Berne - Friday 21st
Today we headed off to Berne (Mark's hometown) from our base at Mark & Franziska's house which is in a small village just about 30 minutes outside of Zurich. One bus, two trains and an hour or so later and we are in Berne.
Berne is the capital of Switzerland and is located on the Rive Aare, and as you would expect it is where the National Parliament is situated. For the capital of a country it is a small city, with more of a village feel from what we saw and visited. Beautiful views of the mountains and river on which the city is situated. As with all of this holiday most of our sights are quick and run, and this is OK, as we will then decide the cities and countries that we want to visit for an extended period in the future.
Berne also means bear, which is the national emblem of Berne. And yes they do have brown bears there on show, and today at least the conditions are much better than the bear pit that they were kept in.
The National Parliament, look at the name on the building, Curia Confoederationis Helveticae & read the comments at the end of the post.
After looking over the city's historic sites and ABC (another bloody church, which was very good) we went to the old tramshed for lunch - now a restaurant. Apparently, the meal we had does not have an English equivalent name, suffice to say, to me it is a macaroni, bacon & other meats and tastes bloody fantastic.
Did you know that although Albert Einstein was born in Germany, he was a Swiss citizen? Yes, he renounced his German statehood, was stateless for five years and applied for Swiss citizenship which was granted.
His desk with early school results which were not all that fantastic
The apartment is located in an original part of Berne right in the city centre and the street is now a pedestrian walkway. This is like being there being part of history - original buildings that have been maintained.
The living room in Einstein's apartment
Time to now head back to the station and the leisurely train ride back to Zurich and then Mark's house.
Lucerne - Saturday 22nd
Another short train ride from Zurich to Lucerne. Arriving in Lucerne on a brisk clear morning in the city although the mountain ranges were shrouded in mist and fog, so we had to take the locals word that they did exist. We met up with Mario a local pal of Mark's, to show us around the city.
First site was the famous wooden pedestrian bridge which was almost burnt down when a boat caught fire and was either moored or was passing under it. The Kappelbruecke or Chapel Bridge in English was built in 1333, yes 1333. The fire was in 1992 and the bridge was rebuilt faithful to the original design. Many of the paintings which are found under the roof were badly damaged, some were able to be rehung many others were unrecognisable. More on the bridge with a fascinating history
Zurich - Sunday 23rd
Yes Mark saved his local city for last. Oh and each time we passed the IBM building on the train he would point it out.
Started off with brunch, at a local nightspot - well at night anyway. The Alpenhaus (Mark will correct me if I got this wrong). On Sunday's it is a great brunch spot, and they have activities for your kids, so this encourages families. Great spot, great breakfast, so we really loaded up as one does at a brunch and Gilkesy is paying, yes I actually paid for this one.
Time to go and explore Zurich. How beautiful is this city . Is every city in Switzerland so small? Great if it is, very friendly and easy to get about. So we hit the CBD and had gentle stroll down the cobblestone streets to the lakes edge. Booked a tour and chose the shorter trip on the lake. What can I say fantastic once again. Then a great stroll back thru another part of town to the train station
Yes, it was cold out on the lake
What a beautiful view out on the lake, so many photos I did take
When I get a chance I need to add to our days in Berne, Lucerne & Zurich with Mark and his lovely wife
Why CH?
Confederation Helvetia. Which we know as Switzerland. It is a "confederation" of parcels from Germany, France and Italy, created to be a perpetually neutral state [taken from Wikipedia - with a grain of salt]. Also another reference on Wikipedia ".... it comes from Confederation Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation), the Latin name for the country"
The apartment is located in an original part of Berne right in the city centre and the street is now a pedestrian walkway. This is like being there being part of history - original buildings that have been maintained.
The living room in Einstein's apartment
Time to now head back to the station and the leisurely train ride back to Zurich and then Mark's house.
Lucerne - Saturday 22nd
Another short train ride from Zurich to Lucerne. Arriving in Lucerne on a brisk clear morning in the city although the mountain ranges were shrouded in mist and fog, so we had to take the locals word that they did exist. We met up with Mario a local pal of Mark's, to show us around the city.
First site was the famous wooden pedestrian bridge which was almost burnt down when a boat caught fire and was either moored or was passing under it. The Kappelbruecke or Chapel Bridge in English was built in 1333, yes 1333. The fire was in 1992 and the bridge was rebuilt faithful to the original design. Many of the paintings which are found under the roof were badly damaged, some were able to be rehung many others were unrecognisable. More on the bridge with a fascinating history
Zurich - Sunday 23rd
Yes Mark saved his local city for last. Oh and each time we passed the IBM building on the train he would point it out.
Started off with brunch, at a local nightspot - well at night anyway. The Alpenhaus (Mark will correct me if I got this wrong). On Sunday's it is a great brunch spot, and they have activities for your kids, so this encourages families. Great spot, great breakfast, so we really loaded up as one does at a brunch and Gilkesy is paying, yes I actually paid for this one.
Time to go and explore Zurich. How beautiful is this city . Is every city in Switzerland so small? Great if it is, very friendly and easy to get about. So we hit the CBD and had gentle stroll down the cobblestone streets to the lakes edge. Booked a tour and chose the shorter trip on the lake. What can I say fantastic once again. Then a great stroll back thru another part of town to the train station
Yes, it was cold out on the lake
What a beautiful view out on the lake, so many photos I did take
When I get a chance I need to add to our days in Berne, Lucerne & Zurich with Mark and his lovely wife
Why CH?
Confederation Helvetia. Which we know as Switzerland. It is a "confederation" of parcels from Germany, France and Italy, created to be a perpetually neutral state [taken from Wikipedia - with a grain of salt]. Also another reference on Wikipedia ".... it comes from Confederation Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation), the Latin name for the country"
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