Physics trip to CERN, February 2011

On the way in

A lecture by the prof

A bright spark here

United Nations

Close to the speed of light in a tunnel

The group

Click on the picture to view a big screen slide show of several photos.

We arrived at Gatwick airport, excited about the coming week and eager to catch our plane. After months of waiting, we were finally off to the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN, in Geneva.

We touched down, disappointed not to be greeted by the feet of snow we expected (people do ski in Switzerland after all!), and prepared to lug our suitcases across the city on public transport. Much to our excitement, we were greeted by a Swiss coach driver holding a sign for 'MONSUCH' and deciding that this must be for us, we all climbed aboard and travelled in luxury to our hostel. We settled into our rooms, slightly alarmed by the signs that read 'don't scream or throw anything out of the window!', and after fighting over the top bunk we went to sleep, eager for the following day.

We were up bright and early on Monday morning, ready for our continental breakfast. After an unusual combination of blueberry yoghurt and various cereals, we piled back onto the coach for a day at CERN. Upon arrival we were greeted by a retired scientist, who could only be described as a nutty professor, and treated to a talk on nuclear physics. Unfortunately, we were sat in a very warm, dark room and some of our number had trouble staying awake, so a few Tangfastics were needed for a sugar boost! Klaus, the scientist, proceeded to give us a tour of CERN and were shocked to see that scientists still use blackboards for their equations! We saw some of the first ever computers and we learnt about how Tim Berners-Lee created the 'World Wide Web', just some of the amazing developments that have happened at CERN.

We went down to the canteen for lunch and decided that we could have happily spent our whole trip in there! Faced with the choice of foods from all around the world, many of us panicked and went for the safe options of steak or pizza. After lunch, we went down to the museum at CERN and were very excited that we could take pictures of ourselves in a pretend Large Hadron Collider. After a quick trip to the gift shop, we left CERN (slightly disappointed we hadn't met Brian Cox!) and visited the planetarium opposite.
That evening, after a rushed dinner, it was our first opportunity to try out Geneva's tram system. We survived a very confusing journey and made it to the bowling alley. Whether the owner spoke English or not we will never know, but he insisted that we spoke French at all times. Eventually, in broken French, we agreed on a price, shoe sizes and the number of lanes and a great time was had by all. Although, some people were not blessed with a talent for bowling!

The next morning, we went on a walking tour of the city where we saw the International Monument to the Reformation, the town hall where the first Assembly of the Geneva Convention was held in 1864 and visited the Cathedral of St. Peter. We had a rushed packed lunch at the hostel and then headed back into the city for our boat trip. Following more exchanges in broken French, we found the jetty from which our boat was supposed to leave. Unfortunately, it was deserted but for two French men in a rowing boat. Every cloud has a silver lining however, because this meant more time for what girls love best - shopping! We rushed off along Geneva's version of Oxford Street, pockets bulging and returned several hours later, purses empty but laden down with souvenirs, clothes and lots of chocolate.

We went back to our hostel to get our glad rags on, and ventured by tram once more to our restaurant for the evening. Here again we had trouble with the French, but eventually managed to order our meals, the bravest of us opting for the traditional Swiss cheese fondue.

Wednesday morning we were treated to a lie in and a leisurely breakfast, before heading out into the sunshine. We took the tram to outside the United Nations where we took lots of photos and then we went to the Red Cross Museum, which was fascinating. We had our last tram journey to the airport and just had time for a Burger King (just to get rid of loose change - honest!). After a brief panic at the gate (due to two members of our party being left at passport control!) we boarded our flight back, where we had a glorious view of the Alps. Thanks to Miss Wing, Miss Robertson and Dr Abbubakur for a brilliant trip.

Definitely as good a reason as any to do A-level physics!

Steph E 13.8