Blogs from Berne, North-West, Switzerland, Europe - page 2

This morning I drove out into the countryside to visit a couple of places of historical interest. The first is Mürten (pronounced MOOR-ten) which is a famous for its still-standing medieval wall. It is a quaint town with period houses and old buildings, including a tall clock tower over the main gate (see photo). I wandered around town and particularly liked the walk up on the ramparts. I've had the chance to walk along several medieval walls, but this was the first time that the ramparts had a roof (see photos). After Mürten, I drove a little further out to Avenches which is famous for its Roman ruins. Actually, as these things go, the ruins at Avenches are pretty slim pickings. The arena is smallish, but at least you can tell what it is - or ... read more

Monday, 24th April 2017 Since there is no direct train service between Geneva and Interlaken, I decided to make a brief stopover at Bern, the capital city of Switzerland for a couple of hours. On my way to Bern, my train passed by the city of Lausanne where it is home to the Olympic Museum. Due to time constraints, I had to forgo the museum but I'm pretty sure that I would have the chance to be back and visit it. Intercity train travels within Switzerland is an absolutely amazing experience thanks to the stunning postcard perfect vistas that greeted me everywhere from where I was seated. This is akin to watching a live National Geographic documentary unfolding before my eyes. Snow-capped mountains, crystal clear waters and bright blue skies in spring weather - the view ... read more

This morning is the second morning in switzerland and I awoke to find that it had snowed last night. While it may be cold it is definily beautiful. Yesterday I ventured forth and spent the day wandering around the town admiring the old town district. It wasn't until I got hungry that I remembered that I no literally no German, so instead of ordering mystery food from one of the very expensive restraunts in old town I got some bread and yogurt from the nearby gas station and had my own little feast. Anyways I spent the rest of the night looking up important phrases like "Ich mochte" and "Ich bin nicht in der Lage, Deutsch zu sprechen, und ich fühle mich schlecht über sie" so now I am ready for the new day. Did I ... read more

We went to Bern, to arrange some personal errands in our embassy. After all the errands were done, we did not skip the chance to explore the city, visit the attractions and feel the vibe of the canton. We did not see the Bears this time, since it was winter but we enjoyed strolling in the old town and the hidden alleys and beautiful buildings.... read more

Hello from Bern! Andrew and I took it easy this morning, eating the bread, cheese, yogurt and fruit we bought last night at the grocery, then heading out about 0930. We stopped at a neighborhood we saw from the tram, then wandered til we found a cafe for coffee. Once again, we discovered that everything in Bern is really expensive, with a double espresso running $4.50 each. We were extra surprised that drinking the coffee at the cafe was $4.00 more than getting it to go...which we found out AFTER ordering and getting the bill. Lesson learned. The morning was very cool (a nice change) so we walked toward the center of town. We discovered a chess board on the walkway so stopped for a quick game. After Andrew beat me handily, we walked on to ... read more