My original travel plans had included Switzerland on the wayto France from the Eastern countries. Somewhere in the planning it had been knocked off. At the start of this trip Switzerland was not in the itinerary. We had only chosen Bern when Verona fell through. I had been told that it was boring and not really worth checking out. But we figured, hey, let´s give it a go anyway.
On the train we passed a river with abridge over it. One of the most beautiful rivers I have seen on this trip. It was a torquoise colour that glowed. With dark rich green trees all around it. My interest was perked.
We starting discussing things that we knew that were Swiss. There were lots. Swiss army knives, Swiss cheese, Swiss chocolate (toblerone), Saint Bernards, just to name a few. Swiss! Why didn't we think of it before. The tourist info lady gave us a map and there were so many things to see. I wanted to see the Einstein museum and the old castle.
Switzerland uses the Franc. A small change of currency,which was annoying. Just using the Euro is far easier than switching for 2 days. We got out some CHF and left the station. The place looked modern and busy. We followed the map to a palace looking place over looking the river. Or maybe a valley. The entire old town of Bern is build on a cliff face,looking out over this space. Forests and luminescent rivers and bridges. Castles peaking over the tree tops that could easily have come from a fairy tale book. We were instantly captured.
There was a park with a panoramic view near us,so we decided to comeback later and spent time there. We walked down a long and winding road to the lower section of the old town. There we found our hostel. It was the first HI youth hostel we had stayed at on this trip. It looked nice, but we had to wait an hour for the reception to finish its lunch break. It the meantime we ate lunch and did some french study. There was no kitchen, only a cafeteria with a single meal that you could buy. Quite pricey for a place dedicated to youth. Although I think Switzerland is generally expensive.
Straight away we set off for sight seeing. First we had to climb back up the hill, which seems steeper on the way up.
Bern has two interesting tourist points to look out for. The bear symbol, which hangs everywhere. Along with the bear pits across the river. And the supposedly 100 or so fountains spread around to the town. I notice both straight away. As soon as you hit old Bern town there is a large fountain every 200m or so. they all have different names with figures at the top.
I enjoyed the Ogre fountain
And the Justice fountain.
Just up the hill was the main counsel building. This was the palace look place we saw before. In front of it was dancing water. The sprays of water danced together to their own rhythm. The water playground was filled with children in bathers. Or their underwear. It was a tad unnerving I think and some confusing. Any other situation parents would be shocked that people stood around and took photos of their wet and almost naked kids. But here tourist stood, snapping away with photos of the important city building. Taking photos of these kids at the same time.
Next to this spectacle there was a giant chess board. I love giant chess games in the middle of a crowded street. There were audiences with keen eyes set on every move.
On we walked to a market. We passed a stall selling cheeses. The girl gave us a taste of this cheese with holes in it. It smelt a little but was tasty. We had planned to have Swiss cheese while we were here, so we bought some for later.
Everytime we saw a fountain we took a photo of it. So many of them were bear related.
We turned into Marketgasse, a long shopping street. Near it was an astronomical clock and tower. I overheard a tour ghuide talking about it. The tower was a prison for women who had affairs with members of the clergy.
Past the shops we hit the river. It really is a beautiful river. Everytime I looked at it I fell in love. We crossed the first bridge which gave us a good view of the second. There was a huge park on the other side.
We ate ice cream and walked across to where tourists were gathered.
It turned out to be the bear pits,complete with bear. It was actually a pit, walled with stone and a feeble attempt at an enclosure. I felt so much for this bear. It kept looking up at us then walking around a bit and looking up again. It wasn´t sure what to do with itself. To make matters worse, some tourists took it upon themselves to throw pieces of bread at it. It didn't want the bread.
Hope was not lost for the bear though. Behind the pit was a construction site. And a sign describing the new enclosure they were in the process of building. It will be huge and include parts of the river for swimming in.
Back over the other bridge. We sat at another park and openedup the cheese. It really smelt. Quite awful. It tasted good but the smell became a bit over powering by the end. And it seeped into our hands and I could smell it in my throat. We looked for the next fountain to wash our hands.
We returned to the giant chess game. We watched a game and a half. Sometimes Josh would explain moves to me and sort of let me know what was going on. Back to the hostel.
For dinner we found an upscale food court near the train station. We had Chinese chicken and noodle dishes. We made our way home.
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