Many people believe the capital of Switzerland is Zurich or Geneva. Actually, the capital is Bern which was also the destination of one of our recent field trips. We concentrated on exploring the old town area and discovered many fountains. (Did you know that the water from a Swiss fountain's spigot is potable? I have often refilled my water bottle from a fountain here - filling from the spigot not scooping from below. Many times, there will be a spigot close to the ground for filling a dog dish.)
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| fountain top |
Each one of the fountains has an open grate like this on either side. You can see and hear the water rushing under the street. Obviously, you could also fall easily. You wouldn't drown, but could seriously hurt yourself. Would you ever see that in the US? Absolutely not!
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| flag on top represents the of Canton Bern |
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A fountain with Moses on top stood outside the cathedral. An early translation of Exodus says when Moses returned with the commandments his face was horned. In reality, it is just an unfortunate translation of "glorified". This is one of many instances around the religious and art worlds where Moses is seen with horns.
In the "old town" sections of cities and towns, there is often signage that protrude from the buildings. Patrons could easily find their destination when looking down the street. I always enjoy these advertisements and feel compelled to snap some pictures.
One of the main landmarks in Bern is the Zytglogge or clock tower.
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| I like this side, but it's not the highlight. |
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| after walking through, we found the main attraction |
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| astronomical workings and moving figures |
A tour guide once told Tom that the cellars were originally used to store wine paid as tribute by the Dukes of Burgundy who lost a battle in 1476. Today those underground cellars are home to shops.
For those of you who might want to try your hand at German, please tell me what time it is! These are two pictures of the clock in the restaurant where we had lunch. Send me your answers, but no checking google translate!
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| sorry about that reflection |
The symbol of
Bern is a bear hence this Bärengraben built to house them. We thought the bears were hiding or hibernating, but have since learned that the bears are kept elsewhere now - but at least Bern still has bears.
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| we saw one bear! |
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best part of the Münster - colorful figures above the entrance
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Münster St Vinzenz
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Next to cathedrals, there is often an open area perfect for markets - just like this one. We also saw men playing boules and a chess board waiting for players.
As Switzerland's capital, Bern is home to the Swiss National Bank and the government headquarters.
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| Swiss National Bank |
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| government headquarters - rear |
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| chess behind the headquarters |
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| seals of the cantons |
The seat of government (also known as Federal Palace) is a good place for a demonstration, right?
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| "V for Vendetta" mask on far left |
Bern is primarily German, but since this is a multilingual country, some of the demonstrators were from the French region. (solidarity among all workers)
Walking around, we always see interesting and sometimes amusing sights. I'll leave you with a distant and close up view of the Rathaus (city hall) in Bern.
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| she doesn't really like us! |
This statue stands to the right of the clock from the photographer's vantage point.
We had a nice day out in Bern and we will definitely be back because that's where we have to go to get our Russian visas. The next time will probably be a shorter stay, but Bern is definitely worth a look.
