I think it’s probably clear by now that while we were in Switzerland, we were so taken with Engelberg that we would have been happy to never leave our little mountain home, but we decided that we should spend at least a few days seeing some other parts of Switzerland.
Also, Taido was very keen to see Chamonix and Mont Blanc, so we loaded up our camping gear for a few days and set off on a little mini road trip that included a stop in Geneva.
It was raining in Geneva while we were there but that didn’t keep us from seeing the famous flower clock and more importantly, St Pierre’s.
St Pierre is known mainly for its association with John Calvin, who fled to Switzerland instead of being rounded up as a heretic in France during the sixteenth century. He actually preached at St Pierre’s some while he was writing his famous Institutes in Basel, and then he eventually came to St Pierre’s to lead the reformation in Geneva.
We went inside and saw where he would stood and taught, as well as his chair.
The kids were super fascinated by all this church history. (Not really)
And they enjoyed the architecture of Geneva. (Nope, that’s not true either.)
However, there was one part of Geneva they did enjoy.
The Jet D’Eau.
In Lake Geneva there is a fountain that shoots 132 gallons of water every second 459 feet into the air.
You can even see it from the back of St. Pierre’s shooting up over the rooftops.
It’s a fairly impressive spectacle and if you get anywhere near it, you are sure to get wet.
We were already wet from the rain, so Ben and Mary Polly decided to brave it and walk all the way out on the jetty that reaches it.
Lots of squealing.
Our stop in Geneva was pretty quick but Taido and I both found it to be super charming.
There were lots of preparations being made for the Swiss National Holiday (August 1) while we were there, so I’m sure there was a very fun party in the city just a few days later.
Maybe we’ll get back there again one day.
I love to hear that your children’s enthusiasm for these things is equal to mine! Ha! My kids would LOVE that jet fountain too!! Does look like a pretty place!
Right? This summer, sometimes they even refused to get out of the car at shorter stops. Simon told me he did not want to ever see anything “famous” again because apparently I use, “It’s famous” as a reason to go see something far too often.