Swtz04 - Geneva Old Town + Waterfront

While we're in Geneva's north end of Central
we decide to walk around the corner and uphill to the

INTERNATIONAL   ECUMENICAL  CENTER
housing the
WORLD   COUNCIL   of   CHURCHES

One Wall lists participating groups by  . .  Continent

Once you get your head into  
Reformation   .   Counter  Reformation   .   "Reformed"  Reformation

this list   ..   becomes  even more   interesting

While finding our own denomination under  . .   North America

we try to find out " if "   Pope Francis   will be coming  to the

500th Anniversary Celebration in Wittenberg

October 3,  2017

This Catholic volunteer isn't positive if he is or not

(He  WAS  a major part of the "kick-off" to the  95 Theses 500th Anniversary

year of Celebration

hosted by Sweden  . .  October 31, 2016

WCC leaders were in their  Semi - Annual  Luncheon

before assembling for the big afternoon meeting . .  Meanwhile . . we poked around

(can't share everything in a little blog)

From the north end of town housing all the International Headquarters of so many Organizations
we use our hotel-provided Bus Pass (Mobilis Card) to cross Central and the river

getting us high up on the

Old Town Hill

where young French Attorney 
John Calvin
 made quite a name for himself
picking up on Reformation ideas from Martin Luther (Germany) and Ulrich Zwingli (Zurich, Sw).

Calvin . . was a 20-something year old convert to Christianity in France
who thought the one - generation - older Reformers  "WEREN'T  GOING  FAR  ENOUGH"

His  story & influence  are largely centered  here in Geneva
and also in  Lausanne  (north end of Lac Lèman - Lake Geneva)
where  he established  what became  Switzerland's  LARGEST  Church
(we'll see it later)

We begin our hilltop hunt in a Park adjacent to the University

looking for

THE  REFORMATION  WALL

Since we're  in  "Reformed" Reformation   country

the  KEY  PLAYERS  here  are

figures who loomed largest for  .   Reformed Churches  .  Baptists  .  Presbyterians  .  Amish  etc.

John Calvin 

and his closest counterparts are the focal point of the Wall

ZWINGLI   (Swiss)  flanks one end

LUTHER   . .   flanks the opposite end

At lot of history is carved into this stone

And the pond is a reminder that   REFLECTION   on  Reformation  purpose

is definitely recommended

Close by are a dozen   CHESS  GAMES   challenging circles of Swiss men

At the promenade  OVERLOOK  is what they like to think is the

World's  

LONGEST  BENCH

St.  Peter's  Church

is famous for Calvin's

development of his  Reformed Ideas  that have been made into an  ..  Acronym 

T.U.L.I.P.
( there  are  . .  few  TRUE  Calvinists  today )

And he had  . . 10  RULES

It's  no  surprise  that  there  are  VERY   FEW   TRUE   CALVINISTS   t o d a y   !

One of the  'give-away' details about Calvinist and Reformed Churches

is their deliberate  . .   LACK  of  ORNAMENTATION

unfortunately  . .  including destruction of valuable sculpture & paintings

(we'll  hear  more  about  this  in  blogs  yet-to-come)

The adjacent   REFORMATION  MUSEUM   next door

doesn't allow photos

except in the room with the  all important  and  popular 

PRINTING  PRESS

One page at a time  . .  RE - Inking

many steps

"ONE"  Book  would take from  ..  June  to  ..  October

Obviously  BOOKS  were an  expensive  cherished item

but the Printing Press changed the World

Getting down to lake level was especially nice because the rains from last week had cleared

and the  SUN  warm with the gentlest of slightly autumny - crisp breeze.

We can walk across one of many bridges to get back over into Central (downtown)

We always enjoy crossing bridges . . 

The chartreuse green "sweetpotato" vines in the flower pots

really sets off the other colorful annuals

A Panorama  shot before we begin to shift gears 

and concentrate on Lausanne at the north end of this lake.

We'll remember   Mrs. Knorr   owner of this  Hotel Rhodesia

(one block from the train station)

She was excited to find  (on the  Passport  . .  at  Check-In)   that she and Dick share the

  same "Birthday"

March 24

(his  1937  .    hers  1934)

This native-born Genevan giggles like none-other

And she serves  (in the room behind them)  good breakfast rolls including  . .  croissants 

with butter and jam . . and choice of  tea  .  coffee  .  hot chocolate

A short and sweet visit to  Geneva, Switzerland

Moving north by train

No  Pre-Reservation needed

We'll see you next at the
International Headquarters of the  . .  OLYMPIC  GAMES

_____

____________________

Swtz03 - "International" RED CROSS - Hdqtr, Geneva, Switzerland

The International Red Cross was the hope of Henry Dunant,  a Geneva citizen

It's scope has for many decades reached globally to multiple countries

Private stories are told by people who appear in the darkness
This Burundi gal tells about the mass murder and attempts to escape to Rwanda and Tanzania

Personal items found are documented and categorized to provide information needed in the future

Areas of Involvement  ..  (above,  left to right) :
    
Battlefield  ..  wounded and dying    
Mass humanitarian  ..  Displacement  
Safety ..  of volunteer Aid Workers      
Hospital  &  Care Centers     
Cultural and Civilian  ..  Protection     
Nuclear Plants  and other  potential accident  or  disaster spots
Safe  ..  Drinking Water   and   Food  ..  to prevent starvation

Helping Family Members Identify and Find each other

Public Access to   . .   6 Million  . .  Record Cards   (!)

Putting a human face to skeletal bones and ashes

Missing Children  are documented:   kidnapped  .  separated by war  .  flood  .  or whatever

Entrance  . .  to the International Red Cross Headquarters, Geneva Switzerland





Just to prove WE were here !

We are impressed with the "personal" aspect of both 
physical care   and   record keeping.  
Treatment  ..  goes to  "beating hearts" . . no one  is a "number"






Dunant's hope of having a  .  SINGLE  .  UNIVERSALLY  recognized  SYMBOL
over the years has expanded only slightly
The  RED CROSS   is recognized globally
The  RED CRESCENT  is  used throughout the muslim world
The  RED  CRYSTAL  for portions of the world not identifying with cross or crescent




Red Cross Symbol  is the "REVERSE" of the  Swiss Flag  with a  .. "white" cross  on a  .. " red"  field





The United Nations has  loop-holed  that 
the only 2  "square"  flags  in the world
are  officially  okayed  as long as they  don't exceed the size
of the rest  . .   of the  . .  world flags.

Dunant died at age 82 in Heiden
(N.E. Switzerland above  . .  Lake Constance)
. . born in Geneva
(S.W. Switzerland above  . .  Lake Geneva - Lac Lèman)

   In  1901  he was awarded the  FIRST - ever  . .  NOBEL  PEACE  PRIZE

He wanted no funeral

He donated enough money to a local hospital to make sure there would always be one empty bed ready for a needy person.

In more recent years the 2nd highest peak in Switzerland has been named after Dunant

(near the Matterhorn and the northern Italian border)

That interesting story was just one small puzzle piece of our first day's visit in Geneva.

More to come.

The  SUN  is shining and we've removed a couple layers.    Skies are BLUE.

____________________
_____

Swtz02 - Geneva

. .    GENEVA    . .

We  begin  in  Switzerland's   #2   City
   ( Zurich  is  #1 in  Population )

. .   located  at  the  southern  end   of   Europe's  largest  lake  . .  "Lac  Leman" -  ( Lake  Geneva )

. .   birthplace    . .   of   . .   "www"  . .   the  World  Wide  Web  !

. .   40%  of  the  population  here  are  employees  of  international  companies

. .   so  this  french - speaking   area  of   Switzerland  shares  space  with 

multi - lingual  tongues  who  find   common ground   speaking   . .   english

"Geneva's"   peculiar projection  . .  juts  westward  . .  into  France's   east  side
↘︎      .      .      .

Geneva  is   . .   Surrounded   on  the   West  .  South  .  East   sides   by   . .   FRANCE  
Swiss  travel  here  moves  north  along  . .  Lac Leman  -  ( Lake  Geneva ) 







International  Organizations   ( north  end  of  Geneva's  central  core )   offer  public  TOURS
We'll  spend  our  time  between   . .  the  World  Health  Organization   ( north  central  core )
and  . .  St. Peter's  Cathedral  . .  across  the  Rhone River   ( south  central  core )







( Stand  in  these  shoes  for  a  few  minutes ) :
⇣
At  24  years  old  . .   you  are  . .   Founder  of   the  Geneva   YMCA
after  spending  about  6  yrs   volunteering   with  .  young  people  .   prisoners  .   orphans
. .  while  also  working  in  . .   retail  trading   &   banking
At  age  27  . .   you  meet  in  Paris  to   . .   "Internationalize"   the   YMCA

Your  impressive  bank  work  . .  results  in  your  . .   transfer  to  Algeria
( conquered  by   . .  France  . .  30  yrs  earlier )
In  your  late  20s  . .   you  also  open  your  own  Algerian   corn  mills   and   marble  queries
Your  career  suffers  because  you  spend  your  resources  on  . .    humanitarian   endeavors

You  return  to  Europe

Bankrupted  . .  you  are  expelled  from  your  hometown  Geneva

At  age  31 . .   you  are  . .   appalled   seeing   thousands   of  horrifying  . .   casualties
at  the  . .   Solferino  battlefield   . .  ( east  of  Milan,  Italy )
you  gather  anyone  you  can  find  to  . .  "do  something"  to  help  these  . .  wounded  and  dying
You  go  to  Paris   . .    spend  3  yrs   writing   your  . .   devastating  . .   memories

_____

At  age  34 - 35   . .   you   present   . .   a   list   of   . .

____________________

 P r o p o s a l s :
____________________

↓

➤     In   every  country  . .   set  up  
Volunteer  Groups   to    care  for   . .   war - time  "casualties"
★      ( this   leads  to  . .  National  Societies    in  . .   183  countries  ! )

↓

➤     Get   countries   to  . .   agree  to  
protect   . .   First  Aid   volunteers    and  . .   wounded  . .  on  the   battlefield
★     ( this  leads  to   Geneva  Conventions   agreed to - signed by  . .  192  countries ! )  

↓

➤     adopt   . .  a  . .   " Symbol " 

  
"simple"

identifiable    -    from     . .   " f a r    a w a y "

" universally "  recognizable     -     known   to   . .   " everyone "

identical  -   for   . .    "friend"   .    &    .   "foe"

backed   by   . .   " law "

indicating   . .   " respect  for "   . .   medical  &   first  aid   Volunteers   &   war  Victims 
★     (  this  leads  to  a   positive   example  of  the   . .  " Power - of - ONE " )

    

An  impressive  story   . .   NEXT   BLOG   . .   Let's  go  take  a  Tour

____________________
_____