Of Water and Cheese – First Impressions of Switzerland

24 hours later, I arrived in Geneva.

Despite it being the hub of international and diplomatic missions, the Geneva airport was down to earth, or perhaps too primitive for the cosmopolitan reputation of the city.  There were two lines at the Geneva airport.  One for Euro passport holders, and the other for all others.  Yet I was out at the carousel in no time.  Switzerland’s first impression of efficiency taught me a lesson: it is the essence rather than the appearance that matters.

My cousin came to pick me up at Geneva and we were on our way to our first stop: the Coop, a supermarket chain and department store in Switzerland.

And, I have never seen such an extensive cheese counter in my life.

The cheese racks seemed to be never ending, displaying many kinds that I was not familiar with.  I could recognize just a few species of cheese there: raclette, gouda and mozarella.  The message was clear though: cheese is a big part of Swiss cuisine.

Not surprisingly, there was also an impressive counter of chocolates.  The chocolate brands were recognizable to me, though not its varieties.  Still, the chocolate counter was no way near the never-ending cheese.

At 5-10 degrees during the day, the still-snowy landscape was remarkably different from what I saw at Heathrow of England.  Spring should have ushered in signs of warmth, or perhaps nascent growth in plants.  Yet the barren trees bespeak a winter that lingered, dreary and yet-awakened from its hibernation.  There were plenty of trees as we went by the wine region of Morges.  It was the rest season for planting.  Yet it took just a little imagination to picture the lush growth of grapevines in warmer times.

The nature of this country, with the eternal presence of the French Alps across the lake, leaves not one trace of doubt that the four seasons are distinctive.  It is quite unlike the subtropical climate of Hong Kong.

Indeed, nature stares us in our face here—and it is beautiful, and you cannot escape this beauty anywhere you go in Switzerland.