Bern, Bears and Tubing

Following a breakfast including croissants, cheese and coffee, the morning lecture introduced us to the capital city of Bern resplendent in history, heraldry and hills surrounding a peninsula that is home to 130,000 people. Once voted as Europe's most floral city, its ranks swell with the influx of tourists and parliamentarians who visit and work in this World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO.

Old Town Bern

Once again, we followed the duck to the train station at Interlaken West, this time, for the Intercity train trip at mid-morning. Large windows and comfortable seating allowed relaxed viewing of the countryside along Lake Thun. Bern is a shopping paradise. Alighting from the train and just across the way, the ambience of Old Town, where traffic is not permitted, greets you with a medieval street plan filled with shops of every kind.

Open Air Market

A pedestrian city 

First, however, is the guided tour of Bern's highlights. Not to be missed is the animated Clock Tower (Zytglogge) with its clockwork figures which have marked the hour since 1527--another testament to the Swiss love of precision and time. We joined the crowd around the tower at noon when the "show" is the longest.

The old part of Bern is filled with fantastic fountains, the most interesting of which (or creepy, depending on your viewpoint) is the "Child Eater" fountain. No one knows exactly what it represents, although the legend is that it marked the edge of the city and the Ogre at the top was to keep children from straying too far from home.

The Child Eater Fountain

We passed by the house Einstein lived in while he was (as we've all learned) a Swiss patent clerk.

Einstein Haus

the Bern Munster, a cathedral with the tallest spires in Switzerland,

And, because Bern is Switzerland's capital, the Parliament building or Bundeshaus, with its 26 fountains representing each of the Swiss cantons.

We grabbed lunch on our own at the Migros cafeteria with its free wifi, 

and then made the choice to skip the museums and go "Tubing." No swimsuit is required. Tubing is the Swiss term in Bern for shopping under the porticos lining the two main shopping streets in the western half of the city; Marktgasse and Spitalgasse. The porticos covering the walkways resemble long tubes as they stretch down the street and are filled with shoppers, vendors and outdoor cafes. There is no Walmart here, but if you can't find it, you probably don't need it anyway.

Bern is in the Swiss German part of the country, so brush up on your "Guten Morgan" and your "Danke" as we'll as English, French and even some sign language. There are bargains to be had; there are very expensive, haute couture brand name stores; there are very friendly people; and there are good times to be had tubing in Old Town, Bern. Attempting to speak the language brings you laughter, bargains and new found friendships on the spot. We had a delightful time covering lots of shops and lots of sights before returning to the Bahnhofplatz for our trip back to Interlaken.

Take a moment for the video tour and you'll see what we mean. A short rest and another wonderful dinner at the hotel left time to walk around Interlaken and do some holiday shopping for family and friends.