What makes Geneva, Switzerland, so important to this particular traveller is not so much as a destination in itself, regardless of all the institutions and trades it’s renowned for, but as the portal it’s been to other destinations: the Swiss Alps, the Berner-Oberland… France.
Rediscovering Routes and Roots
And once again, Geneva was acting as a connector for a long-overdue and somewhat spontaneously planned family reunion across the border in the nearby city of Annecy, France.
Lake Annecy, France
Fish out of water
If you can imagine a fish being released back into a river, or in this case, a lake, that was how it felt to be going back to France after a five-year hiatus, four of which, in the Netherlands. My wife and I were going back for four re-energizing days of family rebonding, of re-immersing into a one-of-a-kind culture, of shopping, and, of course, of local French food… “I love it when a plan looks like it’s coming together”.
Trusting others
Stepping off the flight from Amsterdam in Geneva airport in late April was the end of part of the journey where its progress depended on others doing their job because sometimes, as with pilots, they have skills you don’t and because sometimes, as with Uber drivers, it suits you.
It depended on an Uber driver picking us up and dropping us off at the departure terminal. But that goes without saying, doesn’t it? It’s what they do, isn’t it? Yes and no, and just maybe it also depends on your profile. For example, cancel a trip too often and see whether it goes without saying, but this time, the driver delivered, and that what’s matters.
It depended on the passage through airport security being quick and without incident, which it was, barring the “all-embracing”, in-depth, post-full-body scanner pat-down that hopefully assured the security agents that I was hiding nothing, anywhere, on my person.
⁹ Flying over Lake Geneva
Last but not least, it depended on the KM air crew getting us safe and sound to Geneva, which of course they did, with the only cloud on the horizon at circa 7000 metres being a rather joyless and typically Dutch whole wheat cheese/vegetarian sandwich.
KLM are, it appears, rather proud of their reportedly vegetarian cheese sandwiches, so much so, they serve them, without variance, on virtually all their (European) city-hopping flights, at least those I’ve taken with them so far (Geneva, Florence, Alicante…) which rather attests to their popularity, it would seem.
Interlude in Lounge 25
With a few hours to spare, it has become a habit to check into KLM’s Schiphol Lounge 25 because, familiar with their in-flight catering on city-hopper flights, it’s an opportunity to make the most of KLM’s airport hospitality in a less stressful environment, with a choice of light but nice food and drink and even a glass of champagne, which the in-flight catering service may offer in business class* but certainly not in economy class.
*Upgrading from economy to business class is possible, but judging by the few occupied seats in business class on our flights, not many people considered it worth spending an extra hundred Euros on a 400 Euro ticket for a 75-minute flight.
Misty Mountain Hop
In order to complete the journey, a rental car was needed for the circa 45-minute drive from Geneva to the charming lakeside city of Annecy in France. The excitement was growing.
Autoroute A41 – 8.44PM
Once the car collected from the rental agency in Geneva Airport’s Parking 51, it doesn’t take long to reach the French border crossing. Spend four years in the Low Countries, and you tend to forget what highways elsewhere are like. Spend four years in the Netherlands and you also forget how magnificent the sight of, still, snow-capped mountains* in the distance can be.
But the excitement needed tempering; if not, the distracted driver runs the serious risk of being blitzed by a strategically placed radar, positioned in a bend at the bottom of a long descent of the invariably sparsely frequented (A41) Geneva-Grenoble autoroute. Fortunately, living in the Netherlands teaches you, if nothing else, self-restraint while driving; there’s only so fast you can drive on dense, congested Dutch highways.
* Lake Annecy locals will tell you that if there is still snow on the nearby mountains, it’s still be too chilly for swimming, unless perhaps you are Nordic.
Le Lac d’Annecy
Culture and subculture
According to the tourist guides, Annecy is a pleasant, photogenic city, full of history, fun to walk around, with lots to see—a pearl of a city and the Venice of the Alps. It’s all that and certainly more.
Although historically interesting and picturesque, Annecy is, however, just one of a number of places of interest in the region worth visiting. Some visit Annecy specifically for the culture, the scenery, or the skiing. We came to visit family, millennial residents of Annecy, and to get a glimpse of their life, as residents of Annecy; what shops, markets, bars or specialty restaurants they visit, when and why.
Objective achieved. We visited, saw the sights, went shopping, and, most importantly, we re-bonded, understanding that, whatever the plan or intention, close family and relational ties are unique and should always be nurtured.
With that thought in mind, four days later, we undertook the reverse trip back to Amsterdam, happily passing up on KLM’s cheese sandwich along the way because this particular fish was going back with some infinitely more flavoursome French cheese in his baggage.
*****
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