Jovial Genève

Sunday started off a little later than the previous day. Rebecca and I went to Mass at Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva. It is the main Catholic church of Geneva. It was built in 1857 in the Neo-Gothic style. It is much smaller in size than St. Pierre's but provides a different atmosphere. Also, Mass was in French so add that to the list of languages that I've heard Mass in now. After church was over we went back to the apartment to pick up Hannah and grab some breakfast before tackling the events of the day.

Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva

We had a cluster of buildings we wanted to see on the north side of the lake so we set out. On the way we came across the Church of the Holy Trinity which was like no other church I have ever seen. It was in a giant sphere. It was very beautifully done. It was actually quite impressive. We finally arrived at the building we wanted to see which was JTI Headquarters by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM). The building was located in the business district and it was made up of all glass and steel. A corner of the building was lifted up and cantilevered out and created a courtyard space of sorts. It looked really nice from the outside but seeing as it was both an office building and Sunday, the inside was closed.

Church of the Holy Trinity

JTI Headquarters

We walked up the street to the Palace of Nations which houses the United Nations Office of Geneva. This is the third of four UN buildings that I have seen in some fashion. The others locations are New York, Vienna, and Nairobi. I don't know if you could go inside but we had other things to see. Across the street was home to World Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO) which had an architecturally significant tower and conference hall. The tower was nice but the hall was a little underwhelming compared to the photos I had seen. We couldn't go inside so we left.

WIPO Headquarters

We made our way over to the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the city of Geneva which is a large park. We had lunch there and spent some time wandering and basking in the sun and warm weather. They even had some animals to show off. We had a lot of fun just sort of goofing off before we left. From the gardens, we walked up a series of hills to get to an overlook point. We weren't that high up, just under 250 feet above Geneva's elevation but you could see a lot. We were about a mile from the French border and the French Alps loomed over everything. On the other side you could see a lot of Lake Geneva and the Swiss Alps. It was a beautiful spot.

At the Botanical Gardens

Overlooking Lake Geneva

We made our way back down to the city center from the overlook after a long walk and decided to have a little fun. We rented a paddle boat for half an hour out on the lake. It was so much fun! The water was so clear and the sky was blue and the weather was great. It was perfect. Once we got done with boat we had sorbet to complete the embrace of the warm weather.

Paddle boating in Lake Geneva

The last stop to see was the Julius Bär Bank by Mario Botta. We tried to see this the day before but our directions were misinformed. Today we found it and knew it was Botta from first glance. It was a tall building clad in a stone rainscreen. I really liked the material choice and thought that building was very cohesive. Obviously, banks on Sundays aren't open so we left.

Mario Botta Bank

Geneva is not a cheap city so it took some time to find something relatively cheap enough for a student's budget. Naturally, we found a pizza place and ate there. It was relaxing to finally be off my feet for awhile. Afterwards we came back to the apartment and called it a night. I really enjoyed Geneva and I am glad I got to visit. Au revoir Genève!