I’m sorry to say it, but the chances are that the day I’m having as I write this is better than the day you’re having as you reading this. And that includes future me. Sorry future me.
We slept in again this morning. Dawn wanted to try and get on the English speaking United Nations tour this morning, but that start’s at 10:30 and it didn't look very promising as we left our hotel. Fortunately the first tram we saw happened to be heading straight for the UN building, so that was a stroke of luck. When we got to the building at 10:20 the gates were closed and they were only allowing people with UN badges through...but we spotted a sign that said visitor entrance that pointed to the left. We wandered left and found a museum… we continued wandering left and eventually we found another entrance that accepted visitors. The time was slightly after 10:30 am. We checked in through security and were told that the next English speaking tour was actually at 11:00 and we should report to another building for the tour. We arrive just a few minutes before the tour started. Talk about amazing luck and great timing.
The tour lasts for an hour. The Geneva UN headquarters had previously been the League of Nations headquarters prior to the dissolution of the League of Nations. The tour included three of the conference rooms where UN business is currently conducted. Of those three, two were re-purposed from the League of Nations. I learn that the Geneva UN’s mission is focused on human rights and disarmament. As we’re visiting rooms we are told a few of the crisis that have been defused in them. There are some questions other visitors have about the efficacy of the UN as an organization. Our tour guide explains that above all the overriding goal of the UN is to prevent WWIII. He submits that so far they've been successful. He admits that it’s not perfect, but it’s an organization that’s constantly trying to improve itself and striving for the lofty goal of peace.
After the UN tour we catch a tram to the big train station we arrived at yesterday and then switch trams to ride out to CERN. We grab a quick sandwich on the way so that we’re not starving all afternoon. We arrive at CERN about 10 minutes early and meet our tour guide for the afternoon. There really aren't public tours of CERN. To see much of anything you have to know someone that works here (or in our case, know someone who knows someone). Our tour guide is a particle physicist that works on the CMS experiment. He takes us to the Globe which is a huge wooden sphere that is pretty much all CERN has to offer the public. He relates some of the LHC impressive statistics and facts using the Globes exhibits as props. After that he swings us by the CERN computing building and we get to see it’s data center. While there I asked about Tim Berners-Lee and our tour guide says that the first web server is in the lobby if I want to see it. Of course I want to see it! Later we learn that it used to be in the computing center lobby, but now it’s in the Globe… so maybe I did see it, but I wasn’t aware what I was looking at. Oh well, it’s hard to get too choked up over not seeing an antiquated PC when our next stop was the other side of the ring to see the CMS detector in person.
The compact muon solenoid (CMS) detector is one of the LHC’s four experiments. It’s one of the two general purpose detectors on the ring (the other two are special purpose detectors). This is the thing that detected the Higgs boson. As luck would have it we picked the perfect time to visit the CMS. The LHC is down this year for maintenance while they make improvements so that they can run it at higher energies next year. One of the interesting things about the CMS detector is it’s built to be slid open for maintenance. At the time of our visit the CMS detector has been opened up for prime viewing. This is the first time this has happened for years. The person who took us underground to see the detector said that he has been here for 7 years and during that time it’s never been as impressive to see as it has been in the last 48 hours.
After our CMS visit we drive back across the ring to the main CERN complex. Our tour guide asks us what our plans are, because if we’re interested we could join him for 5:00 beers on the patio. He says it’s kind of a CERN tradition. A few years ago people used to be able to drink whenever they wanted. Eventually this policy was rethought and now staff has to wait until 5:00 pm. So we end our visit to CERN having beers on the patio chatting to our tour guide surrounded by CERN physicists . So yeah, that happened. If you have the means and the access I highly recommend a private tour of CERN. I am immensely grateful that I had the opportunity.
It’s hard to follow up our day of amazing tours but Dawn did the best she could by making reservations at a recently awarded Michelin star restaurant on the shore of Lake Geneva. We get a table for two with both chairs facing a private window looking out at the lake. We order their tasting menu (of course) and spend the evening being presented with amazing dishes while watching the lake and the sun set. How lucky am I? Very lucky. Very lucky indeed. Talk about an amazing day.
One thought the keeps bouncing around in my head is a result of an observation that Dawn made. I had remarked how Geneva has a philosophical bent towards achieving peace. That’s obviously the UN mission. During our tour we learned that CERN was founded after WWII to promote peace through collaborative science. Dawn said that she thought the UN’s promise is “think of what we could get done if we all just worked together” while CERN is that vision applied and put into action.
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