Geneva, Switzerland

The train ride from Como to Geneva was quick and beautiful. I passed through the Italian and Swiss alps and was pretty much glued to the window.

I arrived in Geneva at 4:18 and caught the #9 bus at the airport. Then I transferred to the A bus and arrived at the Masters' house at 5.

I didn't know many siblings Christian had. I was greeted by four very rowdy and fun boys named Micah, Jeremiah, Josh and Caleb. And Charity, who is not rowdy. I immediately felt at home. We could messy, we could be noisy, and we could eat as much food as we wanted. Mrs. Masters was at Christian's graduation, and Mr. Masters was away on business.

The next morning I walked the 4 miles in to Geneva. I have plenty of time and every time I walk I save €3. That is $25 over three days.

First I went to the famous fountain and then to Reformation wall. It was funny. 4 days before I was in Rome at Saint Peters Basilica--the center if Catholicism--and now I was in Geneva, where the Reformation began. I should go to Mecca and Varanasi.

In front if the wall I met another American, named David, whose father is a Calvin scholar. We got to talking and walked fir he cathedral together. I had to work hard not to make the sign of the cross as I entered. I have spent a lot of tome in Catholic territory.

We spent almost an hour in the cathedral listening to the organ play. It was beautiful.

Then we went to the International Museum of the Reformation. It occupied the building in which Calvin used to meet with the other Reformers, and it was incredibly detailed. It even explained predestination and the difference between transubstanciation and consubstanciantion. I hope many non-Christians go there. We spent many hours in there.

After that David and I parted ways and I went to the cemetery where Calvin is allegedly buried. I took a selfie with him.

Then I walked back to the Masters house. In the evening the boys taught me a soccer game called Rapido which involves a lot of running and shooting goals. It was great fun.

The next day was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. I walked back into town and for most of the day went from park to park reading my book. I'm reading "A Farewell to Arms" which is great. By the way I just finished "Atlas Shrugged" which I highly recommend.

When I got back to the Masters' house I met Rob Masters, who had just returned from his business trip. He is really cool. What would you expect when he has 7 really cool kids?

That night was movie night and we watched Spiderman.

The next day I took a day trip. I walked into town, caught a train to Montreaux and from there took another train to a small villages called Caux. Picture a small alpine Swiss village. That's Caux. That I hiked up a steep mountain to a peak called Rorchers-du-Naye. It was about 6000 ft of elevation gain. The view was stunning.

I hiked back down and did everything in reverse until I got back to the Master's house.

The next day was Sunday and at 10 I said farewell to all my new friend. Then I took the bus into town and went to an English speaking church called the Evangelical Baptist church of Geneva. Then I rushed to the Tran station and caught the TGV train to Paris.

Geneva was wonderful. For most people it's one of the most expensive cities In Europe, but not for me thanks to the Masters!