Spring 2009 European Tour:  Geneva
May 5thth
By: John B. Holbrook, II
 

Tuesday morning arrived, and I had planed to take a train from Neuchâtel back to Geneva.  But first I had to go up to the roof of the Hotel Beaulac and take a sunrise photo of the city.  The Hotel Beaulac has a helicopter pad on the roof - it's a must-have feature of any hotel I stay in.  :D  :D  

The view from the roof at sunrise was quite breathtaking - a nice "goodbye" to Neuchâtel:  

I grabbed a cab and went to the Neuchâtel train station. There's a certain romanticism associated with traveling by train, and I got bitten by that bug while in Japan last year.  My father often waxes on nostalgically about traveling in the US by train (which I've actually never done) - I was glad that I was able to squeeze in a train ride on this trip:

 

The train ride was barely over an hour, and it was a short cab ride from the Geneva train station to my next hotel - the Hotel De La Paix:

In terms of location, the De La Paix is optimally located right on Lake Geneva, within walking distance of just about anything you'd want to see in Geneva.  As I was only staying in Geneva for one day, a convenient location was very important to me, but it was an expensive option.  :(  Anyone familiar with the Geneva lakeside area will know exactly where the De La Paix is located - it's on the far right of the buildings in this photo: 

  Of course, being just down the street from the building with one of the most iconic signs in the world made me feel completely welcome - had to grab a wrist shot:

As one would expect of what I'm told is one of the finest hotels in Geneva, the De La Paix was very well decorated:

Of course, the lobby had a display of some selections from Geneva's most famous company:

I lucked out and scored an upgrade to my room to a Jr. Suite!!

The room was certainly among the more opulent I've ever stayed in the world, but the real icing on the cake with this room is the amazing view of Lake Geneva:

As you can see, I had an absolutely spectacular view of the famous Lake Geneva Jet d'Eau (water jet) as well as Mont Blanc:

Curious, I checked online when I got back - a stay in the Jr. Suite with a view at the Hotel De La Paix in Geneva normally runs over $1200.00 a night. That was QUITE the upgrade! :)

 The Jet d'Eau is quite magnificent to see - it is situated at the point where Lake Geneva empties into the Rhone River. Five-hundred liters (132 gallons) of water per second are jetted to an altitude of 140 meters (459 feet) by two 500 kW pumps, operating at 2,400 V, consuming over one megawatt of electricity - it's one of the largest fountains in the world.   And Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe.

As tempting as it was to stand out on the terrace and take in the view, I did want to get some sight seeing in before my appointment in Geneva.  A short watch across the bridge, and you find yourself in one of the most luxurious shopping districts found anywhere in the world.  As you can see in this photo, Bucherer has a large store (it's the one with the Rolex logo) and Patek Philippe uses the site of the previous manufactory for their Geneva boutique.  It's important to note that most of the major watch manufacturers who are headquartered in Geneva, aren't located in this area right on Lake Geneva.  Most people see the watch company names on large signs sitting atop many of the Lake Geneva area buildings, and assume they are the headquarters of said companies.  In actuality, the signs are merely advertisements.  Rolex for example is headquartered about 20 miles on the outskirts of Geneva.

Of course, I stopped in both - the Patek boutique was really amazing - even more so then their New York boutique.   Here's some shots inside the sitting room of the Patek boutique where you go to try on the watch you pick out in their showroom:

Not far from the heart of the shopping district is this giant sized and fully functional flower clock - here's a shot of yours truly in front of this famous Geneva landmark:

Soon it was time to make my way to the famous Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva - I was scheduled to have a private tour of the museum in the afternoon.  Here's a few sights I saw along the way to the Museum:

The three major auction houses which handle the luxury wrist watch industry (Christie's, Southeby's, and Antiquorum) all have offices in Geneva quite close to one another:

My tour of the Patek Museum was simply amazing - fortunately I was able to score photo taking privileges (almost unheard of) and will soon publish a full photo tour of the Patek Philippe Museum in the Patek Philippe Forum on WATCH TALK FORUMS. 

After my tour of the Patek Philippe Museum, I decided to go back the lake Geneva area and watch the sun set:

I found this nice little outdoor cafe and decided to indulge in a little treat:

I had an absolutely perfect day in Geneva! Tomorrow morning I would head back to the Geneva Airport and fly to Berlin Germany to attend the unveiling of another new masterpiece by the German watch brand A. Lange & Söhne. As I close this chapter of my European Tour, enjoy these night shots of the Geneva skyline from my hotel:

Next stop - Berlin Germany!!