The closest mountain to Geneva is called La Salève. It is technically in France, but easy to reach as the borders are not manned. (Side note: Switzerland is not a member of the EU and has its own currency. It is a very wealthy country that doesn’t think it would benefit as an EU member, despite having very close relations with its European neighbors.)
Our friends Evelyn and Stephen entertained us while we were in Geneva – having us over for a Swiss raclette supper, inviting us to a community band concert that their kids performed in, and Evelyn led us on a beautiful hike up the Salève. The mountain hike was very scenic with varied terrain. We hiked up steep paths through the woods, scrambled over rocks, climbed up through a cave fitted with steep iron stairs, walked along a precipitous cliff, and finally arrived at a quintessential Swiss pasture at the top of the mountain – replete with wild flowers and a picnic spread out by Stephen who had driven to the top to meet us.
We had great views of Geneva on one side and the French Alps on the other – including the famous Mont Blanc. We didn’t visit Mont Blanc this time, but would like to come back one day to do that. A huge thank you to Stephen and Evelyne for being such great hosts. It was fun to catch up in such beautiful surroundings.
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