Lake Geneva

On sunday, we made a road-trip to Lake Geneva. (No, its not that Geneva :P). Lake Geneva is a peaceful town of about 70,000 people, on the shores of a lake named 'Geneva' in the state of Wisconsin. The afternoon sun was blazing and weather was bright and sunny. (Bright and sunny for us, but hot and scorching for the Americans :P). And unlike us, who would rather prefer the cool confines of the indoors, rather than to go out in the hot weather, the Americans take out their SUVs, secure their personal boats on the top carrier, stuff the kids and the dogs inside and drive to the nearest place, where they could strip off to the bare minimum, put some tanning lotion and desparately try to get tanned. And Lake Geneva was one such place!

Although, it was a small lake (in comparison to great lakes like Lake Michigan), the place was well developed and tourist friendly. And almost all places in America, that have even a minute trace of tourist-friendly capabilities, are properly tended to and developed and are marketed as the best tourist spots in the whole world! Sign of a true capitalistic country!

Lake Geneva was no different. At the entrance was a small memorial monument in the form of a fountain. Then there was a building that was facing the lake, usually reserved for special occasions and on that particular day, a wedding was taking place there. There was an artificial beach with a small strip of sand adjoining the stretch of water, customized to make it feel like a natural beach on the sea shore. There was also a guided ferry tour across the lake, wherein visitors would be told about the history of the lake and its surrounding area. (The Americans do not have much of a history...their history starts in the late 1700s, but whatever history they have, they take immense pride in it. Unlike in our country where people continue to spit, deface and urinate over monuments that are thousands of years old :'( ).


There were lots of private motorboats and yachts docked in that area and a historic (1800s) trail around the periphery of the lake. On this trail, one could find people walking, inline skating, skateboarding and cycling from one end to the other.


Dogs seem to be important members of the American household. Invariably, every single American family had atleast one dog. (actually, a dog for each and every member of the family! the husband has a pet bull dog, the wife has a chihuahua, and the kid has a spaniel...that is what I observed!). And they train their dogs, the same way they train their kids. I couldn't help notice the father-guy who was tossing a bottle and asking his dog to fetch it, while at the same time, he was tossing a beach ball to his kid and asking it throw it back!



Although it was only a lake, the place had the complete feel of a beach resort. There were people in their swimming trunks and bikinis riding yellow colored Porsche convertibles, and muscular and heavily tattooed bikers riding in their Harley Davidson bikes and a group of young men playing American football . There were a few Indian families as well. (And unlike the American women, who practically wore nothing, the Indian women were clad in their voluminous dresses :P )

There was a lot of hustle and bustle, but as the afternoon ended and the evening began to descend, everyone seemed to rush back to their houses. Almost instantly, the whole place became peaceful and tranquil. And it was at that time, Lake Geneva seemed really beautiful. One could finally hear the the sound of the water lapping on the shore, the cries of the sea gulls, and whooshing of the winds. After enjoying that moment with ice cream, we decided to head back to the city of Milwaukee.