.....anyway. We got there in our usual form of transport - the ever-so-reliable-yet-somewhat-expensive train and set off to explore what the "de facto capital" had to offer. This was our first venture to the German speaking parts of Switzerland so we had our trusty phrasebook at the ready for action. On our way to the hotel Roy discovered a hotdog stall. He can never pass up a hotdog, so he tried out his German. Luckily the lady spoke English because it's hard enough learning one language, let alone trying out another one. Our German was rather dodgy and my limited high school German only helped a little.
After a munch on his hotdog, we continued walking through the old cobbled streets of the beautiful old city. There were statues and fountains scattered everywhere so there was plenty to look at.
 |
| The baby-eating ogre has stood in the Kornhausplatz since around 1545. |
 |
| The baguette-eating tiffa has stood in the Kornhausplatz since around 2010. |
We also checked out the Einstein Museum so we could get our nerd-on and read about how Albert Einstein came up with his General Theory of Relativity while living in Berne. It was all a little over my head but Roy enjoyed seeing the exhibit.
We explored the museum until our heads were bursting with knowledge (well mine was bursting from straining to try and grasp the concept of all of that smart stuff) we wandered along the bank of the Aar which in the warmer months attracts thousands of tourists who enjoy taking a ride in it's powerful current. We then took a walk through the Zoological Garden which is where I got to see flamingoes in real life for the first time. We sat and admired these amazing, pink birds for ages whilst they nibbled around in the water. We were even lucky enough to be there during their feeding time.
After a lovely afternoon of wandering around and admiring the sites we headed back to our hotel room for a relax.
 |
| Our room was what I envisaged a Swiss hotel room to be like. Well designed with simple, yet functional furniture and fixtures. It was quite cool to be in the roof section of the hotel with a slopping ceiling. |
It wasn't a fantastic view but it was nice to see the city from a different perspective.
We walked along the main street of the old town and because it was Sunday, it was extremely quiet but nice to walk through the empty, cobbled streets to what is perhaps the most famous site of Berne. We (along with heaps of other tourists) stared the Zytglogge clock tower waiting for it to chime so we could watch the puppets and bells move.
For something so elaborately decorated and so famous, it didn't do anything spectacular when the minute-hand reached twelve. We also stared at the elaborately decorated church doors as we watched the church-goers enter for Sunday mass.
Around the back of the church we found a park with playground equipment and the usual giant chess set. There was even a great view of the river from above.
I didn't know too much about Albert Einstein (except that he's the poster child for smartness) but I found out that he lived in Berne for quite a few years. It was this city where he came up with most of his theories. Since we hadn't had enough of him with seeing the museum, we decided to check out his old apartment. It was probably one of the only things that was open on a Sunday (apart from a few cafés and restaurants).
 |
| The view out of Einstein's apartment window. |
We did some more wandering around the quiet city and looked for things to do. Nothing was open except for a shopping centre at the train station (surprising) which we wandered around for a while and then we decided to head home in the early afternoon. It's such a pity that cities close down on Sundays because the weekend is our only chance to go exploring. Oh well, it was still great to explore the beautiful, old architecture and the great, old cobbled streets.
No comments:
Post a Comment