An hour or so on the train from Basel SBB (Banhof SBB, Gare CFF or Swiss railway station) we would be in Bern, capital of Switzerland.
We got up relatively quickly for a Saturday morning and made like a baby and headed out.
Once we got to the station and realized we had skipped breakfast or coffee we ran into Starbucks and grabbed some caffeinated coffee, waffles and decaffeinated coffee to take away!
The train was quiet and everyone read or stuck their noses in their devices ...
A brief interlude occurred when Hayley needed some insect bite anti-itch cream applying.
Arrival Just like Abba!
First and foremost, some small man decided that he required an electronic upgrade to some of his Apple devices he had in tow.
Not to be outdone, Andi, refreshed her iPhone 8 case too.
From there it was google maps time for navigation across the city!
Bern is a small and compact city with beautiful cobblestone streets making it a paradise for those who like to explore towns on foot. That would be us and google maps. The Old Town is where we spent most of short time where all the main sights are to be found. Most of which is pedestrian-only.
Park and Play
We discovered an interesting park which distracted the kids for a few minutes.
It did look like we were raiding some poor wretches tombstone but no, it was just a box with chess or checkers pieces. Really!
Meanwhile, Andi helped with some yard work or should I say art work???
Market Day
Always fun to peruse the stalls and have a gander at the produce on display. Sadly, we were a little late in the day to obtain the full experience. Next time we must get out of bed a little earlier to see this. Also some guy in uniform who was not buying stuff at the market either.
Münsterplatz
Great to see these old structures of worship where so many have gone before and so many have given their lives to build.
Close up and personal. Dark tower which was under construction
View from a hill far far away!
Bare Essentials
Instead we did walk to Barenpark and meet the Berenstein bears!
Well, Finn at least. The others were hiding out from our purple minion. This is how we roll!
He did move once, but he was not the most energetic bear that have seen.
The 3 bears, Goldilocks was nowhere to be seen by the way, were all brown bears. Bears have lived in the city since as far back as the 1500s, and they can be seen in their riverside “home”, an open-air park with access to water, which was built in 2009. The three bears living here at the moment, are called Finn, Björk and Ursina. This was a short visit, given the state of our purple minion forced us to head up the hill from the park to the Rosengarten for lunch.
Not Einstein's house or garden
On the way up the hill we met a very quiet man on a bench who looked like he was deep in thought pondering the origin of the universe or something critical.
Rosengarten Lunch
The setting was up walking up a fairly steep path to the rose garden which rewarded the traveler with some spectacular views of the city.
The views behind us were very spectacular! A couple of shots across the city.
And a play park with cool structures to climb on.
We wandered around the town and viewed the enormous clock tower Zytglogge complete with many working figures which is fun to watch.
The cockerel made Hayley laugh.
Interestingly most of the sidewalks are undercover which is useful if the weather is not cooperating.
Of course, it is interesting what you discover on the sidewalks. Some obviously throw everything outside, which would usually mean he kitchen sink. The Swiss however, have to go one better...
Adrianos Cafe
We decided to take a quick caffeinated break for some, others a sugar top-up!
Someone was not too happy and resistant to being cheered up.
Bern Has Fountains
Bern is famous for being home to some very peculiar fountains, attributed to 16th-century artist Hans Gieng. Scattered around the Old Town, you will find more than 100 fountains, 11 of which are topped with these distinctive looking allegorical sculptures. I captured a few for your enjoyment below. They are strange I have to say, from Justice and Moses to an ogre with a bag of children ready to be eaten, you will easily spot them in the streets and squares of the town centre.
We did discover a large format - Magnum - wine bottle of one of our very favorite wines in a local wine store. Unfortunately, Swiss store hours are not as flexible as the US or UK and the store had closed at 5pm, as were most others.
I instead had to just use my eyes and imagination for the tasting!
Here are 9 things we would have done given more time:
Go inside and take in the views from the Bern Münster
view many more fountains
visit Eintein's house (he only spent 2 years there so we skipped)
see the art at the Kunstmuseum
learn about the Bundeshaus (Swiss Parliament)
see more art at Kunsthalle
see the history museum
sample beer at Altes Tramdepot (really cannot believe we missed this one)
discover the work of Paul Klee - who?
Dinner At Boo
We headed back to Basel for dinner as Hayley made a good suggestion for Thai food at restaurant Boo!
