July 23rd ~ Lausanne, Switzerland

Lausanne, Switzerland

Having a Swiss Pass has made it so easy for us to move about Switzerland. Today we traveled from Zermatt to Lausanne. I’ll start you off with a few shots taken from our train ride: 

Train ride from Zermatt to Lausanne

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Arriving in Lausanne, we pulled and pushed our luggage up a VERY steep hill to get to our hotel. Luckily it was not very far. Our room was not ready, do we checked our bags with a grumpy receptionist and took off to find some lunch and explore the city.

Lausanne

Lake Geneva

Casual group of people enjoying the waterfront

Located on Lake Geneva, this is a combination of larger city and holiday resort. It is the fourth largest city in Switzerland and home of the International Olympic Committee. It has been called the Olympic Capital since 1994.

Since our time was limited to just one afternoon/evening, and that the Olympics would be starting in Brazil within a couple of weeks, we decided that visiting the Olympic Museum was at the top of our “list of things” to do here.

Entrance fountain at the Olympic Museum (Le Musee Olympique)

At the main entrance, Tim standing under the high jump pole set at the current record. Tim is 6″1″

The museum itself is divided into three floors, each with a theme.

Olympic World: Tells the history and origins of the Olympic Games and how Pierre de Coubertin’s dreams became a reality. His desire to unite the world through sporting competitions resulted in the modern-day Olympics.

Pierre de Coubertin

The highlights of this section included the first Olympic flag dating from 1913 and the torches from every edition of the Games since 1936.

Here’s a piece of trivia for you! When the Olympics were held in Los Angeles in 1984, Tim got to carry the Olympic torch when it was passing through Irvine on its way to the start of the games.

Route the Olympic torch took across the USA in 1984

1984 Los Angeles torch is second from the left

The Olympic Games: This level focused on the Olympians who set new records, excelled at their individual or team sports, and embodied the values of “excellence, friendship and respect”. There was also a section devoted to the Paralympic and the Youth Olympic Games.

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The Olympic Spirit: Information on the Olympic Village where the participants come together for 15 days to share the Olympic spirit. It shows examples of the training, nutrition, technology and relaxation – all elements required for the athletes to perform at their peak.

Collection of Olympic metals from each year

The highlight of this section was the showcase of Olympic medals from 1896 to the present day.

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Tim got his moment on the winner’s podium. He will always be a “gold metal” winner in my books!

Not sure I know the significance of this guy, but he was hanging in the circular stairway inside the museum.

More Olympics trivia:

The Olympic motto is made up of three Latin words: Citius – Altius – Fortius. These words mean Faster – Higher – Stronger.

There is no specific age limit for taking part in the Olympic Games. Each International Sports Federation determines the rules for its sport.

There are five rings on the Olympic flag. The continents represented are North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. North and South America are considered one continent for this purpose. The six colors – blue, black, red, yellow, green and white – symbolize the common colors on flags of nations that competed in the first five Olympics.

Brasil won its first gold metal in 1920 in Antwerp in the shooting event. On the way to the Olympics, some of the teams guns and ammunition were stolen. Guilherme Paraense went on to win the individual gold metal, beating out the Americans, who had loaned him the weapons so he could compete.

In order to finance their journey to the Olympics in 1932, the Brazilian team sold coffee on their sea voyage to Los Angeles. They took 50,000 bags of coffee with them. Today they are the worlds top coffee exporters.

After we completed touring the interior of the museum, we walked around the gardens and admired the many statues.

At the entrance to the museum

Bike riders with Lake Geneva in the background

Headquarters for the IOC (International Olympic Committee)

We also got a chuckle over the numerous groups we have run across all over Switzerland who are already addicted to the latest craze sweeping the world, “Pokemon Go”

Returning to our hotel, we settled it for the evening and enjoyed a snack on our balcony overlooking a quiet residential street.

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Overnight: Hotel Elite, Lausanne

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful to have learned more about the origins of the modern-day Olympics. With Brazil about to host our summer games, I am hopeful that they can be carried off with the true spirit of peace, that each athlete can be celebrated for their individual achievements, and that friendships and respect will be renewed.