Switzerland

After waking to lovely Gaelle arriving back from the bakery with goodies for breakfast, we said our goodbyes for the day, as they had to work, and met Andrew’s old flatmate Sarah who is living in Geneva. Strolling around the city, we stopped for coffee in an older part of Geneva and then decided to grab some lunch. Bad service (well actually a lack of any kind of service altogether) made us leave a restaurant, and we ended up getting some nibbles at a lunchbar.

We had decided to cook Gaelle and Enguerrand a meal, and had decided that the only really truly New Zealand thing we could attempt without digging up their apartment floor for a hangi was to try a pavlova, even though we knew it could likely be a flop (Eton Mess could always be a back-up…). Skipping the ultra-expensive inner city supermarkets, which did give us some ideas if nothing else, we bought some ingredients and trammed back to the border, inviting Sarah along for dinner. Josh also tried the local drink Rivella which is a cola-type drink made from cheese… don’t ask. After struggling with the pronunciation of Enguerrand’s name, Josh nicknamed him Toblerone instead, which he loved since he was being likened to yummy Swiss chocolate.

Enguerrand’s sister kindly picked us up from the border, and was keen to practise some English. Sarah was still learning French too, so a bit of half and half conversation eventuated. When the others arrived home from work, the meal was in full force, and we had even surprised ourselves with our three courses. The looks of excitement on their faces to see Blinis with blue cheese, roasted pear and walnut, or smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives made them crack open some bubbly to join it all. Josh had taken charge of the most impressive aspect - the pavlova slowly cooking in the oven, which seemed to be holding its shape. After the entrees, and a meal of fish on the bbq and salads, Sarah and Enguerrand’s sister sadly had to leave before dessert was done.

The pav had started to crack on the top, and was sinking slightly, but eventually it cooled enough to take from the oven, and was definitely an amazing first effort! It also impressed our hosts who said they’d never tried such a soft cake before, and the traditional kiwifruit and strawberry garnish topped it off. After another screening of some Flight of the Conchords, which we left with our hosts, we bid our farewells as they had early starts in the morning. Such an incredible couple and amazing hosts, we were sad to leave them behind! We also told them all about couchsurfing, and days later they joined up, keen to host more travellers. We will be forever grateful to them.

After a very early morning start, and some frantic searching for our train tickets, which had decided to place themselves under a book somehow… we made it to the train in time. With our long journey ahead since we couldn’t get the direct route, we put our Eurail pass winnings to good use. The First Class cabins aren’t all that different from the normal ride, although I guess it depends what train you get, but they are a lot less crowded.

Travelling through the Alps, we managed to stay awake most of the time to take in the stunning scenery; snow-capped mountains, churches gripping for life onto cliffs, small Swiss villages proudly flying their country flag. It was a tiresomely long day, and after our 7am start, we didn’t arrive in Geneva until after 7pm. A quick stopover in Milan for an hour left us holed up around the train station eating a picnic lunch in the burning heat, without time to venture beyond.

Andrew was flying from London to Geneva to meet us, and after a few confusing tram mix-ups, we met him along the way to Enguerrand and Gaelle’s house – friends of my sister Michelle who were kindly hosting us for two nights. When trying to buy tickets for the tram, and having problems with notes versus coins, card operated business and a line beginning to form behind us, we were given a ticket by a kind stranger with an extra she didn’t need. Another guy got a bit impatient waiting behind us, and jumped in with his card, “I’ll buy you a f***ing ticket”… which had us laughing and thanking him for his strange generosity stemmed from annoyance.

We had been given directions from Enguerrand to hope off at a certain stop and then cross the border into France. Yes, France. So we had left Nice in France that morning, been to Italy, Switzerland, and now we were heading back to France for the night. This country hopping is crazy. We expected a huge drama at the line, and with our passports ready we approached to see… well, nothing really. It is a line, and there he was standing and waving on the other side.
We drove the short distance from the border to their very stylish apartment, and met Gaelle who was in the midst of cooking Raclette for dinner – a traditional meal (which became obvious when you start tucking into hot cheese, potatoes, deli meats and pickles, and wish you’d spent a day in the slopes saving up for it). It was a very tasty meal, and although our tummies were weighed down afterwards, we still managed to fit in some Movenpick icecream – we were in Switzerland after all.

After a few drinks, we drove into Geneva towards a city carnival by the lake, and met up with one of their friends along the way. Brazilian music pulsated through the air, as hoards of dancers crammed between cocktail stands. After a very very strong and sugary round of Caipirinhas, we headed further into town, past the red light district, which is apparently now also holds a stretch of great restaurants, and in search of more drinks. After walking for a while, and realising town was pretty empty except for the festival, we admitted defeat (it was a Monday night), and headed back to their place.