Genfi autonäitus on tõeline maiuspala autohuvilisele ning samas põnev kogemus ka minusugusele "vaatan-Grand-Touri-ja-sõidan-tavalise-autoga" inimesele. Messiala on meeletu, kokku umbes 7 täislaadis halli. Kui on soov veidi põhjalikumalt autosid uudistada, siis soovitan planeerida külastuseks terve päeva. Vaatamiseks on välja pandud uusimad mudelid, futuristlikud kontseptsiooniautod ning ka põnevad leiud minevikust. Väga paljudesse autodesse on võimalik sisse istuda ja verivärske polsterduse lõhna nuusutada. Lisaks autodele on esindatud ka autopesulate uusimad tehnoloogiad, rehvide ja kõikvõimalike autovidinate letid. Sees asuvad ka mudelautode ning üldise nänni müügiputkad. Näituse alla on ilmselgelt läinud meeletu töö ning seega on pilet vägagi mõistliku hinnaga, 16 CHF.
Kiidusõnadena võib lisada veel seda, et kõigi markide väljapanekud (mis osaliselt asusid kõrgendatud tasanditel), olid ligipääsetavad ka ratastooliga külastajatele, keda oli liikvel omajagu. Meie käisime näitusel 13. märtsil ning olgugi, et mess oli selleks ajaks kestnud juba viis päeva, oli rahvast väga palju. Seega tuli populaarsematesse autodesse istumiseks veidi järjekorras seista.
Suure tähelepanu all oli autode puhtus ning läige - igal pool toimetasid hoolikad käed nii mopi, lapi kui tolmutuustidega.
Sissepääsu juures kontrollitakse kotte, kuid üllatuslikult ei konfiskeeritud veepudelit (ega poolikut võileiba) ning siit suured plusspunktid minu poolt. Kui kõht peaks tühjaks minema, siis sees on samuti võimalik üht-teist hamba alla osta.
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Geneva motor show offers some serious eye candy for those who love cars and is also a fun experience to someone like me, who watches the Grand Tour and drives a regular car. The whole expo area is huge, it total about 7 fully packed halls. If you think you'd want a hands on experience with the cars, I strongly recommend booking a whole day for this.
The show featured newest models, futuristic concept cars and interesting finds from the past. You can sit in many of the cars and have a sniff of the sweet smell of brand new upholstery. In addition to cars there are also car wash stands, showcasing their latest technology; booths for tires and all kinds of car-related parts/oils etc. It's possible to buy car accessories, model cars and keychains.
Considering how much work they've put into this whole show, the ticket costs a reasonable 16 CHF.
More on the positive side, it was also nice that although some car makers had their cars presented on an elevated terrain, they were all accessible by wheelchair. Despite us visiting the show on its 5th opening day, it was swarming with people still, so with the more popular models, you had to wait in queue to have a look inside.
The importance of cleanliness and shine was also very high - mops and dusters were out at all times to wipe away all specks of dust and/or fingerprints.   
Bags are checked before the entrance, but we were not made to throw away our water (and a half-eaten sandwich), so I assume you could bring water and some snacks with you. It is also possible to buy something to eat there, in case you'll get hungry while visiting.

Genf, Šveits vol 2: Mont Saléve // Geneva, Switzerland vol 2: Mont Saléve

Kolmapäeval olid ilmajumalad meie poolt, et näha Šveitsi/Prantsusmaa vaatamisväärsust, Saléve'i mäge, parimas valguses. Mäe tippu saab mööda köisraudteed, kuid kahjuks ilmnes alles kohale jõudes, et töös on see vaid reedest pühapäevani. Vastu tuli teisigi pettunud turiste, kes sellest meile jalavaeva vähendamiseks teada andsid. Mõned kabiinid siiski üles-alla sõitsid ja see andis lootust, et ehk saaks kellegagi kokkuleppele jõuda. Paraku ühtegi inimest me baasis liikumas ei näinud ning seega pidime leppima vaatepildiga all või võtma ette paaritunnise matka tippu. Kodulehel oleva info põhjal oli teada, et rada pidi olema hästi tähistatud ning samuti oli seal antud orienteeruv aeg, mis ronimiseks tõenäoliselt kulub. Otsustasime endi proovilepaneku kasuks ning asusime rada otsima. Mäe kõrval on kiirtee, millest üleminekuks on mitu silda. Matkaraja poole suunavat silti ei olnud ning seetõttu sattusimegi esmalt valele sillale, mis viis hoiatusmärke täis kaevandusalale. Õnneks leidsime peaegi ka õige koha üles ning mäkketõus võis alata.
Ka siin oli hoiatusmärke mitmeid, mis manitsesid valima sobilikke matkariideid-jalanõusid, varuma piisavalt vett, olema tähelepanelik kukkuvate kivide osas (mida saime ka oma silmaga näha) ning arvestama ilmastikuoludega. Kuna reisi planeerides ei olnud me arvestanud mägimatkaga, olid jalatsid linnalikud 😀 mis minu puhul tähendas pika säärega talvesaapaid, millel libeda tallaga kerge konts all. Nagu näha, siis ellu jäin, aga jalad seda nalja ilmselt mulle niipea ei andesta.
Alguses oli tõus võrdlemisi lauge, kuid peagi olid ees järsud trepid, mis võtsid korralikult võhmale. Õnneks on sellistes kohtades ka käsipuud, mida mööda on kõvasti julgem ennast üles vedada. Tegelikult oligi allatulek palju hirmsam, sest ülevalt voolas väike veenire/oja, mis tegi kivimid libedaks.
Mida kõrgemale jõudsime, seda paremaks läks ka vaade ning mäelt on hea ülevaade tervele Genfi linnale (lisaks on näha nende kuulsat purskkaevu).
Paraku ei olnud meil täiesti tippu võimalik ronida. Kui jõudsime esimesele kõrgendikule, siis järgnev silt viitas köisraudtee tipp-punkti, kuhu oli veel 2h matkamist ning seda aega (+ tagasitulek) meil enam polnud.
Mäel oligi eelnevas postituses mainitud teretamist väga huvitav kogeda - võõrad inimesed tulevad vastu ja ütlevad "bonjour". Eestis sellist asja kuskil metsarajal juba naljalt ei juhtuks.
Lõppkokkuvõttes oli küll kahju, et köisraudtee jäi proovimata, aga samas oli ka selline matk esmakordne ja väga põnev väljakutse. Mul on hea meel, et me kohe käega ei löönud, vaid otsustasime mäge vallutama hakata 😊
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The weather was great for visiting Mont Saléve which is located in France, very close to the Swiss border. You can get on top of the mountain on a cable car, but unfortunately we were unaware that it's only working from Friday - Sunday. We saw couple of empty cabins going up and that gave us hope that maybe we could somehow get on top still. There was no one to be seen at the base where the cabins were operated, so that left us with two options: to admire the view from below or to hike to the top. After some thinking we decided to test ourselves and find a way there. It was said on their web page that there are many ways to get up and the trails are marked well. There is a highway next to the mountain and there are also some bridges to cross it. Since there were no signs leading the way to the trail, we stumbled on a wrong bridge at first, which led us to a mining area full of signs which looked like regular people had no business there (we can only assume, it was all in French). Luckily the second bridge was the right one and there were also warning signs, this time about being safe on the trail. For instance it recommended checking the weather beforehand, having a good water supply with you, wearing the right clothes and shoes and also warned about falling rocks (which we got to see as well).
Since we didn't plan hiking at all, I was wearing "polite footwear" - boots with modest, but slippery heels 😀 I feel like my feet will never forgive me that experience.
At first it didn't look too difficult, but the higher we got the steeper it got as well. Luckily they've somehow managed to build stairs with handrails there which were very helpful for pulling yourself up.
Our workout was well awarded with the greatest view over Geneva. You could even see the fountain from there. When we finally reached the first highpoint, there was a sign that showed how long it would take to reach where the cable car would've taken you. Unfortunately that was another 2h hike and we just didn't have that kind of time anymore, so we decided to head back down.
As I wrote in the previous post, it was very interesting to see people hiking and saying "bonjour" when passing us. It's something I've never experienced in Estonia, where people generally try to avoid "unnecessary" human contact as much as possible.
In conclusion it was a bummer that we didn't get to go on the cable car, but on the other hand I actually really enjoyed the hike as well. It was something I had never done before, and we also got to see a very nice view during this adventure, so all in all - I'm glad we didn't give up right away 😊