In the morning, we commenced with the normal routine. Our plan for the day is to travel to Bern and spend the day there, then try to catch a night train to Hamburg, Germany.
At Bern, we stored our luggage, booked our sleeper cabin for Hamburg, then rented a couple bikes. The Bern city center is very compact and is surrounded by the river Aare on three sides. The center is mostly comprised of 15th century buildings with arcades. It is very charming!
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We rode around for a while, then had lunch in Englische Anlagen (park next to the river). We laid out on a bed of rocks and were looking up at a waterfall and the Münster (cathedral). Yesterday at lunch, I was looking out at snow-capped peaks and today I am looking at a waterfall and charming row houses. I was thinking I should have taken a picture of where I ate lunch every day and send it to my coworkers. It is probably good that I didn’t. I’m sure they hate me enough as it is.
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After lunch, we explored a park near the Münster, where two guys were playing table tennis outside. Then, we visited the Ogre Fountain, which depicts an ogre feasting on a meal of small children. I love it!
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Next, we made our way to Marzillibad, where the locals go to swim and sunbath. The Marzillibad stretches along the banks of the swift Aare River. At various points along the stretch are stairways that lead down to the water. The locals will jump into the river upstream and swim to one of the stairways downstream. It looks like you would have to be a pretty strong swimmer to deal with the current.
Darcy and I laid out in the grass. She was in the sun and I was in the shade. She fell asleep on her back and got fried! We almost took pictures of her lines in the front, but it would be a little too risqué.
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After lying in the sun, we were ready to spend some time indoors. We went to the Kunstmuseum (Museum of Fine Arts). They have a strange mix of classic and modern art. We started with the modern and ended with the Old Masters. We had to rush through the end as they were closing. I wish we had started at the Old Masters, since I much prefer them to modern art.
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We had dinner at an outdoor table of a decent restaurant. It seems like everyone in Europe eats outside when it is nice out. I had a bratwurst meal and the sausage was so flavorful. Not like the bratwurst you get at a baseball game in the States.
The last thing we did in Bern was walk down Marktgasse, the main shopping street. Of course, there was an H&M (I will do a final tally when the trip is over). But, there were also many cool fountains on the stretch and an intersection with a crazy number of overhead lines to support the trams and buses.
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We boarded a train for Basil, where we had an hour layover, then boarded our night train for Hamburg. We were in a sleeper compartment that could hold six, but luckily, we were the only ones in it.
Click here to see all our Bern photos.
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