CERN
October 2011
by Charles Marshall E
arly on the Thursday of half-term,
the King's Physics group met
together at a freezing cold minibus,
ready in anticipation for our journey to
Geneva.
As we flew into Switzerland we were
amazed by the Alps, and as we made our
final descent we could see Lake Geneva,
and in hindsight we would have been able
to have seen the CERN 'ATLAS'
experiment, although we did not know this
at the time. For the majority of us it was
our first trip to Geneva, and we were
amazed instantly by the city as we walked
through it towards our hostel.
After checking in, we grabbed a rather
expensive McDonald's and caught a tram
to the Palais Des Nations for a tour of the
United Nations. After negotiating the
exterior wall of the UN complex to find the
correct entrance, a rather nervous
Mrs Gresswell was called forward by
armed security guards into the building,
as the rest of us waited behind the yellow
'shooting line'. A good ten minutes
passed before we were allowed to pass
through airport-style security for the
second time in a day to enter the UN.
Walking across car parks to the visitors'
reception we started to realise the scale
of all the buildings and also the luxurious
way in which every part of the building
was kept in pristine condition. Our
enthusiastic tour guide quickly whisked us
away to visit different parts of the site.
The enormity of the conference rooms
and the sheer number of them was mindblowing,
and it enabled us to visualise the
events that occurred here, particularly
after seeing it on TV.
The artwork throughout the corridors was
also inspiring, especially as it is all donated
by member states of the UN. The variety
and contrast in style and materials added
to the multi-national feel of the building.
We were told about fascinating affairs and
historical events, including recent ones
such as Libya being ejected and the
entrance of new state South Sudan.
After our visit we took some photos,
including the huge 'Broken Chair' memorial
to those who have lost limbs to landmines,
and had some free time to buy our food
for the evening. We had to cater for our
group in the hostel kitchen; a great
chance to try university-style living!
We woke up to pancakes in preparation for
our tram journey to CERN. We arrived at
10.00am and our morning was spent
looking around and beginning to understand
the workings of the LHC and CERN as a
whole. Our first visit was to 'Microcosm',
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