31st August 2024

Today we drove into Geneva. Stopped at the CERN car park. We arrived 10ish and booked onto a 11.30 tour. Spent a little time checking out the exhibitions, which are highly interactive. We then joined the tour. This was led by a researcher.  We were taken into the grounds and shown the old Cyclotron which was started in the 1940s, when CERN was created in 1947. A collaboration of 10 countries working together on physics.  Here the history was explained, the creation of the first Synchrotron, and then onto the circular accelerators and finally the 27km one.

Next stop was across the road where the detector was housed.  Here you could look into the control room. There was also a set of educational screens showing how these detectors worked. There were two counters, one counting collision events, and another counting the number of Higgs Boson Particles detected.

The hour tour ended.

We then did what we should not do, left the vehicle parked at the visitor centre, and caught a tram into the Geneva. This appeared to cost us 10 CHF for an all-day ticket for both of us.  We headed to the main station on the 18 line.  Arrived and then walked towards the lake.  Hunger and a beer beckoned, so we stopped at a Turkish restaurant and ate 5 tapas between the two of us.  They were delicious. Two aubergine, 1 hummus (very sesame seed based), a cheese dish with hot spices. (the best dish), and another vegetable one.

Waiter was very chatty, from Istanbul.  Asked where we were from and what we were doing. Thought we were hikers from our footwear. Was very scathing about CERN. Over 3000 scientists were employed there, who was paying for it? What were they all doing? God particles? Load of BS, he declared.

We walked on to the lake and saw the jet spout “fountain”, which I recalled from the title sequence of 1960s tv show (The Champions.). We walked back to the tram.  Yes, it was getting very hot.

Tram back was crowded. Arrived at CERN. The carpark was 5CHF.

We drove back to the campsite, but on the way stopped in Gex, and visited the Musée Départemental Des Sapeurs Pompiers a fire fighter museum.  Equipment from the 1800s, 1900s and 2000s was on show. Not just from the region but all-around France. Upstairs there were the uniforms and helmets from all the EU countries, from early ages to now. I wonder where the UK uniforms had gone.

It was now terribly hot, and R was suffering.

Back at the campsite, some beers and water. Supper of bread and cheese.