Monday morning the admission director of Webster Geneva volunteered to take us on a short walking tour of Geneva. I learned that Geneva was the center of the Reformation and they have a huge monument to prove it. Evidence of this is also in the city’s cathedral, St. Pierre. The main room in the cathedral is huge and architecturally beautiful as are most old European cathedrals, but is it noticeably lacking in decoration. No frescos, painted ceilings or gold leafing here, just grey stone as far as the eye can see. What is interesting, though, is the side chapel off the main room. Entering the side chapel is like walking into a Crayola factory. Every surface is painted with different patterns, symbols and ornamentation. It was like the Reformists (is that what Calvin and his buddies were called?) were putting on a somber front for all to see but the real party was in the back. Or maybe the side chapel was painted hundreds of years later….the signs were all in French.
We also saw the Geneva Opera House as well as the world’s longest park bench. Other than that, I really didn’t see much that I hadn’t seen before. But the tour did give me a better feel for how individual areas I have walked through relate to one another in terms of location. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of where I am going via walking. Now I just have to figure out how to use the public transportation to get to places other than campus and the train stop. My first test will be getting to the airport since five of us are going to Budapest for a long weekend. Let the traveling begin!
Picture: Me outside the Archives of Geneva. There are three huge mosaics depecting different periods in Geneva's history.
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