Bern,
Switzerland
11/28/02 - 12/01/02
We hopped on a train the afternoon of the 28th and rode for 6 hours till we reached Bern and Nick's old friend from high school, Andy. Andy and his roommate, Ollie (sorry-we know that's not spelled right), were kind enough to let us stay at their apartment and to show us the town. Thanks again for the hospitality!!
The photos below are of Old Town Bern. It has a wonderful outdoor pedestrian arcade lined with a variety of stores-we spotted a McDonalds and Starbucks. You can even find people playing games like chess! (photo # 3) As the capitol of Switzerland, Bern is home to the Capitol Building (photos 4-6); we even spotted one of the 7 Swiss ministers walking down the street! Already decorated for Christmas, this area is lovely at night.
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These are photos of the exterior of Münster Church. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go inside because it was closed at the time of our visit. Check out the tympanum in the 2nd and 3rd photos: it has a wonderfully vivid depiction of heaven and hell.
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The beautiful blue-green water that you see is the River Aare. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the river along a path that takes you through some beautiful foliage. We ended up across the river from a zoo, where there were some massive animals that looked like buffalo on steroids, but we're still not sure what they were. The sun hitting the trees and water was absolutely beautiful.
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After a half-hour hike and many, many stairs, you end up atop Gurten Mountain, where there is a large wooden tower that offers beautiful views of the town.
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Hanging out at the apartment...yup, we roasted marshallows over the candles. Mmm... Andy was kind enough to cook for us!
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On the road again...back on the train!
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