Switzerland in Photos

This is the Old Town in Geneva, the part of Geneva that dates back to before Calvin.
Geneva has a rich history, but is mostly known for Calvin, the man who brought us Calvinism and converted lots of Catholics in Europe to Protestantism. The Old Town used to be surrounded by huge walls because Geneva used to be an independent state within the Swiss Federation. The walls were taken down when Geneva was no longer threatened and the city expanded, but the old town (as well as Calvin's desk chair) still remains intact.

This is me in front of the giant clock. The face is made out of plants. The clock faces Rue du Rhone, the most expensive street in Switzerland. This is the extent of my knowledge about the clock, but it is a famous landmark and lots of Japanese tourists have their photos taken in front of it...so it must be important for some reason...

The Palais des Nations, ie the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. I spend a lot of my time here monitoring the United Nations sessions, dozing and resisting the urge to throw spitballs at delegates who are talking on their cell phones during the Human Rights Committee meetings. I also spend a lot of time commuting here since it is quite far from the center of town. The building was originally constructed to hold the original League of Nations, but that fell apart before the construction was finished. When they founded the United Nations Geneva offered up the original League of Nations building to be used for the UN and it became what is now known as UNOG.

Me again! In front of the Palais des Nations is an ENORMOUS statue of a chair with one leg broken off...apparently it was erected as part of a push to get nations to sign the International Land Mine Ban Treaty, but it definitely makes quite a statement...