Another morning begun in full darkness! We left our little place in Mallorca and set off for the airport. We arrived at the Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Euro Airport not well rested, but in one piece. The airport sits on the border of three countries, it's technically in France, so we had to follow signs for the Switzerland side exit to find our bus. This is my first time in Switzerland and the first impressions were extremely positive.
No spoilers, but Switzerland has the best transit I've ever used. The bus from the airport to Basel central is wildly convenient, the transit app is fantastic, the trains are fast and efficient and on time. By noon, we'd been comfortably whisked off to Bern.
Bern might just be one of my favoritest cities. I thought it would be worth spending half a day exploring, and it definitely is, but I also just kind of wanted to stay. I think it would make for an excellent home base for visiting lots of Swiss towns. The old town is very compact, imminently walkable, with laid back vibes. We stayed in a cozy little hostel that is one of my favorite we've stayed at.
The historic center of Bern is far more uniform than most old cities; in 1405 over 600 of the wooden structures burned down. The surviving residents opted to rebuild in stone rather than than wood to reduce the danger of another fire. So old Bern is basically entirely grayish sandstone with red tile roofs.
There are arcades for pedestrians when the weather is bad, and many of the old street cellars have been converted into restaurants and shops.
The thing that made me really fall in love with Switzerland, and Bern more specifically, is the water, water everywhere, every drop to drink! There are fountains all over Bern, serving up cold, clean drinking water!
Our first real activity in Bern was visiting the Bern Minster! This Swiss Reformed Cathedral boasts the tallest steeple in Switzerland and a gorgeously gothic facade.
The church is free to enter, and it's reformation history shows in the restraint of it's interior.
It is elegant and understated, no icons or chapels to different saints that one finds in Catholic cathedrals. Even the windows, rather than depicting images from biblical stories, seem to depict crests of local nobles and guilds.
Except this window--which is the best one I've ever seen--featuring a skeleton (death?) in every single pane. It sure makes Death look like a pretty fun dude.
We spent a few bucks to climb Switzerland's tallest steeple, the view are terrific! One of the favorite aspects is that some of the "gargoyles" weren't monsters, but figures who represented the architects and craftsmen who helped build the cathedral. And we got to see them up close and personal!
There are bears on every flag and crest in Bern. Traditionally the name Bern and the word bear were thought to be related, but that's probably not the real origin. Nevertheless, bears are a fully integrated part of the city's identity and has been for centuries.
Bern's other big landmark is the beautiful Zytglogge.
Zytglogge literally translates to "time bell", it is a fabulous big clock right in the middle of town. If you visit at the top of the hour you can listen to the chiming and see the various mechanical elements do their thing, but first and foremost you'll see the other visitors who are there to do the same.
The rooster flaps it's wings and crows, the bears chase each other very slowly around. It's not very exciting, but I believe the clockwork has been doing this song and dance is roughly 1530, so I'll forgive it for not having the most bombastic production.
Regardless, the clocktower is beautiful and the astronomical clock is very nifty.
I was charmed by the not Lego brick set, but not charmed enough to spend 100 francs on it.
The Swiss franc is the currency of Switzerland, surrounded on all sides by the EU but they are too neutral to join! Besides, the Swiss franc is one of the worlds strongest currencies. I don't think the Swiss will be keen to give it up any time soon.
Switzerland doesn't really have a capital city per se, but Bern is sort of the capital of the Canton of Bern and sort of de facto capital of Switzerland. The Swiss government is kind of an unusual one, but very interesting! It's roots start in the middle ages when a few Cantons started banding together with communal assemblies, with an official Federal Charter created in 1291. That makes Switzerland one of the oldest, longest running democracies in the world.
I think I've mentioned how much I appreciated the ready access to cold water, but I should also mention that the fountains are all beautifully decorative too! I loved collecting them, and I've looked up all their names! First there's the Moses (appropriated located on the Minsterplatz).
And Schutzenbrunnen (the marksman):
Kindlifresserbrunnen (The Ogre Fountain):
Lady Justice, the marksman again, Zahringerbrunnen (the bear), and a closer look at the ogre:
And Pfeifferbrunnen, the bagpiper!
There are several more fountains, now I feel like I need to go back and collect them. Gotta catch 'em all! We nipped inside the Kirk of St. Peter and St. Paul for a quick look:
And then we headed downhill to Marzili to participate in Bern's best summer pastime!
Marzili is a free public park/beach/pool right on the river Aare. At 4PM on a Thursday there were easily a thousand people sun-bathing and swimming. There is a well trafficked paved footpath along the river to make the best activity easier: river floating!
At Marzili, there is a small river diversion that makes exiting your river float easy peasy. We got some pointers from a local: keep your feet up, stay near the middle of the river, where to get in and out easiest...and then we were off!
I probably could've done this a hundred times, it's just the most fun! I am very much looking forward to going back to Bern some summer and spending a whole day on the river.
A hostel-cooked dinner and an evening walk were the exact right way to wrap up our day in Bern! Everything was even more picturesque as the sun went down and all the monuments got lit up.
It was only a brief stopover, but even with just one day to see it I gotta say I am really feeling the Bern.
