This last weekend I went to Geneva with some friends to see what Switzerland has to offer. I was fortunately not disappointed with my experiences traveling through this mountainous land.
On my first day in Switzerland, I decided to hike to the top of Mont Saleve, which sits on the outskirts of the city. Normally, there is a gondola that takes people to the top; however, it was currently out of operation for the time being. The hike only took me two hours to reach the top where I enjoyed some amazing views over Geneva. It wasn’t necessarily the clearest day, but the scenery was beautiful regardless.
For our second day in this mountain paradise, we took a train to the other side of Lake Geneva to the town of Montreux. During this time of year, the town has a Christmas market right on the lake with several shops selling Christmas accessories, chocolate, and other sweet goods. This offers great photo opportunities for visiting tourists who want to capture these kind of scenic layouts.
On our third and final day of our journey, my friends and I took a bus to the French mountain town of Chamonix. People from all over Europe come here for a wintery getaway mostly during the ski seasons. While I was walking through its streets, I felt as though I was placed in a mountain town similar to those in Colorado or Utah.
That same day, we took about a twenty minute cable car ride up through the surrounding mountains of the town to see the glacier known as the Mer de Glace, or “Sea of Ice.” Resting at an elevation of almost 7,000 feet in the Chamonix valley, the Mer de Glace provides visitors with spectacular panoramic views of the high altitude environment.
Matt Machin
<p>I am a rising junior at Wake Forest University from Los Angeles, California. My interests are sports, hiking/backpacking, and photography. This next semester in France will be the first time for me going abroad.</p>
