September 12, 2022 to September 13, 2022
Vancouver to Geneva
One short year ago many countries in the EU required visitors to provide proof of a negative PCR test upon arrival. Airports were empty and flights were half full. Testing restrictions made travel more difficult but on the other hand as there were fewer travelers, it was also much easier. Everyone wore a mask all the time and your vaccine records were as critical as your Canadian passport. Hotels and restaurants demanded this documentation, and we were happy to oblige. The barrier was comforting. Today the spotty mask requirement, a short self-declared health assessment when checking in for the flight and the dreaded ArriveCan are the last remnants of travel during the covid times as air travel is now fully in play. For better or worse.
Our flight to Montreal was on a 777-300 ER that has a capacity of 430 seats and almost everyone one of the seats was full. Mask wearing was required in the YVR airport but completely optional in the YUL airport. Transport Canada still requires masks on all flights and the AC flight attendants patrol the aircraft looking for offenders.
Our flight to Geneva had many open seats and we quickly positioned ourselves to take advantage of the space. Each of us laid claim to two seats as did most people in the back of the bus. Not quite business class comfort but it does allow for a bit more space to sleep. The mask mandate again strongly enforced. Now I am not an antimasker but wonder since masks are optional now in most settings why are they still being required on Canadian aircraft? I think the airline staff must like them to be worn as I always believed aircraft were full of nasty bugs and not just covid ones.
Our flights to Montreal and Geneva, although both almost an hour late, were without issue. We did not encounter any long lines at the airport and everything went smoothly. Another plus for travelling in September. Our alarms went off at 6 AM in Vancouver and exactly 19 hours later we were landing in Geneva, Switzerland.
We are staying two nights at a large chain hotel near the airport. These hotels are never our first choice, but they are convenient, predictable and always willing to store our bike suitcases while we are away on our cycling adventures. Since we are flying out of the same airport in a month`s time, it is handy to be close to the airport to keep the taxi fares a bit more reasonable. But Geneva does have an excellent transit system provided for free to all guests who stay at their hotels. In fact, public transit from the airport is also free!
We both felt pretty good about getting an early check in at our hotel but the bed was too hard to resist. Scott built the bikes in our adequately spaced room and we both crashed until about 4pm. Taking advantage of the remainder of the day, we rode downhill toward Lake Geneva. On route we stopped at a quiet corner at Place des Grottes and celebrated completing the first step of our journey with beer, wine and a plate of mixed tapas.
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Continuing down to the waterfront our memories from being in Geneva in 2018 after a ski trip all came back. We stopped at our favorite grocery store ¨Manor¨ and bought some breakfast items for tomorrow.
We joined the pedestrians, cyclists, joggers as well as various other means of mobility as we all milled along the waterfront taking in the sights on an overcast but warm Geneva evening. After dark we turned on our bike lights and retraced our route back to the hotel. Two days, including 19 hours of travel and a seven hour time change has gone by very quickly. We are back in Europe and ready to begin our tour after one more day in Geneva.
Today's ride: 13 km (8 miles)
Total: 13 km (8 miles)
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