From Gare de Lyon to our hotel – 30 Sep 09

We arrived at Gare De Lyon Railway station sharp at 11.03am.Got down and started searching for the Tourist Information Office. Got hold of a two day pass for Metro (underground subway) + bus. Then found our way to the Underground Railway station.



The Railway stations are so meticulously planned – a tourist just does not have to think .He has to merely follow all the arrows in the station and he will reach the platform and the train of his choice! The ultimate destination of the train should however preferably be known in advance although you may be getting down en route, as separate platforms are earmarked for each destination. Alternately there are detailed maps available on the platform itself. In our case we had already done our homework, thanks to Bharath.



The trains also have the ultimate destination displayed on the leading engine. Inside the trains the complete route on a route chart is shown, including the stops, so that once you get into the train you know precisely where all your train is halting and where you have to get down! Traveling made ultra simple! You simply cannot get lost! We boarded a train as planned for “Nation” station and then on to “La Motte Picquet Grenelle” ending up at “Charles Michels” Railway station.



From Charles Michels Railway station we walked across to our Hotel, which was booked by Bharath on the Internet a few days before. Took some time to locate it because the Hotel Manager could not guide us properly – in fact we were bang in front of the hotel itself from where we were taking directions!



We reached the Hotel at 12.30 pm but our room was available only at 2.30 pm and so we had to go out and have our lunch in a children’s park close by. Ranju’s burritos (Paneer subji stuffed in chapatti rolls) were really great. After our lunch we came back to the Hotel and fortunately our room was available at 2.00 pm itself.



Just left our backpack in the room and moved out to “Louvre “ museum armed with our camera. On the way to “Louvre” we saw a “Beggar group” playing good music with a hat in front of them in which some passersby were tossing their coins !But then who would call them beggars in India?!

Train journey to Paris - Gare de Lyon Railway station – 30 Sep 09

Got up early in the morning and got ready .We had already packed everything the previous night itself .We carried a Backpack containing our passports/visa, train tickets, camera, mobile, clothes for a day etc. Ranju got up along with us and made sandwiches for our breakfast, chapattis and paneer subji for lunch, and idlis for dinner for the first day. The second day we had planned to utilize the restaurants of Paris! We were in La Tour de Peilz Railway station by 6.00 am expecting the train to arrive by 6.03 am .In the Railway station however we found to our surprise that the scheduled arrival time was 6.37 am, taking us to Lausanne by 6.56 am giving us just 7 minutes to board the 7.03 train to Paris. Frantically contacted Ranju, over our local mobile connection due to which Bharath came and picked us up and dropped us at Vevey station nearby. Caught the 6.24 am train there which took us to Lausanne by 6.40 am giving us sufficient time to catch our train to Paris (Gare de Lyon railway station).

The train journey was simply wonderful. Although we were traveling IInd class it was more like an AC Chair car of the Indian Railways. The train itself was so spick and span and clean. We had sandwiches for our breakfast and coffee from the Restaurant Car. The journey to Gare de Lyon took us just 4 hours .The international inter country journey just gave me the thought as to why we cannot have similar trains running from India to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and even Burma. May be this will happen some day in the not too distant future. Then I took consolation from the fact that Europe was constantly fighting each other from Biblical times right up to 2nd World War.But what an achievement! In a short span of 64 years after World War II, the European countries have realized the value of peace and have made their borders seamless, making trade and travel absolutely easy and profitable.

27 Countries now form part of the European Economic Union including far away Turkey. The implications are simply enormous. Thanks to the seamless borers of al these countries a farmer from say Turkey just has to move across to distant Spain by road /rail and sell his produce at a more profitable rate than what he may get in his own country! No export import procedural formalities! What an enormous change this has made. No wonder the Euro is more powerful than the USD!

Even though Switzerland is not a part of the EU they have signed the Shengen agreement which permits all economic relations and travel except for their own currency the Swiss Franc much like Great Britain who retain their currency but are part of the EU.There is a big difference however – the Swiss are not a part of the EU. They have consistently and persistently refused to be drawn into any bloc economic or political and this is the reason for their economic prosperity - they are a nation which has the best standard of living in the World – as they have not seen a war for centuries – they do not have even the thought of violence in their hearts and thus are a very hospitable friendly people who are very peace loving by nature.



Incidentally no one checked our visas as we entered France, (announced over the PA system of the train) 45 minutes after we left Lausanne in Swiss. Neither did anyone check our visas at Gare de Lyon railway station! And what a fabulous railway station it was ! High tech but also beautiful and absolutely clean . It was a pleasure to be in the Railway sation a veritabe tourist spot !

Sai Bhajans – 28 Sep 09

Latha and myself attended bhajans at Vevey on our own. Ranju drew a map for us, which was unfortunately not very accurate, and thus we reached the bhajan late even though we went by a familiar route – both by bus and by walk. As we were late we did not sing bhajans and the devotees were disappointed! On our way back Denys and Nicole (the local coordinator) dropped us. They also came up and had a cup of tea with us.

Visit to La Maison du Gruyere - 27 Sep 09

In the morning PVBK drove us down to Gruyere about 35 kms away - a place where they make cheese using mechanization. A majority of the Swiss cheese is otherwise made by hand and is a cottage industry. It was indeed very interesting to see how the milk is converted into cheese here.



As per Gruyere calculations, a cow eats 100 kg of grass and drinks 25 litres of water everyday, producing on an average 25 litres of milk every day. Out of 400 litres of milk one 35 kg round of Gruyere cheese is produced.



A pan containing 4800 litres of milk is used to produce 12 rounds of 35 kgs of Gruyere cheese. 4 pans enable 48 rounds to be produced daily. This is done by stirring the milk in the pans continuously for a specified period of time and at a specified temperature. An additive is added to curdle the milk



The whole process is automatic .The pan is also cleaned spotlessly using mechanized methods



The small cheese flakes which are created in the pans are then compressed mechanically under tremendous pressure .The high pressure compression consolidates the cheese into 35 kg rounds of cheese .The whey water which remains is used to make paneeer or what they call serac. The entire manufacturing process is so automated that one man controls the whole production.



The compression of the cheese which is done using mechanized methods is done manually even now .One of the old systems of compressing using wooden compressors is still in vogue up in the mountains



The cheese rounds weighing 35 kgs each are stored in temperature and humidity controlled cellars. Depending upon the season between 4000 and 7000 rounds of cheeses mature in the cellars at a temperature of 12 to 18 degree centigrade at 92% humidity.The 35 kg rounds are fanned and washed with a mixture of water and salt everyday for the first seven days – by a Robot .Untouched by human hand ! During the following two weeks the process is carried three times a week, then twice a week during the next 3 months and once a week until they are ready for sale.



5.7 million litres of milk is processed in the Gruyere region every year. The capacity of the cheese maturing cellars is 700 rounds of Gruyere cheese. Two thirds of the production is consumed in Switzerland only, and the remaining one third is exported to the European Union and North America.



After the visit we went to a restaurant in the same Complex and had Cheese Fondue for lunch!

Achyut’s birthday celebrations – 26 Sep 09

RanjBharath had organized a small hall for Achyut’s birthday. They had invited some of their IBM colleagues, Bal Vikas children and their mothers (2 of them) and 2 of Achyut’s friends in the Play School with one South African mother and a Chinese mother.



It was a lovely celebration .I blew up all the balloons and hung hem around the hall using adhesive tape – took a good two and a half hours! Ranju had painstakingly baked a large cake, which incidentally was one of the best cakes I have ever had.



There was apple pie and sandwiches with Paneer spread and Pesto rolls made by Bharath and Idlis with coconut and dhaniya chutney .The starting drink was an orange juice /Fanta for all the guests. Everybody enjoyed the dishes. Especially the South African and the Chinese ladies – they had their fill absolutely especially the idlis.



The IBM (India) crowd from Bharath's office was totally at home – all from Kolkata - so there was a Bengali flavour to the party. All of them were so loving and affectionate. Chitra and her husband Kaushik from the IBM team ,even came and touched Latha and my feet for our blessings.

Bhajans in Geneva – 24 Sep 09

Attended study circle and bhajans at Geneva. Caught a train at Vevey. Had to change train at Lausanne .For the 7 pm bhajan I had to start at 4 pm. From Geneva railway station I had to catch a tram and then there was a walk. Latha did not come along with me. The Study circle was in French and a devotee called Arun Pabari (Gujarati settled in Geneva) did the English translation. There were French as well as Indian devotees. There was a French bhajan too which I liked. The Geneva Centre is quite active unlike the Vevey centre. They have a Youth Group, which has attended Youth meetings in Prasanthi Nilayam. Also they have Hospital /Old age home visits regularly. But the Centre is quite a distance away from home and the time taken is pretty long – I actually came back at 10.30pm, tracing my way back. Decided to concentrate in Vevey activities in the future.

Latha’s birthday – 23 Sep 09

Had a small cake cutting ceremony to celebrate Latha’s birthday. RanjBharath have offered us a trip to Paris and back as a birthday gift. We took them out for dinner to a Thai restaurant at Vevey for a birthday treat, where we had “vegetarian’ Thai red curry, noodles and rice stirred fried vegetables and soup followed by Fried ice cream and Thai home dessert.

Achyut Birthday – 22 Sep 09

We had a quiet celebration of Achyut’s 2nd birthday at home. Ranju baked a cake. Achyut blew his 2 candles to celebrate his birthday.

We also finalized the hall where his actual celebrations will be held – on 26 Sep 09 .The place is quite close to our home here, in very peaceful surroundings. There is a school nearby. Waiting for Ranju to get the keys of the hall, I sat and watched as the school got over and the mothers came to pick up their children from school. Could have easily been a scene from an Indian school. But the atmosphere was different – it was so quiet and virtually a meditative atmosphere. There was hardly any chit chatting and boisterous noises made by the children – something with which we are very familiar in India.

Visit to Grindelwald – 21 Sep 09

PVBK drove us down to Grindelwald via Montreaux – it was more than a 3-hour drive away. Montreaux is quite close to Latour de Peilz. I have gone walking up to this place during my morning walks.



It is a high profile town where the rich and famous, including many Arabs live. The shops, the displays were all exotic .We traveled along “Thun” Lake and reached Grindelwald.The drive was superb.



The more I want to describe the beauty of Switzerland the more difficult it becomes – it is so indescribable and beyond words. The beauty of Mother Nature – the wonderful creation of the Divine has to be seen and experienced with all the senses to drink in the “Ananda”. People back home say that Kashmir is “Zannath” – heaven on earth .I would unhesitatingly say that Switzerland is “Zannath” on Earth!



As we were approaching the Welterhorn peak the scenery became even more beautiful. We arrived at the base of the peak to start our trek upwards to the Glacier. Ranju had packed some “puliyothari “ which we all quickly had and than started moving up .To view the Glacier however we had to climb 900 steps.



To climb up the steps with Achyut would have become difficult so it was decided that RanjBharath would climb up first and then they would come down and then I would move up as Latha lacks stamina to climb up the mountain.



After moving up the mountain however RanjuBharath gave a feedback through mobile that my moving up would not be worth the effort as the Glacier was not visible form a close range as it was receding - melting away. Instead of the Glacier moving forward with formation of snow it was actually receding.



Once they came down and as we were moving away from the location the Glacier looked more charming from down below than what it looked like on top after all the climb!



Marveled at God’s creation all the same and His Omnipresence through his Beauty manifesting itself as Mother Nature. - the snow topped mountain ranges, the roaring flowing water melting from the Glacier in the midst of the reverberating Silence.



Also saw a model of the first cableway of the World, which was constructed with great difficulty and was ready for use by 04 July 1939 but discontinued within 5 years of its installation probably because it collapsed once after that,due to very bad weather thus endangering human lives.



Every trip outside in Switzerland is a revelation of His Majesty – His Beauty – His Grandeur. Latha and I are indeed privileged human beings to enjoy this phenomenal beautiful and elegant Creation. Another wonderful day spent in contemplation of God and his Omni presence.

Visit to the Vineyards of Cully - 19 Sep 09

We went by train from La Tour de Peilz to a place called Cully ( pronounced as Queee - alongside the Lake side. We boarded the Laveaux Express a train running on rubber wheels ( basically an automobile pulling trailers) winding its way up the roads to various vineyards Throughly enjoyed our drive up the mountains .



The Lake Geneva in the background was a picturesque sight indeed .



We also halted at one of the vineyards where we saw luscious black as well as green grapes - ready for harvesting. What a pretty sight it was.



The Laveaux Express took us around the vineyards in one hour 15 mts exact.- started bang on the scheduled time and returned bang on the stipulated time.



Each family makes its own wine since centuries when the Romans ruled over this land and the tradition is still continuing .So we found a number of wine making units all along the way .

The Farmer's market - 19 Sep 09

In the same place where the Auto Fair was held last week we had the Farmer's market .Quite a vibrant gathering of farmers and others selling their wares.

There was the fresh produce right from the farms,lettuce ,onions etc .

Then there were vans displaying the "walking,running,flying and swimming" variety of items (as Bharath calls them) i.e, chicken,beef/pork,fish etc.



The omnipresent cheese was on sale too.There was a stall where "Indian masala "was being sold by Indians and Turks.
An interesting gathering.



The Swiss are very fond of pumpkins - they make soups out of it - quite a variety of pumpkins were up for sale .



Then there were the beautiful swans in the lake waiting for the visitors to the fair to feed them .



And to top it all entertainment for the children - a merry go round .



At the Water front during the week ends families move in enjoying themselves in the lawns. The Swiss are very family oriented people and the husbands contribute their share in the upbringing of the children .A special bicycle in which the father/mother brings in the children was a unique sight .



A ferry which ferries visitors to France on the other side of the Geneva Lake also parks itself adding to the colour .

Visit Achyut play school – Vevey - 18 Sep 09

Visited the Children’s Play School in Vevey, where Ranju takes Achyut regularly from 2 pm to 6 pm on all Mondays and Tuesdays and on all Thursdays and Fridays from 9 am to 11 am. On Wednesdays when she goes to conduct Bal Vikas classes she takes him along with her. The Play School is a very interesting place where children merely come and play – no teaching and no other pressure. They have plenty of toys to play around with and absolutely no restriction on their movements!



Here in RanjBharath’s residence on the third floor, thanks to the wooden platform and the overall silence, whenever Papu runs around it can be heard very clearly by the residents living below. No wonder that the Play School is a very welcome place for Papu!



In the Play School, the guardians of the children are required to be present with the children during the entire playschool period. Mothers of children are of course there but there are cases where there are fathers babysitting with the children – maybe due to their wives going to work! The children are from a multi cultural, multi ethnic, multinational and multi racial background and it is indeed interesting to find Chinese, African, Indian, Swiss, American and children of other nationalities playing together!



The Swiss Govt runs the School. No school fees. Two lady volunteers look after the school – one speaking French and the other English. When the parents leave the Play School they contribute whatever they wish in a small box – this takes care of the expenses of coffee and biscuits etc for the Guardians of the children.