27 December - Burrrrr from Bern!

Bern, Switzerland – 27 December 2011

Enjoying the views of Bern from the tower in the Bern Munster church!

Well, after our magic morning of a yummy breakfast and our 15 minute impressiveness that got us from our hotel room to the train platform with hotel checkout achieved and train tickets purchased and in hand, we enjoyed a nice leisurely train ride through the Swiss countryside.

In Bern, we did not have an incident in which we aimlessly walked and walked in the wrong direction.  Our hotel was a bit further away, but we found it promptly and really enjoyed our views of Bern in the process – we were psyched to set out and explore!  We were enchanted by the winding streets with matching Christmas decorations, the covered walkways, and the cobblestone.

First, we headed to the Bear Pits – Bern was supposedly named after the first animal hunted in the woods after a decree by the local leader.  The walk was very pretty and we really enjoyed the scenery along the way, but unfortunately the bears are “denning” right now and could not really be seen.  It seemed like a really neat city attraction though. From there we headed to the main cathedral – Bern Munster, which like Geneva, has a large tower that offers a panoramic view of the city.  At this point the fog was thinning and bits of blue sky were poking out for the first time all day, so we decided to give it a chance.  This tower was really neat too, and there were many windows along the way as we climbed several hundred steps to the top.  After the tower we could enter the church – which was especially stunning inside – the ceiling was beautifully painted.

We also walked to Bern’s iconic clock and paid a visit to the Christmas market – which was actually disappointing.  There were very few food stands and the goods sold were so incredibly overpriced they weren’t really worth a glance.  A pair of earrings that would probably be 10-20 euros or dollars elsewhere was 48-65 francs (50-70+ dollars) and was really quite ridiculous.   We also enjoyed lunch in a very yummy café – our first real meal we have had here and enjoyed Daniel enjoyed a spaghetti tossed with mushrooms, onions, bacon, and olive oil and I had an incredible dish of truffle ravioli!   Yum! 

After several hours of walking we eventually turned in to take a break and crash (we were REALLY cold!)  We worked on pictures, I took a nap!, and after a little over an hour we set back out to see Bern at night.  The fog had rolled in again and we found the city steadily disappearing behind a disorienting mist as we enjoyed the glow of the different street wide themed Christmas decorations.  We explored for a while and then grabbed drinks at a restaurant I had seen online before our trip – the Kornhaus Keller (Kornhaus Wine Cellar) and the pictures will have to speak for themselves – but the atmosphere was awesome!  Then, we headed out to look for a little more low key place for dinner and found a much more traditional Swiss/German place that had delicious cheese fondue and a veal w/mushroom and rostini (skillet fried potato slices) that were just really awesome.  We feel great after eating real meals today.  One other foodie find of the day?  A Swiss chocolate bar by Fray that has crème marzipan in the middle….AMAZING and the best marzipan chocolate I have ever had! 

Bern food and atmosphere got an A+ from us we really had a fun day and loved it here! 

For various reasons we have two albums for Bern - Click on the link below to see our photos!

Bern Part 1

Bern Part 2