Lakeside Living in Switzerland

by Kazuya S.
(Chiba)

When I went to the Shanghai Expo, I looked at and was attracted by pictures which described the people and landscape in Geneva. People enjoy shopping and sightseeing, and on the other side, people wearing swim suits jump into the lake. People in Geneva seem to enjoy their lives with smiles. I'm attracted to their lifestyle!

Switzerland was once covered by very large glaciers made in the Alps. The glaciers eroded the earth and made many lakes.

Switzerland has a lot of lakes and the lakes have many features. For example, Lake Geneva, in southern Switzerland is beside the Alps and has beautiful nature and many kinds of birds. Geneva, the city beside Lake Geneva, has a very large fountain called “Jet d'Eau.”

One feature of lakes in Switzerland is they are large and slender. So lakes are used as a route for ships and have a lot of traffic. So big cities, like Geneva and Zurich, are located beside lakes.

The people living in towns beside these lakes enjoy a lifestyle of relaxing on the lakeside, enjoying barbecues with their friends, and enjoying fishing. And people swim in the lake in summer.

The towns on the lakeside also hold swimming events in the cold lakes on New Year’s Day. In the Geneva event, people not only swim but also disguise themselves and enjoy being around the other people.

So I think one good point about living in Switzerland is to enjoy the beautiful nature. And the story of people living happily on lakesides is an appealing one!