Geneva........and Zurich!

We have finished with our jobs, and we are now busily preparing the detritus and flotsam of our lives to make the giant leap back across the Atlantic, back to the land of Opportunity, of Freedom and Bravery, of Google, Apple, and Microsoft....of Disney, Hollywood, Las Vegas, and California girls....of ExxonMobil, GM, Big War, and MegaChristianity.....and, most unfortunately, to the land of Republicans, Rush Limbaugh,Glen Beck, and the rest of Idiot America. Most assuredly, I have mixed feelings about this.  Can you blame me?

A recent Rasmussen poll showed that 44% of Americans believe in the literal translation of the Bible. This means that over 140 million Americans believe that a talking snake encouraged a woman to eat an apple; that a 900 year old man built an Arc to replenish humanity and all the other fauna on the planet; that the sun revolves around the earth; that the earth itself is only about 7,000 years old; and that Jonah lived inside a whale for three days. It is the majority of these 140 million morons that enabled, by their votes, arguably the worst President in American history to inflict his modern vision of the Crusades on the world, and to then proceed to destroy the global economy, and America's reputation in the process. This is the majority that believes any criticism of their country is anti-patriotic(as if the right to criticize government wasn't enshrined in the Constitution), believes that America can do no wrong, and believes that the "American Way" is the only way, that their is nothing to be learned from other cultures. Am I ambivalent about my return? You betcha.

On a more mundane topic, my wife and I took the train to Zurich yesterday. We had only been to the downtown core once before, and then only for a couple of hours before we had to catch a plane to somewhere else. I thought it was time that we had a more thorough visit, and I'm glad we did! We took the train, because public transportation here is a joy to experience, and much less of a hassle than driving, navigating through questionable traffic and congestion, and then paying for a parking spot for the day. The train takes off from downtown Lucerne, twice every hour, and arrives in downtown Zurich with no muss, and no fuss. The trains themselves are beautifully maintained, spotless, smooth as floating on a pond, more punctual than you could believe, and comfortable as can be. I will miss them. Trains in America...the few that there are...suck.

Zurich is an awesome, wonderful city. A city that all cities should aspire to be. As a Swiss city, it is of course beautifully maintained and clean. It has great public transportation, both in the city and on the lake. It has beautiful, historic buildings, incredible shopping, a wide variety of restaurants, both local and of various ethnic backgrounds, and of various price points. It is incredibly bike and pedestrian friendly. It is so vibrant and eclectic, so full of culture, so interesting and stimulating. I love Zurich. We had a great time exploring the city, shopping, eating, and taking pictures, and a nice, comfortable, and smooth trip back to Lucerne on the train. All in all, a perfect day. Following are a bunch of pictures of our day in Zurich.

Our train to Zurich

Enjoying my trip!

The Limmat river

Old Town Zurich

A few weeks ago we took an overnight trip, also by train, to Geneva. We had applied for some jobs with Expedia.com at a global lodging division which they were working towards opening there. So we thought we should definitely go and check it out, considering that if we got the jobs, we would have to relocate to Geneva! This was a long shot to begin with, but we thought, who knows?, and if we got the jobs, we could prolong our stay in Switzerland for a couple of years or so, experience more of Europe, and save tons of money. Not a bad thing.

Unfortunately, Geneva was a bad thing. Geneva is a lousy, awful city. A city that all cities should dread being. If I didn't know better, there would be no way that you could convince me that Geneva is located in Switzerland. I would swear it was in France, or even Saudi Arabia. It was full of ugly buildings, dirtier than any other Swiss city I had ever seen(though it was still cleaner than most cities outside of Switzerland), and mostly lacking in the personality and culture that personifies cities and towns in the rest of the country. Worse, it was full to overflowing with both former Yugoslav immigrants, and worst of all.......Muslims. Now, those naive among you might think I am being somewhat discriminatory, or even a bigot. Think what you want. I know what I know, and I know what I have witnessed and experienced. A good portion of the fine citizens of the former Yugoslavian countries are of questionable moral repute. Most of the rest are criminal trash.  I know this is a result of the environment in which they are forced to grow up and live in, I'm not arguing that. But be that as it may, they are generally not people you want to hang around. As for Muslims, I won't say much, because whatever comes out of my mouth will be derogatory. At best, they are dirty, they stink, and their vile language assaults the ears like fingernails on a chalkboard.  Muslim women are forced to parade around in black blankets, covering their bodies from head to toe, with only a small opening for their eyes. They do this because Muslim men are so socially and culturally stunted, insecure, and sexually repressed that they couldn't handle a woman in her full glory. Sexual repression is a key tool in controlling the Muslim man.  Then the Muslim man controls the Muslim woman's every move and thought. They come from medieval countries with medieval belief systems and ideologies, and they are overrunning much of Europe.

So much for Geneva. We were very disappointed, and I can't imagine ever going back. Anywhere that half of the human population is subjugated and repressed, forbidden and denied the ability to fulfill their potential as human beings, is a place that I can easily skip experiencing ever again. The world is full of senseless, ignorance-inducing, reprehensible, man-made religions that have caused known and unknown tragedies throughout the ages, but Islam is the shittiest of them all. Shame on you Geneva, and shame on the rest of Europe for allowing in the representatives of a culture that should have died out, that should have "evolved" out of the human social paradigm, hundreds of years ago.

I've included a few pics of our time in Geneva.  It wasn't all bad. The little boutique hotel that we stayed in was very nice, the train ride there and back was enjoyable, and some of the festivities revolving around August 1st, Switzerland's "Fourth of July", were interesting and worthwhile.  Enjoy, and please forgive my rants.