Day 5: Bern! Part I
Yesterday I visited the capital of Switzerland with 8 other summer vollies and one spring vollie! We headed out of Our Chalet at 8:30am and trekked down the hill to the bus stop. We took the bus and then a train to Bern...about a 2 hour ride. I mostly just stared out the window haha

Bern is a city filled with beautiful old buildings with terracota roofs and other elegant buildings. We wandered out of the train station and walked towards a market. On every street there were flags hanging near every store of the Swiss flag, the Bern coat of arms (which is a bear) and the coat of arms of other areas of Switzerland.

On our way to the market, we saw the fountain of a bagpiper (recently redone for a lot of francs!) which was cool. The market was selling fresh fruit, vegetables and churros! The market was also home to  Some of the other vollies got some churros but I got some extra unwanted churros...delicious!

 We went the parliament building which is a cream colored building with a green roof outlined in gold. We went behind the parliament building to the view of the city and nearby area.  It was beautiful; a turquoise river runs nearby and through the city. Houses and buildings with terracotta roofs filled the landscape in the surrounding valley near the river and in the distance on the hills. And in the way back of this view were the distant snowy Alps.
Parliament Building:

Landscape from the Parliament building:

 

After taking many many pictures, the big group split up and I went with Putri, Jessica and Mariam to see all of the main historic highlights of Bern. We walked back near the train station where the electric cars constantly run through the center of the street. I almost got run over by a cable car and/or bus many times yesterday haha. We meandered through the city, back near the market past many stores.

Our next destination was the clock tower. It was the city's first western gate (1191-1256) and it was a thin yet tall structure. One side of the tower had a mural painted on it but after we passed through it and saw the other side I understood why the tower was a famous landmark of the city. Underneath the green spire, the clock is guided by a sun hand and a moon hand. Underneath this is a smaller combination of clocks.

Clock tower

A popular spot in Bern

The street turned to cobblestone once we passed through the clock tower and we were in an older part of Bern. On either side of the street were stores and cafes. Above the street level were apartments, flower boxes and the flags. Running on either side of the street were the buses and cable cars periodically. Through the center of the street were fountains. Each fountain represented a different people and concepts including justice, etc. Each fountain has a pool of water and a statue standing on top of a pillar in the center. Out of a spout of the pillar flowed fresh mountain water.

Me and the fountain of Justice

Halfway through the street we saw a crowd of tourists standing around one house....Einstein's House! It was where he came up with the theory of relativity. Unfortunately, his house is closed due to severe water damage until further notice :( I guess it means I will have to visit Bern another time!

 After, we walked over a bridge, took in the view of the turquoise river and went over to see the bears of Bern! The brown bears are kept in an outside fenced in area with lots of trees, grass and other leafy things to eat! They were so cute! And the river nearby was still breathtaking and this time I was close enough that I could jump into it. Then we started to head back towards the market in Bern to meet the other vollies for lunch!