Thing #10 that I love about Geneva - Heart Attack Ridge

Facing Geneva, just spitting distance across the border, lies the majestic Salève.

A mountain, and thank god not too big of one, it provides a nice back drop to the city and is also a handy tool for predicting rain (Salève looks closer than usual? It's gonna rain).

In addition to its scenic and meteorological value, it is also much loved and used by people on both sides of the border as a place for strolls, mountain biking and jumping off of with fancy parachutes. It also used, by occasional masochists such as myself, to climb up.

Why? Why or why do we humans feel compelled to hike up steep rocky surfaces just cause they happen to be nearby? Mystery!

But I have also succumbed and suffered. Only yesterday (as my son darted effortlessly ahead of me on the path) I made the trek up the mountain. Heart pounding, sweat pouring, cusses flowing, and endlessly questioning my own mental well-being.

But hey, you sure do feel proud when you get to the top!

If you don't have a heart attack on the way up, of course.

Thing #9 that I love about Geneva - A River of a Different Color

We have two rivers in Geneva, the Rhône and the Arve. They have minds of their own, snaking through the area in odd and unexpected ways. DO NOT try to use them as a point of reference for getting around town. It will end badly!

Keeping with their unpredictable natures, these two rivers do something absolutely breath taking, that I fear many who come to Geneva, never see. These two rivers, one being a clear blue-green and the other being silty muck, come together at a point and merge. It's lovely.

Every time I see it, I feel a strange connection with Khartoum and dream what it must be like to see the blue and white Niles come together.

One day ...