The fertile valleys of Switzerland break through the white clouds as the little Airbus banks to the left, performing a sharp U-turn and lining up with the runway at Geneva Airport.

It is a pleasant warm evening in the Swiss Alps and as soon as we leave the aircraft, I grab a free 90-minute public transport ticket, which is provided by a yellow machine at the baggage claim area and sponsored by the municipality of Geneva.
The modern train station is conveniently located beside the airport terminal, starting point of a train journey to the main train station at Geneva, which takes merely over 10 minutes.

Heavily influenced by French neoclassical architecture, the quiet streets of Geneva lead downwards to its main attraction, the Geneva Lake.
A product of alpine glaciers melting at higher altitudes, it provides the largest city in French Switzerland with a fresh and rather turbulent water stream, which has also been crowned with a jet stream of water which rises up to 140 meters tall at a point where the lake empties on the Rhone River.

As I walk down the main promenade, watching elaborate boats cruising around the blue waters and proudly waving large Swiss flags, I realise that despite being a truly beautiful setting nestled in the iconic Swiss Alps, the city is heavily focused in two things: banking and jewellery.

Nonetheless, it would be unfair to say that these two items define the city of Geneva, specially when the smell of succulent food and fondues being served at one of the many top end restaurants seems to invade the air at dinner time, or stores selling chocolates create rather fascinating presentations and window displays in order to attract customers.
Still, Geneva draws me as a city best enjoyed when one has interests in the region, whereas that could be a bank account with numerous ciphers, or a  fancy private jet, this is a place that exhales wealth as its explored, just like the families of Qatari and Saudi citizens enjoying alfresco dinners, whilst I munch on my dry 15 Euros sandwich.

But since life is about the little things in life, I sit on the grass of Quay du Montblanc as the night sets in and a fresh breeze blows from the mountains.
The strong free wi-fi also helps in killing a few hours before I walk up to the train station and catch the last available train to Geneva Airport, just to realise that I don’t seem to be the only person who has ran away from the extortive prices of basically everything in Geneva.
I join the hundreds of travellers sharing the cold and hard floor of the airport just before the lights are turned off and a rather pleasant darkness sends everyone to sleep for a few hours.

A couple of hours later, the lights are turned on and the airport seems to slowly gain some life. Check in desks are open, immigration officers walk around taking their positions and the restaurants start selling the most expensive cups of coffee I have seen in my life.
Still sleepy, I walk through the security and immigration checks through a long and dark tunnel covered in ‘wealth management’ advertisements in order to finally make it to my gate.

My last flight of this eventful journey across Europe departs with obvious Swiss punctuality and we are again served a cup of granola and yogurt minutes before crossing over Southern England and landing in a rainy Dublin.

Since days-off are to be saved for future journeys,  I rush into the city centre to grab my car and head straight into the office.
Whilst catching up on a rather large email backlog, the thoughts and memories of this trip make me wonder about the contradictions and the fascinating culture experienced when finally visiting the largest country in the world.
A place where political propaganda still controls the daily life, a place that has surrendered to Capitalism, yet still tries hard to prove their superiority with ideas that are wholeheartedly believed by its population.