Some European flair

A little bit of exploring before returning to Saskatoon for Year 2

By Jacqueline Aug 2, 2016

It is my last day here in Switzerland, and I cannot believe that a whole month has gone by! Geneva already feels like a second home to me, and I am sad to be leaving my internal medicine unit that I have come to love over the past 4 weeks. I feel incredibly fortunate as I don’t think my Swiss experience could have gone any better. From my fabulous roommates with whom I consumed much cheese, chocolate, and wine, to my unit team that welcomed me with open arms, and all of the weekend trips in between!

Although I worked hard during the weeks, I would take every opportunity I could to take off on trips during the weekends. I ended up spending a few of my weekends in France, since it borders Switzerland. And by border, I mean less than a 20 min drive away! Over the span of 5 weekends I ate lots of delicious food, visited several amazing farmer’s markets, took in breathtaking scenery, hiked a mountain in the alps, and experienced European art and music at it’s finest. The following photos will give you a snapshot of my weekend adventures.

July 2, 2016: Montreux, Switzerland
Montreux is home to the 2^nd largest jazz festival in the world which is hosted every July. It is also a micro climate, and so the paths are lined with palm trees. I spent the day exploring and listening to jazz in the park with some fellow Canadian exchange students.

July 9, 2016: River rafting from Thun to Bern (Switzerland’s capital city)
The Swiss exchange coordinators organized a day of river rafting for all of the students spending the month in Switzerland. It was such a blast rafting down the river for 3 hours, taking turns jumping out of the boat to cool off in the river and let the current carry us.

July 10, 2016: Geneva
I was so tired from the river rafting that I opted to stay in Geneva on this particular Sunday. I spent the day exploring my city, including the botanical gardens, the United Nations, and the Museum of Art & History. I tried to go grocery shopping, but forgot that stores are not open on Sundays … oops!

July 16-17, 2016: Lyon, France
Lyon is my favourite city that I have been to … ever! It is France’s gastronomic capital, and is steeped in beauty and culture. Apart from eating my way through the city, I visited the Musée des Beaux Arts (absolutely incredible!), several markets, and The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière. I can’t say enough good things about Lyon and know that I will be back one day.

July 24, 2016: Annecy, France
Annecy is known as the Venice of France because it has many canals winding through the centre of town. Less than an hour bus ride away from Geneva, I went on a Sunday so that I could buy my groceries at the morning farmer’s market. After loading up on fresh produce, cheese, and bread I spent the day walking around town, stopping for the occasional crepe or lavender ice cream.

July 30-31, 2016: Chamonix, France … the Alps!
I couldn’t leave Switzerland without experiencing the Swiss/French Alps, so I headed to Chamonix for my last weekend. Unfortunately the weather was not great and I was not prepared for the rainy cold temperatures (it’s been about 30 degrees all month here). Despite this, I was able to do one hike on the Saturday and enjoyed a picturesque train ride back to Geneva on the Sunday.

And that concludes my month in Switzerland! I am off to Poland this afternoon for 10 days of true vacation before heading back to Canada to start year 2 of medicine.

My unit team at the Geneva University Hospital. From left to right: Dr. Truong-Thanh Pham (chef de clinique), Dr. Mikael Tognon (1^st year resident and recent MD-PhD grad. Good luck on your defense Mikael!), Dr. Alyssa Lehmann (3^rd year resident), and myself.

Montreux.

The Chillon Castle, a short walk from the centre of Montreux.

Myself with three other Canadian exchange students on our raft. From left to right: Bernard (Toronto), Zack (Newfoundland), and Samuel (Sherbrooke).