In Beautiful Bern!

This morning we traveled from Lausanne to Bern, where we will stay until Sunday morning. With less than an hour train ride, we arrived in no time! We got in around 11:20, but our Airbnb host wasn't able to meet us until 1, so we had an early (and long) lunch to pass the time. Once 1 rolled around, we were able to check in. Unfortunately I'm coming down with a cold and was feeling yucky, so instead of going out right away, we rested/took a nap until 2:30.

View from the train

Once we made it out the door, we went straight to the Bear Pit! It's a small bear park near the downtown area where you can watch the bears do their thing. A fun fact is that bears are very symbolic in the city of Bern, and they have been a part of Bern's history as early as the 1500s. Kinda cool if you ask us! What's not to love about bears?

But once we got there, it said it was closed for construction and the bears have been temporarily moved until September. Nooooo! But luckily, we were able to walk around part of their enclosures!

Adam hugging a "bear". I will only hug a real one

Since there were no bears at the bear pit, we decided to walk around the downtown area, which is very cute! Lots of cobblestone roads, boutiques/cafes, it's hilly, and it's surrounded by a beautiful river that people were dipping their toes in. Bern is definitely up there with one of the most beautiful cities we've seen by far!

Parliament building

Another interesting thing about Bern is that it has 11 beautifully decorated fountains (dating from the 16th century) scattered around the Old Down (or downtown) neighborhood. They're all very beautiful, but the most popular one, Kindlifresserbrunnenis, actually pretty frightening, as it is an ogre eating small children.

Justice

Kindlifresserbrunneis (Ogre Fountain)

Samson

Banneret

Moses

We also popped into the Cathedral of Bern, just to see what it was about. It's actually under construction, so there was a lot we couldn't see, but the parts that we did see were very pretty! Additionally, this church also has a 300+ step tower you can climb up, but seeing as how we just did that in Lausanne, we passed.

I can never get over stained-glass windows!

We then continued to wander around the city center for a bit, just to take it all in. We also did some window shopping, stopped for a mid-afternoon drink at a cafe, and did more walking. Around 6:30 we were feeling pretty hungry, so we opted for an earlier dinner. We went to a traditional Swiss restaurant and had Rösti, which is basically like hash browns. I had a veggie and cream one, while Adam had a sausage and caramelized onions one. Both were very good and comforting!

Waiting for our bus

After dinner, we pretty much came straight back to our Airbnb place. I'm still feeling pretty yucky and tired, so I'm hoping an early night and some Swiss chocolate will help me feel better for our full-day tomorrow!