After I finished with my missionary work in Spain, I traveled to a few other European countries to visit friends and explore new places. The last country on my list was Switzerland. For years, my mom has mentioned to me that she has an old friend who lives and works in Geneva and for years, I ignored her because I never thought that I would have a chance to visit. That changed this summer. I flew from Istanbul to Geneva and met my mom’s friend Susie for the first time (that I can remember – she hadn’t seen me since I was in diapers). I am so grateful for Susie’s kindness and her willingness to open her home to me.
The days I spent in Geneva were bittersweet. I was running low on energy because I had been away from home for five and a half months and had been travelling alone for two weeks. Over the weekend, Susie and her partner, Patrik, suggested that we get out of the city and drive to Chamonix to see and hike Mont Blanc. It was a welcome escape to the mountains, as the temperatures were climbing in the city. Once we arrived in Chamonix, we took the bright red tram up to the peak of a nearby mountain. The views were incredible and eye-opening, not only to the beauty of the Alps but also the looming danger of climate change. As we walked around the shops at the top of the mountain, there were pictures from years ago when the glacier was still frozen. As we looked out at the massive space the glacier has been carving for hundreds of thousands of years, we saw a small streak of what remains.
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| Where there used to be a glacier... |
We hiked down, which took about two and a half hours. The landscape was beautiful and unforgettable. In my mind, I contrasted the jagged edges of the Alps to the smoother lines of the Himalayas. The mountains here are much more accessible because of the geography and development of the countries around them.
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| The jagged edges of the Alps |
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| Hiking down with Patrik |
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