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TRIP REPORT – Birthday Adventures to Geneva – Into Switzerland and Geneva

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Into Switzerland and Geneva
Birthday Adventures to Geneva

Geneva Trip Report Cover Image

Into Switzerland and Geneva

Exiting the aircraft via a jetbridge, I entered the terminal. Of course, whilst we were parked in the International part of the terminal, we had been parked at the furthest possible end of it, requiring the walk.

a group of people walking with luggage

people standing in a building

This was not unpleasant (well unless you don’t like walking), as it gave some wonderful overhead views of aircraft.

a blue sign on a wall

an airplane on the runway

Closing in on the border, the distance between people got a lot closer as the queue got tighter. I guess that this is a Brexit benefit, waiting in passport queues.

a group of people walking in a building

Remind me to send an invoice to the powers that be.

Once at the border, I greeted the agent in French (I try to learn a few words when at the border – I know I didn’t have to, but I try to be human at the border).

The agent smiled, scanned my passport and got out the stamp. With a resounding thunk, they stamped my passport and were cleared to enter Switzerland with a Merci.

Not frictionless, but better than nothing.

a man with a backpack walking into an elevator

With that I followed the signs for the exit,  passing through Duty-Free first, and then to luggage claim, missing the machine that gave you free 80-minute transit tickets.

a cow statue in a store

Bugger.

That was a pain, as the hotel had not sent over the transit pass for my stay in Geneva (and that’s a useful thing- if you stay in a hotel in Geneva, your public transportation costs are subsidised.

Oh well.

a woman pushing a stroller in a terminal

I continued my way to the train station, remembering to think in French, rather than in German (Remember Switzerland has three official languages – French, German and Italian).

Yes, I could get by with English – but again, knowing some basic phrases and greetings doesn’t hurt anyone when travelling.

I found a ticket machine, and stabbed at it until a CHF 8 post-9 am ticket came out. With that, I found the oddest thing in Switzerland – a cancelled train! 

Thankfully Geneva Airport is served by 5 trains an hour, or a reasonable bus network.

people standing in a train station

 

As it had grown dark outside, the train was still a good option – I wasn’t in the mood to head to the hotel just yet.

I caught an Intercity train for the whole six-minute ride into the city. There is something said to put an airport near a city that’s reasonably connected by public transport.

a woman with luggage in a train station

There were priorities, however, and they needed to be satisfied by something than the mini-Migros at the train station.

I had people to feed and gifts to get – that means heading to a Coop supermarket. Considering it was 5 pm when I got into geneva, I had to get my skates on. Thankfully, we all have Google Maps on our phones these days (or Apple maps if you’re that way inclined – I won’t judge you).

With a reasonably sized coop located, it was time for a scenic night walk through the city.

a body of water with a body of water and a ferris wheel in the background

A coop is one of the chains of supermarkets in Switzerland – which is good to hunt own gifts at a price – well-inflated price because the Swiss Franc doesn’t lose one thing – its value.

a black and red shoe on a display
Not this Christian Louboutin however.

a display of christmas trees
Or these chocolate trees

With more than plenty of things for friends and the office, I headed out and crossed into the city lake part

a building with lights on it a city at night with lights over water

a bridge over water with lights and buildings in the background

a tree with lights on it

a body of water with lights on it

a building with lights and a sign on the side

a group of swans swimming in a body of water

Then crossed it again as I was closing in on a Ferris Wheel, which in turn led to a Christmas market.

a ferris wheel lit up at night

That’s a good sign that I’ve still got adventurous guesswork to hand still, with zero research done beforehand.

a group of people walking down a street with a tree with lights a group of people outside at a table with a large silver ball from the ceiling

a group of people in a park

a tree with lights on it

Did I mention I hardly ever research when I go these days? All I tend to know is how to get through the airport, how to get to the city and hotel – and that’s my lot.

I like a surprise when travelling these days.

a group of people walking on a path with lights a group of people standing in a park

a wooden cart decorated with lights a horse pulling a cart

Although when I crossed one of the bridges back from the market, there was a lot of car horn tooting – not very Swiss at all.

a bridge with a flag on it and a boat in the water

It turned out that Morocco had won a football match and people were celebrating.

Wonderful.

people walking on a sidewalk

One thing to note if you are shopping in Geneva is that most shops close by 6 pm on Saturdays, and are closed on Sundays – so if you’re going with someones credit card to shop the city, you may find the only shopping you’ll be doing at an Airport or Train Station (which are allowed to open on Sundays – making them the busiest places on a Sunday.

a display case with different types of chocolate

With the exploration done, I hit the Migros at the train station for dinner (because I’m not dining out at reassuring Swiss prices), getting a few warm pizza breads and a salad.

a shelf with food in plastic wrap a display of pastries and bread

a shelf with coffee bags and boxes on it
I won’t lie. I’m interested in this coffee machine. James Hoffman has a review of these Coffee Ball Machines. I’m intrigued, to put it mildly as someone who is on a Nespresso Machine. 

That done, I headed back to the airport – as the hotel was not in central Geneva- rather it is out near the airport. Whilst I couldn’t work out the shuttle bus timetable, it was on the number 10 bus route, with a short walk.

Considering some of the ice that was on the pavements, this is no bad thing.

a sign on a wall

a glass door with a table and chairs in a train
Although this train had a Bistro too.

After the ride back to the airport, I headed to the bus station, where a number 10 bus was waiting. That was the good news. The bad news was that the accessway had been blocked by fire and ambulance services.

a group of people in a terminal

That was a problem for our bus, as it was a multiple-section electric trolley bus, with the wires going past the area that was blocked.

In the end, a multi-section diesel bus came along to replace the service. Yes, I could have taken an Uber – but it was CHF11.50. I’m remaining discounted to the end here.

With the most I’ve ever felt a bus struggle go through uphill sections (and that bendy bus struggled), it took 10 minutes to reach the hotel.

Eventually, I reached my hotel for the night – the Crowne Plaza Geneva.

a car on the street

Next

The Crowne Plaza Geneva.

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