The class L4b took a trip to Geneva to visit the birthplace of Mary Shelley’s “hideous progeny” Frankenstein.

Even though Mary was not quite impressed with the town itself upon her arrival in May 1816, as she later wrote in a letter “there is nothing, however, in it that can repay you for the trouble of walking over its rough stones. The houses are high, the streets narrow, many of them on the ascent, and no public building of any beauty to attract your eye, or any architecture to gratify your taste”. With 1816 being the year without summer, the weather was also not quite fabourable, as Mary wrote “An almost perpetual rain confines us principally to the house; but when the sun bursts forth it is with a splendour and heat unknown in England. The thunderstorms that visit us are grander and more terrific than I have ever seen before.”

Our experiences of the city were much more positive than those of Mary Shelley, and fortunately, even the weather played along.

Here is an account of the trip by student Eveline Hermansson:

The first thing I noticed about Geneva was how relaxed the atmosphere was. It was great to hang out with everyone and just have fun. On the second day, we started by visiting the contemporary art museum MAMCO with some really impressive artwork. I personally liked the ones by Tishan Hsu. It was cool to see so many amazing pieces.

In the afternoon we went to Lord Byron's villa. The villa itself was interesting, but what I loved most was sitting in the nearby meadow, sketching and just soaking up the peace of the area and of course the view of the lake. It was super relaxing and quite fun to visit the place.

Afterwards we went to the lake. Some of us were brave enough to go swimming, even though the water was quite cold. I just dipped my feet in, which was more than enough for me! The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold, so it was nice to be outside and on the move.

One of the best parts of the trip was being able to explore the city on our own, both during the day and at night. We found some great spots and even saw a statue of Frankenstein's monster, which was a fitting connection to why we chose Geneva for the trip. Overall, we had a peaceful and enjoyable time together in Geneva.