Of Water and Cheese — Sun-Soaked at Ouchy and Roman Lousonna
What’s better than writing on my journal at Ouchy under a warm afternoon sun, looking ahead at the French Alps?
At the Place de Riponne I found the way to Ouchy by metro. 10 minutes later, it took me to the lakeside of Lake Geneva. There were lots of yachts docked and the French Alps was in plain sight.
“Serene” would be an understatement for the view at the lakeshore. As I basked in the beautiful Lausanne sunshine I marveled at this beauty. It was distinctively European. There were many Mr. Cygnus (swans) here. People fed them freely. I spent over an hour admiring this nature. It hovers upon humanity to diminishing proportions. I felt small, and yet in harmony with the environment.
As to the Olympic Museum, I decided that I wasn’t going to spend 18CHF on a subject that I cared little about. Neither did I care about drinking coffee at the Olympic Café with a nice lake view, since I had already spent time writing at the lake side. Despite the hard work of getting to the entrance of the museum (it takes an Olympics athlete to climb those stairs!) I decided to go for the Roman ruins instead, on the west side of Lausanne. Staff at the tour info center told me that it took a 20-minute walk. Google Map suggested taking a bus, but I didn’t see any bus stops so the solution was to walk.
Indeed it took about 25 minutes to the first road sign indicating proximity, and it was another 20 minutes of walk from that point. Google Map was right that it would take 40 minutes. It was a far walk from the Olympic Museum but the experience turned out to be worthwhile.
Lousonna, The Gallo-Roman Settlement
At the ruins, visitors will see remnants of rock foundations. The buildings in their heyday were glorious Roman structures. Yet when I visited, the sun was quickly receding in the horizon, the river was dead and crows were freely roaming in the open air, and I felt a certain eeriness there.
The real educational points were the lookout posts at various locations. The screens in the view boxes showed a picture of what the original structures were supposed to look like, matching the location of the foundation structures that still remained.
There was a Gallo-Roman settlement, Lousonna, circa 1st to 4th centuries A.D. in this site. Lausanne then bustled with commercial activities. Owing to its proximity to the lake, the land routes connecting the Rhine and Rhone transportation networks, Lausanne was the passage way for cargo ships of the Roman Empire. These activities gave rise to construction and shipping industries.
What was interesting to me was the existence of a large courthouse overseeing the resolution of disputes. “The basilica of Lousonna was divided into two principal halls by a central row of columns and contained a separate meeting room, probably used for court hearings or the city council. This prestigious building, richly decorated with stone columns topped by Corinthinian and mixed capital and painted wall murals, symbolized Roman rule.”
There were also Roman temples worshiping Hercules, Neptune and Mercury, “as the patrons of navigation, voyages and commerce.” The settlement moved inland later and left the site in ruins.
I found the museum next to the site to be very educational. It held a collection of the artifacts from the excavation at the site. They bore witness to the vibrant activities that once took place in the Roman settlement. There were metal tools, golden coins and many earthen pots. Stones of Roman inscriptions reminded me of the Latin lessons that I took. The museum’s intended audience was the locals, and therefore all exhibits were in French. Although I had very little French and Latin, I still got enough of an idea what the exhibits were about.
Lausanne left a very pleasant impression throughout. There was certainly no rush here, but at the same time things get done, quickly and satisfactorily. Food came quickly and hot, and the buses and metro were on time. It was a busy city, yet people never lose civility in their daily interactions. Speaking next to no French is a little bit of a hindrance at times, but then again I have only myself to blame for that.
The Water of Switzerland
And finally, I must take note of the water in Switzerland. The water of Lake Geneva was as clear as a mirror. My cousin said that water is the only thing that is cheap in Switzerland. Her husband felt free to use Evian water for the windshield wipers of his car. In comparison, a small cup of coffee, even the most basic brew, could cost as much as 5 to 6 CHF. For 1 CHF I can get a big bottle of Evian.
And so I drank freely in Switzerland — its pristine water that is — and truly Evian.
Source:
The historical descriptions of the Roman settlement Lousonna in this entry came from the exhibition at the Roman ruins.