From the 28th to the 30th of September 2024, Dr Stanley, Dr Foad and Mrs Cunningham took 23 Year 13 students to Switzerland for an activity-packed weekend exploring Geneva.
Day 1:
We met at school bright and early at 3:30am to catch a coach to Luton Airport for our flight to Geneva. When we touched down in Switzerland, we hopped on a (double-decker!) train from the airport to drop our bags off at the hostel, then we got on a tram to CERN.
Over the course of three hours, we walked around a part of the huge site with our guide, who told us about feats of engineering from CERN’s history, such as the Synchrocyclotron, the Low-Energy Ion Ring and LINAC 2. We also learnt about the way the particle data is processed in CERN’s huge data centre.
Day 2:
After some breakfast in the hostel, we headed out on the tram to the Red Cross Museum, where we went on a guided audio tour of the different exhibits. This was an eye-opening experience as, even though it focused on the efforts made by volunteers and workers to help and save people, it also showed the tragedies they faced. We then carried on walking into Geneva to the History of Science Museum, which was right on the edge of Lake Geneva.
We then went on a boat taxi right across the lake (a lot quicker than walking!) to reach Le Jardin Anglais, which we eventually got to after walking in completely the wrong direction for a while.
After this point, we split up into groups to independently explore Geneva for a few hours. Unfortunately, as it was a Sunday afternoon, the shops were mostly all closed, so after we had thoroughly compared the menus of Swiss McDonald’s to that of the UK (very nice but very expensive!), my group went on a long walk around the city.
The fun didn’t stop there! In the evening, we were back on the tram to a (very quiet) shopping centre for an evening of bowling and pizza, which you ordered by the metre.
Day 3:
On the final day, we checked out of the hostel, then caught our favourite Tram 15 to the United Nations, where it took a lot of effort to drag some people away from the fountains outside.
We had an hour-long tour around the site, where we were taken into the Palais de Nations - this included some of the rooms where major conferences and negotiations have taken place about major political and socio-economic conflicts throughout history. A highlight was when we were allowed into the gallery to watch part of the Human Rights Council, which was happening down below.
After our tour of the UN, we caught a tram back to Cornavin station to catch our train to the airport, where we got through security, had some oddly-timed lunch, and waited for our flight home.
Overall, our whistle-stop tour of Geneva was incredibly informative, and incredibly fun!
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