The First 3 Months (Part 1).
I arrived in this foreign land on the
29th April 2002. I had a stop-over in Singapore along the
way, which is an interesting place and I think well
worth a look.
My first taste of Europe was actually
Frankfurt Airport in Germany. Having missed my connecting
flight to Geneva I had the pleasure of spending three
hours exploring this ashtray. This may seem a
little harsh but unfortunately much of Europe hasn't
cottoned on to the idea that smoking sucks! They smoke
in everywhere
and of course you will see the sexy cigarette advertising
that went out of vogue in Australia back in the 1980's.
Not a very good first impression.
After a short delay I eventually arrived
in Switzerland. The 1 hour drive to my temporary home,
the Hotel Pavillon in Vevey allowed me my first glimpse
at the beautiful side of Europe. This is by no means
a spectacular drive, but it is still impressive with views
of Lake Geneva and the Alps.
After settling into my hotel mid-afternoon
I went for a brief walk on the lake front where I got
my first look at my new work home. The world-wide headquarters
for Nestle sits right on Lake Geneva, needless to say
the views and surroundings are sensational.
The settling-in process to me a little longer than
expected, and was interrupted by an unexpected business
trip to London in my second week in Europe. I only got
to see a little bit of London but I was fortunate
enough to see the third session of the second day's
play in the First Test between England and Sri Lanka
at Lords, the Mecca for a cricket fan such as myself.
The jury is still out on London, it certainly doesn't
make the grade as one of the world's more beautiful
cities. It is surely one of the most expensive.
But, I will definately have to visit again though so that
I can check
out some of the museums, churches and Palaces, etc.
One tip that I will share with any potential travellers
to London is that if you don't like crowds, don't go! There
are simply people everywhere, over 12 million of them to
be exact.
Back to Switzerland and adjusting to my new apartment
in Montreux for the next 18 months. I am not sure quite
how to explain the decor of my apartment, although I
like to you use the word "tragic". It is a
mix of Louis the XV decor with pink highlights. You
can see some photographs in my Photo Album but you must
promise not to laugh. You will also be happy to know
that the single beds have now been exchanged for a Queen
size bed.
Despite all of this, it is a nice apartment with a spectacular
outlook (which you can also see in my Photo Album), a
huge terrace balcony and great location right on Lake
Geneva. I am only a ten minute walk from the centre
of Montreux and the nearby shops. It is also a great base from
which to get to the winter ski slopes, or to travel into France
(45 minutes) or Italy (1 hour).
On that note I will end my not so brief summary of
my first three months in Switzerland. In the next edition,
I will tell you a little about the sites and places
that I have explored on my weekends so far. Until then,
best wishes to all my friends & family and I hope
to hear from some of you very soon.
Cheers,
Marc
29th July 2002
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