Wkd. of May 26
Saturday was Cave Ouverte in Geneve (Satigny). Cave Ouvertes are wine tastings that are hosted by local villages, typically during the spring and fall harvest, where the wineries of that region will open their cellars for tastings. As many of the cities surrounding Geneva, and in Switzerland, are small, wine-producing villages this can be a fun event with friends. For 20-25 USD, a glass can be purchased to taste any, or all, of the wines and you can typically walk between the wineries. These are always a fun event as many of the expats will go together and picnic as well.
Saturday was Cave Ouverte in Geneve (Satigny). Cave Ouvertes are wine tastings that are hosted by local villages, typically during the spring and fall harvest, where the wineries of that region will open their cellars for tastings. As many of the cities surrounding Geneva, and in Switzerland, are small, wine-producing villages this can be a fun event with friends. For 20-25 USD, a glass can be purchased to taste any, or all, of the wines and you can typically walk between the wineries. These are always a fun event as many of the expats will go together and picnic as well.
Wkd. of June 2
On Saturday, I started the biking journey around Lake Geneva with Manu, Melissa, and Mandy. This has been a bucket list item of mine since moving to Geneva! I rode with Manu until Lausanne and then joined the others to go to Montreux where we would stay the night and then continue through France and back to Geneva. The trip requires about 4-5 hours of leisurely biking each day with plenty time for pictures, coffee, and lunch breaks as the route is not hilly.
 |
| Biking Crew |
 |
| Freddie at the end of day 1 in Montreux |
 |
| Sunset in Montreux |
However, the trip does require some luck....
On day 2, I managed to get a flat tire and thought that I was prepared as I had brought a replacement inner tube; however, I accidentally had taken the tube for my other bicycle that is not the same size. Luckily Melissa from our group had a patch kit to fix this or I would have been taking a boat home. In addition, we also managed to win the race home against the rain.
 |
| Chateau de Chillon |
 |
| Nearing the half-way point |
 |
| End of the bike with the worst sun burn ever that follows me all summer! |
Wkd. of June 9
On Saturday and following the prior nights PwC year-end party in Vevey, I drove 1.5 hour drive home to then swap with an already packed bag and immediately board a 3pm flight to Dubai. This was a complex set of events to make a flight, but we made it.
We had a work site visit in Dubai and I wanted to do some sightseeing after a very short trip the prior year. On Sunday, I spent the day sightseeing Geneva with my replacement (Matt) before the remaining team members arrived. Going to Dubai can be overwhelming as it has a western feel, but is in the desert so the temperature is always over 100; this is not a runner's city! There is tons of money invested in the city as evidenced by the skyline that is full of new buildings; our hotel was near the top 20 tallest in the city and was still taller than the highest in Detroit.
While sightseeing, we went to the Dubai mall to see the Burj Khalifa; the mall was similar to any US mall with the same stores only on a much larger scale with an aquarium and ice skating rink.
 |
| Burj Khalifa - Way too tall to fit into a normal photo! |
 |
| View from the top |
The remainder of the week was working Monday through Wednesday and team dinners at night. Our trip was during Ramadan so finding food options was not always easy if before sun down; for example, most restaurants in the food court of the mall were closed midday. Any restaurants that were open would have all views blocked to avoid the public view of food. Ramadan also changed our working hours as the work day is 6 Hours by this month. With the extra free time, running outside for marathon training was out of the question with the heat so I did a lot of treadmill running.
Lebanon
From Dubai, I went to Beirut as it’s more-or-less on the way back to Geneva...
When landing in Lebanon, I did not have any issues with getting through customs; however, while on the runway at 1am, I had a minor homeless scare. The hotel that I had originally booked had noted that their front desk was only open 8a-8p so I had to search the Internet and call a hotel to make sure that I had somewhere to sleep for that night. I ultimately was able to find a place and didn’t lose much time; the whole process made me quite thankful of smart phones.
The following day (Thursday), I walked around Beirut following a self guided GPS map; however, it was not until dinner when trying to find a venue to watch the World Cup game and for dinner that I discovered the beach and the Marina. For anyone going to Beirut, I would highly recommend this area. I found a nice restaurant and felt like I was one of the few Americans they’d seen as I had about 5 waiters at my table, got free appetizers, and a free dessert; I felt as if I had to be rolled home!
 |
| Lebanese appetizers during the World Cup |
 |
| Beirut Harbor |
 |
| Appetizers at dinner |
 |
| Lebanese Cotton Candy |
The following day, I took a bus tour and it was good to see some other tourists and hear of their stories. As always, once travelling to one location, I always learn of so many more sites within a country that I would love to visit again.
 |
| Beirut's Blue Mosque |
 |
| Baalbeck Temple |
 |
| Anjar |
Going into this trip, I was slightly worried from reviewing the news; however, I really enjoyed travelling to Lebanon. The food is amazing and it’s quite different from any of the other Arab/Middle East countries that I have visited previously. For example, Lebanon has mountains and greenery; it’s highest peak is over 3KM so there is skiing!
Wkd. of June 16
From Beirut, I flew to Copenhagen for the last destination of the trip before returning to Geneva. Getting to cool, normal weather was a great change of pace!
Having been to Copenhagen before and with a friend that had also been to the city before (Heather), we spent most of our time watching the World Cup, running, and catching up. On Saturday, we did go to the Viking ship museum in Roskilde where several original viking ships have been preserved along with replicas of fully re-built ships. During the visit, we did a sailing ride where a group of 16 or so tourist row a Viking boat out of the harbor and then set sail to do a few tacks.
The other “highlight” / notable event of the trip was I stepped on glass within the first 30 minutes of arriving in Copenhagen and removed some, but not all glass from my heel. I did manage to go to Roskilde on one foot the following day and then sadly decided that a hospital visit would be needed. The Danish health care system was great! There is a generic phone number that a future patient calls to then quickly describe the issue and the operator will then route you to the closest hospital and make an appointment for you. We arrived at the hospital, which was less than 1KM from where we were staying, and had a minimal wait before seeing a nurse.
The glass was removed with some pain, but I would not have had the nerves or flexibility to perform what was needed. It was also odd that we then walked out of the hospital with no paper work, credit card, or insurance so I’m interested to see what happens next.... I did ask reception to confirm that I was not just overlooking something and confirmed that nothing was needed.
After a relaxing weekend, I flew back to Geneva to then do some mass laundry and pack for Russia the following day.
