Geneva and the French Alps, August 20 2021
The heat in central Italy was oppressive, and it seemed like a good idea to head north and up in altitude in search of cooler air. We drove to the French Alps for a few days. It was about a six hour drive to our first stop Chamonix-Mont Blanc France. We expected to find an Alpine village with just a few tourists. Being August surely everyone was at the shore. Not so, it was jammed with people. The mountain vistas were incredible, but the crowds were a bit a much. We spent the night and without lingering headed to Geneva.
Chamonix-Mont Blanc
It’s a short and beautiful drive north to Geneva, we got sidetracked (lost) along the way but didn’t care much. Everything we saw was delightful. The mountains, the waterfalls, the streams and all the old villages along the way were just beautiful. We made a few stops at pharmacies to see if we could trade our CDC vaccination card for an EU Green Pass. No luck, we were repeatedly told it wasn’t possible and finally moved on, satisfied at least that we made a good effort and if nothing else were more informed than the web articles I’d read.
Incredible water jet in the middle of Lake Geneva
Geneva is one of those European cities that makes an impression. There is the grand lake, and the architecture that somehow survived two world wars. I just felt I was somewhere civilized, so clean and safe. We treated ourselves to a night at one of the more historic and prestigious hotels, the Beau Rivage. This hotel first opened in 1861 and there is a long list of dignitaries and celebrities that have spent nights there.
Cafe in the park
View from Cafe toward the lake
At least for me, the most notable was the Empress Elisabeth. Queen of Austria Hungry, and beloved monarch, her subjects affectionately called her Sisi. The similarities between Sisi and Princess Diana are spooky. In reality she was more like a combination of Diana, Grace Kelly, Kate Middleton, and Eva Perone. Born to a noble Bavarian family and married at 16 to Franz Joseph ruler of Austria Hungary, she was an incredible person. Regarded as one of the most beautiful woman of her time, she was a fitness freak, a philanthropist and a world traveler. Obsessed with her appearance she spent two hours a day just caring for her long waist length hair. Her daily regimen of gymnastics and exercise would put many a modern women to shame. She traveled continuously in a private railcar, and after the suicide death of her only son, she wore only black the remainder of her life, overcome with despair and longing to just be anonymous.
Well preserved park next to the hotel
Duck and Swans on the lake
Beau Rivage was one of her favorite hotels and she stayed there often. On September 10, 1898 she spend a night there after a day shopping and before setting out for a cruise that was to take her to Montreaux. Walking the short promenade from the hotel to the steam ship, she was knocked down by a man who seemed to stumble into her. Sisi detested an entourage and was walking to the pier accompanied only by her hand maiden. Dusting herself off, she contemplated that the man was simply after her watch. In fact, he had stabbed her through her heart with a needle file. Only her fitness and the pressure of her corset kept her mobile and she passed out shortly after boarding the ship. Realizing her identity the crew promptly brought her to shore and carried her back to the hotel on a makeshift stretcher. It was in vain, she died on the lake.
The Beau Rivage
Walking down to the lobby
Beau Rivage
There is a sculpture of her on the lakeshore near the hotel, and artifacts from the assassination in a cabinet at the Beau Rivage. In Vienna there is an entire museum dedicated to her, where her sad story has never been lost over the 123 years since her death. I always find it odd how Hollywood can spend so much time telling the stories of the British royal families, ignoring all the other equally important stories from the other European monarchies, like Austria, Russia, Belgium and Portugal. Whatever sells.
Pieces saved from her final moments, odd how blood stains eventually fade to look like water spots.
Recent sculpture of Sisi not far from the Beau Rivage
A small plaque on the promenade at the site she was murdered. The railing dates to 1854.
To the right of the plaque the dock and a similar paddleboat to the one she boarded and died upon, docked at the same pier.
To finish our stay, we had a fantastic dinner at the Terrasse restaurant at the hotel, at a table set out on a terrace overlooking the lake. After some shopping, we made our way back to Italy by way of Annecy and Courmayeur.
Courmayeur