Sunshine for lucky JEllen is back 🌞
After breakfast we walked out the front door of our Hotel Bären am Bundesplatz right into the farmers market. Beautiful vegetables and flowers and locals doing their shopping.
Europe gets it. No additives no chemicals and the veggies and fruit look beautiful and taste scrumptious. We love the food!!
We started our city walk
The currents of this river are fast flowing. No messing around if you’re not an excellent swimmer. There are only 2 designated exit points. Respect this rivers flow!!!
Here’s the story. In the heart of Bern, Switzerland, is the Aare River, encircling the city’s UNESCO-protected Old Town. In the summertime, locals and visitors flock to the water to swim, paddleboard or even go for a boat ride. But this isn’t just any river. The Aare is also a commute route for locals to get to and from work. Instead of driving or riding the train, some Bern residents float with the current of the river as a means of transportation, and it has become a normal part of many people’s routine.
Within minutes he floated away…
Back up on the local elevator all included in our Bern pass
And a quick water fill up
Hey look a Gatto
Our first stop is the Bern Minster, whose foundation stone was laid in 1421, is not only the largest church in Switzerland, but also an impressive Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) of late Gothic architecture. For over 600 years, this architectural masterpiece has risen above the rooftops of Bern, its rich history and artistic design telling the story of the great eras of the past.
For 6 Swiss Francs they’ll let you store your backpack and climb 400 +/- steps to the very top…we’re in 💥
Head UP UP UP and round the skinny stairwell to the first stop
We made it and the views of the city of Bern are stunning
Time for our decent and nice that it’s one way up & another way down
Made it
Switzerland is known for its fountains and statues
Yes it is
The streets are buzzing as we near noon and the Zytglogge is a landmark medieval tower in Bern,
Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as a guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many redecorations and renovations it has undergone in its 800 years of existence, the Zytglogge is one of Bern’s most recognisable symbols and the oldest monument of the city, and with its 15th-century astronomical clock, a major tourist attraction.
Incredible
Bern, or Berne, is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the “federal city”. With a population of about 146,000 (as of 2024 ), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000.
With the acquisition of Vaud in 1536, Bern became the most powerful city-republic north of the Alps, and one of the leading Protestant cities in early modern Switzerland.
Bern is the seat of the City, Cantonal and Federal Parliaments, Governments and Public Administrations and thus plays a central role in the political life of Switzerland.
The bear has long served as symbol of Bern. Legend has it that, in 1191, Duke Berthold V of Zähringen vowed to choose as namesake the first animal his hunt met in the wood that was to be chopped down for his new city.
When Bern, Switzerland was founded, it was named by a group of hunters. They named the city for the first animal they came upon on their hunting expedition. It was a bear. Bern is the old Germanic word for Bear, and the bear became the symbol of the city.
The Bernesebears are at home in the BearPark in the middle of the city. The “Mutzen” live exclusively in the park on the slopes of the River Aare, with a view of the river and a protected place to swim in the summers heat.
Da Bears
Took the funicular back to the river
To get an up close feel of the fast moving River Aare
And to cool our poogies
A few more people, paddlers, and boats flew by….
We decided to do some more exploring, window shopping and a stop at the Blue Cat for a delicious lunch and watch the people go by
Or stop to hear the band in the market playing
Or a lil Yoga
Since Bern is the Bear we have to find the famous cookies that come in 21 flavors and also GF for every one’s enjoyment
Berner Mandelbärli AG the gourmet grocery shop is close by yippee
Heading back to finish walking the old town and the Saturday markets
Another statue
Up close…he’s eating a baby oh no!!
The name means, roughly, “children-gobbler fountain” , and it certainly does what it says on the tin: a huge figure, in bottle-green medieval leggings and belted scarlet tunic, perches on an ornate column, stuffing an infant into his mouth. Sticking out of the ogres bag are several more, presumably about to suffer similar fates. At the foot of the column, under a circle of carved bears, four peaceful geranium-ringed fountains spout into a hexagonal trough among the tourists, trolley buses and pavement catés of Bern’s busy Kornhausplatz. Theories behind this mysterious 16th-century landmark abound, among them the idea that it represents the jealous older brother of Bern’s 12th-century founder Berthold V. Very very creepy
As we thought there were a few children on our travels we’d eat, but mostly understand they really don’t want to vacation in Europe, they just want to go to the Holiday Inn with a really big pool.
Back to chill for awhile before we get to enjoy a special treat. The Bern Symphony is performing a free concert a few hundred feet from our hotel.
It’s a perfect end to another amazing day in Switzerland.
Tomorrow who knows, explore more of Bern, the rose gardens and the underground shops look so interesting
