Bon match, Allez Suisse!

Last week we went to Davis Cup tennis. We watched a doubles match and a singles match between Switzerland and Czech Republic. As the event was held in a convention center, I had wondered what the atmosphere would be like. When we walked in, we were immediately impressed with the patriotic show of display exhibited by the Swiss fans. We were expecting people to wear red or some kind of Swiss gear, but people went far beyond that!

There were definitely a few memorable fans, such as the lady adorned in flags, cowbells, fringes, ribbons, flowers, pom poms, and cows, the men in their Swiss flag jackets, and the younger guys dressed up as cows:

At the front, you could choose to have a raclette plate or pasta dish, plus tarts and sandwiches. And of course wine or beer too. We tried the raclette plate, which was a great snack that actually didn't break the bank!

I could go on about the food and drink, but back to the tennis.

All of a sudden, we heard a group of people come in, singing, blowing horns and banging a drum: the Czech fans had arrived. There were not many of them, but they made up for it in noise! They really caused quite a scene coming in. When we took our seats, we found out that we were behind the Czech fans. I think the group's noise actually drove the Swiss fans to increase their noise level as well during the matches.

The Czech group

The tennis teams entered onto the court, to many cheers and much applause. The first match we sawa was the doubles match between Wawrinka and Chuidinelli of Switzerland versus Berdych and Rosol of Czech Republic.

Switzerland on the left; Czech Republic on the right

Now the fun began! I can only imagine how loud it would have been if Federer had played - as it was, the Swiss fans really showed true vocal support of their team.

It was apparent in the first set that these teams were pretty evenly matched. It was hard for each team to break each other's serve, so the match was pretty exciting from the start. The first four sets were 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7. But that was nothing compared to the fifth set! As we later found out, this turned out to be the longest Davis cup match ever played, clocking in at just over seven hours (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-02/sports/sns-rt-us-tennis-davis-recordbre9110dn-20130202_1_doubles-rubber-czechs-world-group) with Czech Republic finally winning the match with 24 games to 22 in the fifth set. 

The next day, Wawrinka and Berdych played a singles match, and they must have been pretty tired to say the least! We saw a lot of the same fans we'd seen the day before, including the Czech contingent (who were warned a lot by the umpire for drum banging, horn waving, flag waving etc. during the games).

Wawrinka in action

Berdych's toss is really high

This match was not as evenly matched as the previous day's, as Berdych was in pretty good form. But Wawrinka did a good job, and seemed to enjoy home country support that day!
The match was won by Berdych in 4 sets, to the dismay of the predominantly Swiss crowd, but they respectfully applauded at the end. And the Czech fans brought out the biggest flag I think I've ever seen!

Big Czech flag for Berdych's win!

Lake Parade

Every summer in July, the road around the lake in Geneva is blocked off for a "technoparade," or a parade where floats or Lovemobiles blast dance or techno music. Starting in the mid afternoon, the parade of Lovemobiles goes around the Geneva part of the lake very slowly, ending up on the other side about 3 to 4 hours later. At that point, they set up stages with a DJ on each stage, it's like having 20 mini parties lined up ready for sampling. The Lovemobiles have different themes, or the dancers on them have themed clothing (sometimes) and really, anything goes as far as clothing. The Lovemobiles are usually sponsored by radio stations or clubs, so the DJs are chosen to impress.
 
This started in 1997 in Geneva, and this year's theme (2012) was "Get ready for the unexpected."
Which I was!
The parade starts with a few cars to go down the blocked off road, but there was no strong enforcement of staying off the road, so most people wandered in between the Lovemobiles when they needed to. 

The Lovemobiles would have people walked around them holding a thin rope to prevent people getting too close.

What I called the flash Lovemobile, protected by men holding a thin rope

Some of the Lovemobiles had foam or "mousse" spewing out the back, which covered the dancers and the parade watchers.

MAD Lovemobile with foam or "mousse"

A trail of foam left on the street from a Lovemobile

Most people were there, like my friends and myself, to people watch. Because so many people dress up or dress oddly, it was so much fun to watch the parade of Lovemobiles and the people on the street too!

Cheeky

A stand off, or a casual encounter?

Moo

It's fun to see the Lovemobiles go by the ritzy hotels along the lake. I wonder what the hoity-toity hotel guests must think. Are they confused, outraged, or do they join in the fun? Do they get deep discounts on their hotel rooms?

After the parade moves around the lake to the other side, people either followed the Lovemobiles, or sat and relaxed, while the street sweepers quickly came out and did as much cleaning as possible. Which was vital to openin up the roads as the streets were littered as I'd never seen in Geneva.
Smashed bottles, trash, cups, confetti, take out food wrappers - you name it, it was on the street. We had to step carefully through it all.

The event goes on until the wee hours of the night, but I think I was there until 11pm. It's surprising how attending a Lake Parade (with a short break for dinner) can wear you out! I'm glad I went, and I really didn't know what to expect. The weather was absolutely beautiful, which really helped the day, and it was nice to hear so much dance music outside, without having to go to a crowded club. All in all, the ambience was pretty good, but it did get a bit rowdy towards the end of the drink, as the afternooners went home and a new crowd mixed in with the other revelers.

How most people felt at the end of the day

Flags

I just saw an episode of "The Big Bang Theory" where Sheldon and Amy made a YouTube video (apparently the first of 52!) called Fun with Flags. Perhaps this is why I am posting these pictures!

There are lots of flags on display in and around Geneva, and here are some of the places where the Geneva canton flag, Swiss flag, and UN flags are on display. I find myself taking lots of photos with flags in them, actually.

Geneva canton and Swiss flags at Lac Leman, Geneva

This one was taken when the sun was setting one nice Saturday (the kind of weather where you just delight in having an icecream):

Swiss flag and Jet d'Eau, Geneva

 All around town, especially in Old Town, or Vieille Ville, you can see flags adorning the streets. This is one of the quiet streets where the flags demonstrate the street's narrow width.

Flags in Vieille Ville, Geneva

Flags at the UN

This was taken in nearby Yvoire, France:

My sister and mother

Here are some more from the back of boats:

The Swiss one...

...and the French one

And here is the Welsh flag on our couch cushions (thanks cousin Audra!), with Fred the model:

Gruyères

The Gruyères region in Switzerland has amazing mountainous scenery, and is where the Gruyère cheese is made. We were told by many non-Swiss people that it is a town that we must visit. The central part of town is medieval, with old buildings on both sides of the main street which is cobble-stoned. Essentially, it can be described by one word: quaint.

The town is pedestrian-only, which means buses and cars all park below, and tourists have a short walk in. We visited on a warm summer day, and although it was mid-week, it was pretty packed with tourists - not too much so you couldn't walk around easily, but it definitely made it hard to take photos (at that time, most of the tourists were Spanish actually).

One of the first things we did was go to the HRGiger Museum Bar. Right by the HR Giger Museum, it is a bar that is best described as "cavernous" and "skeletal" and is said to remind one of Jason and the Whale. All I kept thinking about were the Alien movies, however. It took 2 years to complete, and there are some great photos on the website: http://www.hrgiger.com
People are constantly walking in it just to take photos, so there is a sign saying that it is for patrons only to enter. We enjoyed a drink and a snack there, and it was a cool place to sit and get away from the sun for a bit.

I later learned that H.R. Giger is a Swiss artist who did award-winning design work for the Alien movie.His work is also in the museum, and just outside it too. One of the more impressive displays is the sculpture of the alien "bullets" in the gun.

Gun with alien bullets

Door handles

It is a small town, but there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and the dishes of choice are fondue, raclette, and rösti; and for dessert, Gruyère cream with berries, meringues, or both! If you are lactose-intolerant, this is not the place for you to eat. I enjoyed cream with raspberries. I liked that they were separate, as I could choose the amount of cream to eat, but the waitress was surprised I didn't finish my cream. I wondered if I'd offended her.

Berries with cream

 We walked around the grounds of the château, which are flanked by the château walls and the stunning scenery. The chateau is from the 13th century, and marks the top of the town.

Going around the château grounds

View from the château grounds

Around the town is the remaining part of the fortified castlewalls, and it's fun to scramble around there on the old, worn steps.

We found a lovely hotel / resort, Hotel Cailler, in nearby Charmey, a town that is enjoyed by people who enjoy fresh mountain air (who doesn't?). We chose to stay there and experience the bains, or thermal baths, and spent a lovely and relaxing afternoon.
Charmey also boasts breathtaking views of the impressive mountains. We could only imagine the scenery in the wintertime.

Fresh bread

We both love fresh bread, but rarely get it just out of the oven.

The area where we lived when we first moved to Geneva, Grand Saconnex, has an organization called Four a Pain, ("bread oven") that held a Fete du Pain one Saturday.

We thought it would be worth a look to see what was being shown. Ryan really likes the Swiss bread called La Tresse au Beurre, or braided butter bread. It's available in the local supermarkets here. As a Swiss friend says, it's great, but you cannot slice it properly - you just have to grab it and tear off a piece.

The Fete was held in a courtyard of a school. It was a nice sunny morning, not too hot, and there weren't many people there. However, inside there was a small crowd, watching the bread coming out of the ovens:

A tray of the Tresse bread

I got the breakfast plate - so simple, and yet so tasty!

Seeing as it was breakfast, I opted to not have wine with my meal.
There were a few guys grilling out, so Ryan had the "'amburger" which was pretty good, he said.
A lively band played what I call local Swiss music, which got the people dancing.  It was getting pretty lively as we left!

Caves Ouvertes

Every year in May, there is an open house day of Geneva's wineries. Held on a Saturday, locals and visitors are encouraged to spend the day near Geneva, visiting wineries, tasting all there is to offer and having an overall enjoyable day. We contemplated taking the train and using the courtesy shuttle, but our friends were driving there, so we gladly tagged along with them.
Just a short drive and we were in a nearby town, where we found a place to park and walked a couple of minutes to our first stopover place. It had been raining that morning, and we were worried about the weather so we packed rain gear. 5 Swiss Francs was the cost for a glass, and we could sample whatever we wanted.

We noticed throughout the afternoon that a lot of people were English speakers. It's clearly the thing to do if you are Australian/Canadian/British/American!
Or maybe the bad weather scared away the other people.

There were food options available, such as sausages, breads, cheeses, desserts, and meals served too.  We did not sample any as we had just eaten, but probably would go hungry next year.

A very enjoyable experience was cut short, however, due to the weather turning sour. With high winds and sideways rain landing on us, there was very little shelter, and we called it a day a bit sooner than we'd wanted!
It was a great day out, though, and we look forward to trying it again.

(I was too busy having fun and talking to take any photos. Luckily, Ryan did! Our friends kept asking where he was, as he would leave us for periods of time, taking good pictures like the ones on this page.)