26 December

Keeping my promise not to shower in this horrid dorm, I didn’t and proceeded to get ready as quickly as possible. We inevitably woke Shri up but it was fine ‘cause he had somewhere to be too. We easily boarded the train to Geneva and we kept the Pods safe in our bags. Saket and Sachi decided to return theirs so we didn’t want to let them get messed up in any way. The train ride was boring until we found out from the man checking tickets that the train would not be continuing to Geneva and that we would have to get on a connecting train at a certain stop. The people next to us spoke some English and helped us understand what he was saying. We then stayed awake to keep our eyes peeled for that stop. The transfer went quite smoothly because a lady at the station clearly pointed out which train it was we were supposed to catch. “Geneva? Blue!” Ah, international communication at its clearest. The ride to Geneva was uneventful and our hotel was fortunately quite close to the train station. None of us had showered and we all decided to wait until evening to do so. Since our batteries needed charging and we could not leave for sightseeing until they were ready, we briefly freshened up and left in search of money and lunch. We found both and had some more falafels and fries that were actually quite good. After this quick lunch we went back to the hotel. I had opened my iPod at this point and Saket and I started playing with it, much to Sachi’s annoyance. She was ready to go sightseeing while Saket and I were more interested in my new toy. We finally dragged ourselves away from it and left for the Red Cross Museum. Since this was our only day in Geneva we had to make the most of it. Transport proved to be quite expensive and a little inefficient. After a good walk from the tram stop we made it to the museum and stayed there for a while. It was nicely made though I found it a little boring and repetitive. On the way out we found that the tram ticket machine required exact change and did not accept bills. There was also a sign saying you must buy the ticket before boarding. Frustrated with those facts, we decided to forego the tram and just walk. It was a long walk in cold, misty, and generally miserable weather which did not contribute to the least to our enjoyment of the city. There was definitely some snow and slush on the ground and Geneva proved to be our coldest city yet. We were told about the famous Geneva fountain or “Jet” as Dave (from Paris) called it and headed to Lake Geneva in order to see it. Upon arrival we found that it only operates up till 4 during winter and only if the temperature is above 2 degrees Celsius. We got there at 4:45. I think at this point Saket and I were a little delirious and certainly disappointed with Geneva. I mean, it’s hard to follow up Paris. Sachi was the master sightseeing planner of our group and so we consulted her as to what we should see next. She named a transportation museum which we both vetoed followed by the old town part of the district which we also vetoed due to miserable weather. The best suggestion was a, get this, HORSE RAMP built to accommodate horse and buggy travel. Saket and I just lost it at this point and burst out in an incontrollable fit of laughter. Sachi also realized the absurdity of the suggestion and joined us. I think the locals and other tourists probably thought we had lost it but we were certainly enjoying ourselves. Since we had clearly abandoned any aspirations for sightseeing at this point, we decided to do some shopping and headed over to an H&M and some watch stores. I think Saket bought a nice cotton long-sleeves shirt but neither Sachi nor I got anything. After some shopping, we grabbed yet another pizza dinner that was pretty decent before heading back to the hotel for some showers and serious chilling. The British television show, “The Office” was on and so we happily watched that for a while. It’s hilarious. We all also took some time to shower and wash our hairs that badly needed it. After some more playing with my new Pod we all went to sleep. Like always, we had an early train to catch for Zurich.