As it happened to be 'Good Friday', most of the shops were closed on that day. We were led into the old town and we got down from the bus for a stroll in the old town. A not-so-big church with golden domes was very impressive. Called as "Russian Orthodox Church", this had been built by Russians in 1800s. Somewhere in the old town is the massive Cathedral St. Pierre. This cathedral is also one of the much talked about place here and probably has some interesting history. Of course, the poor guide was telling us the history of the cathedral and the galaxy of museums surrounding it, but there were very few takers (at least from our gang! :). There was one square, a simple one but the oldest one in Geneva. It had evolved into a medieval market place. Other tourists who came along with us were awe struck with the beauty and the fondness of the place. But it looked very ordinary to me and I thought that people are over reacting!

After visiting some more culturally valued old buildings, we moved along to a place called Promenade de la Treille. The area is embellished with lot of trees and there is a 120 metres long bench. It is claimed to be the "World's longest bench " (See box news). From there on, we walked along to one big park, whose name I have forgotten. That park has some statues, which has got something to do with Romans.

The tour continued in the bus from this point. If the array of International organisations were the landmark of Geneva, would the banks, landmark of Switzerland, be far behind? On the drive back to the city from the old town, one could see numerous banks (the guide put the number around 170) and most of them were private. The guided tour ended with the bus dropping us at the bus stand. One more observation at Geneva: Motorists here drive their vehicles at breakneck speed even with in the city. In the other European cities I have visited, never before I have seen people driving so fast, with in the city.

Since we had a few hours left before catching the train to Interlaken, we set out on our own into the city. All we could do was to stroll along the lake and the park side. We had satisfactory photo ops that time. The weather was sunny and bright, an ideal one for tourists. We boarded the train towards Interlaken. The train ran past the Lake Geneva, which itself runs several kilometres. It was a green & yellow landscape on the way. The landscapes, gardens, mountains, lakes et al - it was a right mixture of nature's wealth. I wished that I were a poet to describe all these. It made me quite envious of Switzerland and its people for the time being. We reached Interlaken at around 1030 hours and stayed at a hostel called "Balmer's Herberge" (the bloody clerk there said over phone that the hostel is reachable by walk in 5 minutes. Damn! It is reachable by walk coz there is no other transport available and it took no less than 20 minutes to reach there! A good experience that distance in terms of time should never be asked.)

The flowers of the meadow present a colorful show
As they are caressed by the warm sun's glow

She offers her flowers as a treat for the deer
As a doe watches her fawn and keeps her near

Birds circling to land in the meadow below
Looking for bugs, so their offspring will grow

Butterflies dancing together in mid-air,
One would think they are at a social affair

The bees scurry from flower to flower
Gathering nectar they love to devour

The stream follows the meadow's path,
A raccoon enjoys taking a bath

The frogs sing in unison nearby,
Only stopping to catch a fly

The meadow is a wonderful place to go
To see Mother Nature put on her show

continues...