Lake life in Switzerland

 During the summer months, life circulates around Lake Geneva. Being a New Hampshire laker at heart, this is something that makes me really happy because having the comfort of a lake nearby is something that I enjoyed growing up. There's just something so calming and relaxing about being able to have a lake to escape to for a run, a dip on a hot day, a wakeboarding session, or just for a few moments of peace to listen to the waves and feel the sun on my face.

So in honor of my favorite element of summer, here are some interesting tid bits about Lake Geneva and how we have enjoyed it this summer...

Lake Geneva is the largest body of water in Switzerland. It spans 60 miles long and 11 miles wide at its largest point. The depth goes up to 1,000 feet deep! The right side of the lake is in France while the left side of the lake is in Switzerland. The snowy mountain cap you can see on the lower right side of the picture above is Mont Blanc, which you can see from Geneva on a clear day.

Mont Blanc in the distance from Geneva on a clear day. The fountain in front is the "jet d'eau" or "water jet", a landmark in Geneva's skyline. It towers above most of the buildings in town and has become one of the symbols of Geneva.

The harbor of Geneva. When we go for runs, we typically run from our apartment to the middle of harbor in the picture above and along the left side of the lake in the picture. There is a walking/running path on the shore that stretches in both directions for several miles. There are 3 beaches in Geneva proper, one is on the right side of the photo on the jetty sticking out into the lake, while the other is on the very left hand side of the picture, to the left of the boats. The third is farther to the left (and outside the picture) and consists of a large public beach and a wakeboarding center. 

The wakeboard center has boats that you can rent for wakeboarding sessions. I don't even want to tell you how much it costs to rent one of these boats, hence why we haven't wakeboarded this summer, instead we have enjoyed the beach at the wakeboard center.

The rocky beach at the wakeboard center. You can see the jet d'eau behind the trees on the left of the photo.

Enjoying the wakeboard center.

For the past two weeks there has been a festival on the shores of Lake Geneva which consists of carnival rides and local and international food stands (like the one above). It is called the "fete de Geneve" or the "Geneva party" and its an annual summer celebration in Geneva. The best part about the festival was the fireworks show, which is a fantastic display of fireworks coordinated to music. Check out the grand finale video below...