Ok so it’s not spelt the same as the words to the song “burn baby burn, disco inferno”, but it still has the same effect on me. Every time I hear or say the word I have to sing the jingle in my head a few times (or aloud, depending who is around)!
Last Friday Hubby and I eventually got our demi tariff (half price) cards. This allows you to travel by train to anywhere in Switzerland for half price. So to celebrate and because it was also a long weekend here last weekend we decided to take a little trip to Bern.
Bern is the capital of Switzerland so we thought it would be a good place visit. We left on Saturday morning and after stocking up on croissants and coffee we jumped on a train to Bern. We packed lightly and only had a rucksack and my big handbag to lug around with us. The train was double decker so we headed for the top deck and enjoyed beautiful views of the lake and countryside as we made our way. The trip only takes around 1h 45mins which is not too bad.
When we arrived we went to the information centre and got a map and started our explorations!
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Map in hand and ready to go
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| Packed lightly - amazing! |
Bern is similar but at the same time different to Genève, a main difference being that they speak German. Bern also has an old town which is quaint and quirky with many shops and cafés along the sidewalks. Some of the stores are actually underground and you enter through a trapdoor on the side of the road. Many of the apartments had lovely summer flowers on their balconies and windows which added to the beauty of the area.
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| Little cafés are popular |
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| Doors that lead to underground shops - they were closed on Sunday |
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| Beautiful flowers add colour to the buildings |
Some of the interesting things we saw included the clock tower, which had figurines that rotated and moved just before the hour and an iron figure of a man with a hammer hitting the bell on the hour. There were many fountains and statues that lined the streets. We saw Einstein House which was an apartment rented by Albert Einstein from 1903 to 1905, which now shows a video of him and has a café outside.
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The Clock Tower
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| Einstein House |
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul was absolutely beautiful and we were lucky to arrive as the bell was ringing. What an awesome sound and site!
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| In front of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul |
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| Looking up at the front of the church |
We then headed across the Aare River and walked up a steep path to the Rose Garden (http://www.berninfo.com/en/page.cfm/Bernerleben/Sightseeing/Rosengarten). Although I was puffing and panting on the way up it was definitely worth it as the view of the city was amazing. We walked around the Rose Garden and then had lunch at the Rose Garden Restaurant. Hubby selected a chicken sandwich and chips and I selected the cold meat antipasti. Both were very tasty but we both loved the antipasti selection of meats, soft goats cheese, artichoke and pepper served with lovely fresh bread.
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The Aare River
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| The amazing view |
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| The Rose Garden |
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| Enjoying lunch |
Feeling thoroughly satisfied we started the steep decent and headed for the famous Bear Park (http://www.baerenpark-bern.ch/index.php?id=info&L=0). According to the Lonely Planet Western Europe guide, Bern was founded in 1191 by Berchtold V and named after his first hunting victim, a bear! The bear still remains as an emblem on their flag and they still have the Bear Park which, as the name suggests, is home to a few bears. We were lucky to see three of the bears in a playful mood, swimming and play wrestling (but I have to admit that I would still prefer that they were not in an enclosure). Anyway they seemed happy enough and liked the attention from the large group of viewing public.
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| The Bears having fun swimming |
By this time we were feeling tired and our feet were aching so we decided to head back to the hotel, which was on the other side of town. On the way there we passed an area where they were filming an historical movie, which was interesting to see.
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| Filming the historic movie |
After a weary walk we were happy to find the hotel. We stayed at Hotel La Pergola, which is about a 15 minute walk from the train station (http://www.hotel-lapergola.ch/en.html). The reception staff were friendly and the room was very small but it had a bed and bathroom which is all we really needed for the night. We flopped down on the bed and had a well deserved rest until dinner time.
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| Hotel La Pergola |
We arrived and decided to site outside on the veranda which has lovely views over the Aare River. I ordered the mushroom pasta and Hubby ordered the veal schnitzel. I thought both were presented well although there were way too many chips served with the schnitzel. Although the pasta looked great I was disappointed when I first took a bite as it seemed they had forgotten seasoning. After adding some salt the taste improved a lot and it turned out to be a perfectly decent pasta, although definitely not the best I have had. Hubby’s veal was tender and was served with a lovely cranberry compote but was also nothing to rave about. We were seated close to the outdoor area where a chef prepares all the grilled meats and after seeing the lovely food that he made we both agreed that we should have rather tried a grilled option – oh well, next time!
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My pasta
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| Hubby's veal schnitzel |
On Sunday morning we had a lovely Swiss style breakfast at the hotel. They served us fresh coffee, although we could have chosen tea or chocolate milk and there were also juices available. There was a selection of cereals, fruit and yoghurt as well breads with variety of spreads, meats, cheeses and boiled eggs. And last but not least, a selection of pastries.
The next day we headed off to do the remainder of the tourist attractions. We started at the parliament buildings and then wandered to the Bern Cathedral. This too was a breathtaking church with amazing architecture and detail. We went inside and the beauty continued. The stained glass windows are amazing as well as the detailed ceilings and sculpture.
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| The Bern Cathedral |
We then made our way back through the streets of old town and went to the Museum of Fine Arts. This was the only place that had an entry fee but there was a big selection of art and well worth the CHF 7 each. We most enjoyed seeing works by famous artists including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.
We headed back to the train station and made out way home. All in all we had a lovely weekend and it was a good start to our explorations of the rest of Switzerland!
