Geneva takes on Airs of Winter Station
In winter time, skating rinks proliferate all across Switzerland, with communities erecting temporary makeshift structures wherever there is public space for them.
In several weeks, six places will be transformed into skating opportunities for the would-be sunday skater or serious student of figure skating with an eye on becoming the next Stephane Lambiel.
The mall near the airport, the Praille (where the big customs warehouses are), the Charmilles area, the upscale commune of Anières, the fancy Coppet, as well as the more modest commune of Grand Lancy, will all be shortly inaugurating skating rinks to glide through the winter. The rue du Rhone will also welcome the return of its seasonal rink tomorrow, inaugurated by Manuel Tornare, who is expected to make a small speech on the public utility and appreciation of these impromptu skating rinks.
Geneva is not likely, however, to become a winter sports destination, despite the additionally comical proposal of an impromptu ski slope on the Treille, a high wall and walkway which separates the old town from the parc des Bastions and along which Jean-Jacques Rousseau used to meditate on his walks.
Additional skating rinks are under study for the Eaux-Vives neighborhood.
The temporary skating rinks are all made of assembled polyethylene plates, a construction that can be used to build impromptu roller skate rinks almost as quickly as ice skating rinks.
