Europe - Buzzing Bern
Our afternoon stop was the beautiful city of Bern, the capital of Switzerland. It’s quite small when compared to other capital cities and unlike any other city in Switzerland.
Founded in 1191 and built around the Aare River, Bern’s medieval architecture has been carefully preserved. And just like medieval times, we paraded along Kramgasse (the Main Street) under colourful flags fluttering from beautiful buildings, the centre dotted with traditional fountains. Doors to what would have been underground warehouses, today open to sophisticated bars and boutiques.
The city was abuzz with crowded streets and busy squares - locals enjoying their Saturday with a festival in full swing.
Bern is filled with fountains - 11 Renaissance fountains in the city centre are attributed Swiss sculptor Hans Gieng, dating back to the 16th century and feature polychrome sculptures on a pedestal. The famous Zytglogge dominates one end of Kramgasse - this clock tower dates back to the 12th century and formed part of the city walls. We arrived at 3pm in time to see the troupe of mechanical creatures performing a little show.
The Zähringen Fountain nearby is topped with the statue of a bear in full armour. The bear being the symbol of Bern. It is said that the founder of the city, Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen’s first kill was a bear. I prefer the more recent research which has determined the Celtic word Berna (cleft, ravine) gave the town its name.
In any event, no trip to Bern is complete without a stop at the bear pit. Since 2009, the Bernese bears have access to an animal-friendly park flanking the Aare River. We were all glued to the bushes wondering if there was a bear in there - finally we spotted two bears happily foraging for food.
Our short-guided walk included Gothic Berner Münster - the Cathedral of Bern built from the 15th century onwards - its magnificent spire was only completed in 1893, at 100m, making it the tallest cathedral in Switzerland. Close by is the Rosengarten, with great views over the city and river. Once a cemetery, it became a public park in 1913, with its very first roses planted a few years later. Popular with the locals, the blossoms a riot of colour when we were there.
So much to see in Bern, we passed the house where Albert Einstein lived for a few years, at the beginning of the 20th century. He lectured at the University of Bern, developed his famous Theory of Relativity there and published some of his most important papers.
Paul Klee, one of the most important artists of the 20th century was born near Bern in 1879. What a coincidence that on the day I was in Bern, our blog featured a post on Paul Klee! I have included a bookmark to that post at the bottom.
A few hours in Bern was only enough to whet our appetites for more, so once again this city remains on my bucket list! This 7 min video of a walking tour through the city gives you a taste of Switzerland's capital and includes some footage of a very happy Bernese bear.
Our tour through the European alps has been truly fabulous - a wonderful whirlwind visiting towns and cities in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Mighty mountains like the Matterhorn, alpine peaks covered with untouched snow, rivers and lakes, great food and a chance to chat with plenty of friendly locals.
It is not time to go home yet as we decided on a few days in Bucharest, the capital of Romania - a very different part of Europe, which I will share with you soon.
Anne Newman