boarded 
a ferry, which was so nice. The sun was 
blazing down on us but the breeze while 
the boat was moving kept us cool. It was 
really relaxing to just sit there, watch the 
water, and enjoy the views of Geneva. At 
one point, we went close to the Jet d’Eau, 
which was huge and impressive up close – 
seeing the water shoot so high into the sky 
was amazing.
After reaching the other side of the lake, 
we visited the Museum of Art and History, 
and viewed some of the impressive pieces 
on display including ancient Egyptian 
artefacts, sculptures, paintings, militaria 
and even some stuffed animals!
After a little more free time in the Old Town 
we returned to our hotel to collect our bags 
and then made our way to the airport for 
our homeward flight. Overall, it was a trip 
I’ll definitely remember, full of interesting 
sights, fun activities and just the right 
balance of learning, exploring and chilling.
Krish Kalia, Year 12
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