Enchantment of Eastern Europe

Another great night’s sleep although Gary has asked Therese for an extra pillow and thin blanket.

We were on the train at 10:08 headed for Bern. Contrary to stories we heard, everyone in our car was checked for our pass, our half fare card and our ID.

Taking the train is SO easy! I downloaded the SBB app and can easily look up schedules and routes. We bought a Berber Oberland pass and I have it saved in my wallet to easily show. The seats are comfortable and there is digital signage showing next stop and times. Plus watching the world go by is so relaxing!

We arrived in Bern at 10:50 and found out what platform Sharon and Dean would be on. We never would have guessed as we were standing at their platform that they would step off the train right in front of us!

We walked a short distance to a coffee kiosk to regroup and then followed Sharon’s google map to the beginning of Rick Steve’s’ Bern walking tour from his book.

Rick led us past several fountains, each with its own name and background.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland, so we walked past the Parliament building, made of the distinctive grey-green sandstone. It was market day, so every square had shops, flowers, meat, cheese, you name it!

We walked behind the parliament and found ourselves on the beautiful terrace overlooking the Aare River.

We walked over the Kirchenfeld Bridge, but decided not to explore the Einstein Museum. As we walked back over the bridge, the call of the pretty restaurant down by the dam was too strong, so we backtracked to the end of the bridge and walked down the path to the restaurant lounge perched over the dam.

Back to my buddy Rick’s tour, we peeked in the Kornhauskeller restaurant, which was once the vast city wine cellar. So pretty!

Next up was Bern’s famous clock tower, marking the first gate to the city around 1250. The clock itself dates back to 1530. We waited for the show just before the top of the hour, but were severely underwhelmed!

At this point we were hungry so we stepped into a restaurant and ordered a local beer and our first cheese fondue. Delicious and oh so filling!

We walked down the arcade on this beautiful street and found our way to the 15th century Bern Cathedral. It has a tower that is 330 feet tall and an impressive facade.

The inside is not too shabby either!

Rick directed us down Junkergasse, which is lined with fancy mansions looking out over the Aare. This is the mayor’s residence. There was a sign saying the building was open, but we were greeted at the door and told it was closed now and to come back tomorrow. (At least, I think that’s what she said)

We walked the Nydegg bridge to get a look at the Bern Bears. We only saw one and he (or she?) was very happily lazy.

At this point, we were walked out, so we caught bus #21 back to the train station and said our goodbyes.

We were very lucky to have good weather all day. A few clouds but not a drop of rain. We were on the train at 5pm to get back to Interlaken, which was absolutely teeming with people. We retired to our apartment to put my feet up and figure out what we’ll do tomorrow.

Fitbit says we walked 14,388 steps over 10.5 km and my legs believe it!