Cows of the Hérens Breed

Bern Baby, Bern! – Day 2

Old Town Bern is very compact, well-planned, and perfect to explore on a self-guided walking tour. We indulged in a lazy morning of e-mail, sleeping in, and a sumptuous breakfast at the buffet in our hotel’s Brasserie Josephine.

We caught a #21 bus across the street from our hotel down to the train station around 10:00 a.m.

With our city map and excellent Bern Guide, we walked to a funicular (free to ride with our transit cards) to Aarstrasse by the riverside,

and crossed the Dalmazibrücke (bridge) to the other bank of the turquoise River Aare.

A friendly lady we passed on the sidewalk guided us up a pretty residential street called Weststrasse to the stunning château that houses the Bern Historical Museum / Einstein Museum.

Notice the bears on the gate?

 

Suddenly two hours had passed, as we had toured the galleries of Neolithic, Celtic, and Roman artifacts; the Egyptian gallery; a Persian sitting room; and the enormous Einstein exhibit.

The Einstein gallery is a permanent amalgamation of a two-year, two-storey temporary exhibit that documented his life on one floor, and his science on the other. You enter via a grand old stone staircase that has been enclosed in a vaulting hall of mirrors – the effect truly suggests the relativity of space and perception.

Until we went through the detailed exhibit, we never realized what a complicated and scandal-plagued personal life Einstein led. He was quite the ladies’ man, with a series of loves, wives, and mistresses.

 The gallery that describes his work in theoretical physics manages to explain these concepts very clearly.

We crossed the high Kirchenfeldbrücke back into the old town. 

We’d thought to use our “Dine Around” voucher for a late lunch in the elegant basement restaurant at the Kornhaus, but they were closed after 2:00 p.m., opening again only at 6:00 p.m.

We decided to try another suggested Dine Around restaurant, the nearby Volkshaus 1914 on Zeughausgasse.

They had also just closed their kitchen at 2:00 p.m., but the charming staff gallantly went above and beyond to get us served.

Suzanne had a very nice Hasler Chasselas to start, while I relaxed with a refreshing beer that hit the spot after our hot day of walking.

We both ordered a sensational asparagus salad with quinoa and deep-fried breaded tomme.

To celebrate a wonderful trip to Switzerland, I actually ordered a dessert on one of my non-dessert days – three scoops of sorbet.

Suzanne had a delicious baked fruit pudding with blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, smothered in an amazing hot almond sauce.

We walked a few blocks of the Old Town to the Kunstmuseum Bern (Museum of Fine Arts),

where we saw works by Paul Klee (one of Suzanne’s favourite artists,

who grew up in Bern), Picasso, Munch, Manet, and many other interesting artists.

We also stopped at a bakery to buy three more of the little Berner Mandelbärli almond cookies that are shaped like bears. There had been two Berner Mandelbärli cookies in the package of information that Livia Schönenberger from Bern Tourism had given us,

and it had taken only one bite to know that these wee bruins are fabulous.

We caught a #21 bus at the train station back to our hotel by 5:00 p.m. Both pooped, we decided to enjoy our last evening in Switzerland munching our yummy bear-shaped biscuits while overlooking the hotel’s spectacular view of Bern. With a half-litre of Pinot Noir from a Coöp store, we toasted a wonderful visit to this fabulous country. 

The next morning, with a pang of sadness at having to leave, we would catch the train to the Zurich Airport for our long flight home.

If you'd like to learn more about Switzerland's excellent rail service, please have a look at our article that was originally published in the Vancouver Sun.