So, thirty-four years ago last Saturday, I married my best friend/worst enemy depending on how I was feeling that day. Tiring of a long distance relationship, with me teaching in Breslau Ontario and Greg at Columbia University in Manhattan, on July 2nd I moved into Greg's studio apartment in lower Harlem ... this was lower Harlem before Bill Clinton made it cool to live there. Two strong willed adults used to living on their own sharing space in a cockroach infested studio apartment was not the recipe for a match made in heaven. Our family and friends had a bet on to see how long we'd stay together ... and the bets were in days and months, not years. Had the wedding not already been a done deal, we might have called it off. Fortunately, we didn't.
So, to celebrate, we decided to go to Geneva for the weekend since we'd never been there. Had I given it more thought, instead of the three hour train ride to Geneva, we should have added an hour and gone to Munich, where it all began. Maybe next year.
The heat spell was finally breaking. Unfortunately, it broke right over our heads as we were walking along the lakefront promenade. Instantly soaked, I started bitching at the one who suggested Geneva as our destination. It didn't help that the person was me. Luckily, the rain was quickly over and we enjoyed mostly blue skies for the rest of the trip.
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| This is the Jet d'Eau - the world's highest fountain. This photo was not taken during the sunny part of our stay. |
I proved to myself, yet again, that Zurich has spoiled me for anywhere else in the world. Once outside of the old town, Geneva seemed seedier and dirtier than Zurich. On the other hand, we heard a lot more English there than we do here and it does have some neat buildings and other stuff. You know, like the United Nations and Red Cross.
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| The old town hall. See how the window openings slant up? That's because it's a ramp so riders on horseback could go right up to the top. |
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| Russian Orthodox Church |
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| One of the really neat old mansions along the lake. None of them seemed to be privately owned anymore but it must have been wonderful to have owned one way back when. This one houses the Science Museum. |
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| World's coolest carousel in the Botanical Gardens |
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| Musee Ariana (porcelain, glass, pottery).Gorgeous interior. |
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| How's THIS for an anti-war statement? |
This summer, a giant spider sculpture had magically appeared on the waterfront in Zurich. When Dottie and I were meeting downtown before going to the cactus museum, I suggested we rendezvous under the giant spider. Trouble is, it was gone! I found it again ... in Geneva. I don't know how it got there or who took it but I want it back: no questions asked.
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| Zurich July 2011 |
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| Geneva August 2011 |
You'd think, this being our anniversary and all, that we would make sure we got a picture of the two of us but no. The only one I have is this.
How strong is a marriage that lasts thirty-four years? Only the Shadow knows.
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