Today I spent the afternoon in Bern, since I'd never been.
When I arrived, it was sunny and pretty warm, so I decided to take a tram to the Gurtenbahn, which would take me up to Gurten, the very top of the hill above Bern, which has (supposedly) beautiful views of Bern and the mountains nearby. Of course, I managed to get Wander confused with Wandern and got off of the tram about 6 stops too early and at the bottom of the hill. (But really, why are these two stops on the same tram line!!! Couldn't they have come up with something a little more different?) But I didn't totally realize this, so I just kept on walking uphill through residential Bern. It was very interesting and a good workout, with some fairly nice views over Bern. I even found the Thai Embassy!
Finally, after about an hour of walking uphill and downhill and every-which-way, I found myself at the tram stop that I should have gotten off at in the first place. By then, the weather had become cloudy and a little iffy, so I decided to save the look-out for a day with better weather and instead went back to the Bern city center.
The city center is very old and quaint. The shopping streets are covered arcades, so that rain isn't so inconvenient, and many shops are actually down from street level, sort of in the basement. I saw the Zytglogge ring for the hour, stumbled across Einstein's house, and walked through some sort of Lybian protest in front of the Congress buildings. Mostly I just wandered around, watching people and enjoying the pretty buildings.
Bern is charming and seems like a great place to explore. I think I will definitely be going back at some point. I'd love to tour Einstein's house and actually get up to the top of Gurten. There is also a Rose Garden, which, of course I have to visit! Next time...
(And I think it is so lovely that there can be a next time!)
When I arrived, it was sunny and pretty warm, so I decided to take a tram to the Gurtenbahn, which would take me up to Gurten, the very top of the hill above Bern, which has (supposedly) beautiful views of Bern and the mountains nearby. Of course, I managed to get Wander confused with Wandern and got off of the tram about 6 stops too early and at the bottom of the hill. (But really, why are these two stops on the same tram line!!! Couldn't they have come up with something a little more different?) But I didn't totally realize this, so I just kept on walking uphill through residential Bern. It was very interesting and a good workout, with some fairly nice views over Bern. I even found the Thai Embassy!
Finally, after about an hour of walking uphill and downhill and every-which-way, I found myself at the tram stop that I should have gotten off at in the first place. By then, the weather had become cloudy and a little iffy, so I decided to save the look-out for a day with better weather and instead went back to the Bern city center.
The city center is very old and quaint. The shopping streets are covered arcades, so that rain isn't so inconvenient, and many shops are actually down from street level, sort of in the basement. I saw the Zytglogge ring for the hour, stumbled across Einstein's house, and walked through some sort of Lybian protest in front of the Congress buildings. Mostly I just wandered around, watching people and enjoying the pretty buildings.
(And I think it is so lovely that there can be a next time!)
