Bern
– The Capital of Switzerland
Our last stop before our cruise begins in Basel is
Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Unlike
most capital cities, Bern is quite small with a population of only
130,000. It is one of the oldest cities
in Europe, with its origins going back to the 12th century. Much of its medieval architecture remains
today in its compact Alstadt (Old Town). As such it reminds you more of a large
provincial town rather than a hustling, bustling capital city. It is an easily walkable city with an
excellent tram and bus system.
Arriving by train from Lucerne, we knew we had to
take the #9Tram, but I could not find the email that said in what
direction. So we just took the first #9
that came, but unfortunately it was going in the wrong direction. When we reached the end of the line, Bill, in
his broken German talked to the engineer who said we should get back on the
tram and that it would eventually take us to our exit. There was a woman on board with a baby and
two young children who heard us asking the location of the Hotel Waldhorn and
she said it was at her stop so we should just follow her off the tram. As I’ve said earlier, people in Switzerland
are some of the friendliest, helpful people we have met.
After checking into our hotel, we left for our
walking tour of Basel. It was a fairly
easy, downhill walk to the Barengraben (Bear Pits) where we would begin our
walk. The only downside was that it was
rainy but we decided to go anyway. The
bear is very much the focal point of Bern, in fact, the word Bern means “bear”
in German. Everywhere in the city you
will see stuffed bears, wooden bears, bear cookies, bear doorknobs, and bear
flags.
Legend
has it in 1191 Duke Berthold the Fifth swore to name his newly founded town
after the first animal he slayed in the surrounding forest, which turned out to
be a bear. The town embraced this bear-centric world view and decided that if
they were going to be called bear, they should have some bears.
The
original bear pit, opened in 1513, was a big hit, with luminaries such as the
German Emperor, the King of Siam, Alexander Dumas, Einstein (it was a short
walk from his apartment), and even Lenin stopping by.
In
an age before animal rights, the bears were treated inhumanly and kept crowded
in the small pit, resulting in fights between the bears and the resulting
injuries. Fed a vegetarian diet, onlookers tossed bits of cheese to the well
fed animals. Things got slightly better
for the bears over the years, but the pit (redone over the years in concrete,
and later with some foliage added to make it look more natural) was still much
too small for the large animals. By the 2000s the bear pit, and the mangy,
bored bears eating hunks of cheese in it were becoming an embarrassment for the
wealthy and progressive Bern.
As
of 2009 the last two remaining bears were put down due to health problems and
the bear pit was closed for good, the first time in 496 years. Bern opened a new BärenPark or bear park, with
a much larger open-air habitat next to the river. The new bears of Bern now live in a 6000 meter
park along the banks of the River Aare. Currently there are three brown bears living
there. We saw two of them – both
sleeping – as we walked by.
The
bear pit is located at one end of the Nydeggbrucke (bridge) where you get a
wonderful view of the Aare River, Old Town and the original Lindt chocolate
factory. This bridge is the oldest
bridge in Bern, and until 1844, the only bridge to cross the river. After crossing the bridge we saw the Nydegg
Church, built in 1492.
Instead
of walking up the main pedestrian street in Old Town, we went to our left and
followed that road up to the Cathedral of St. Vincent (Munster). The church is the most impressive late-Gothic
building in the city and the largest and most important late medieval church in
Switzerland. Construction started in
1421 with work continuing for 180 years.
The steeple was finally completed 200 years later in 1893. From this highest church tower in Switzerland
you may admire the magnificent view over the city and of the snow-covered
mountains of the Bernese Oberland.
Unfortunately there is a lot of renovation taking place at the church
and the tower was not open.
Today
the inside of the church is very plain, with most of the interior decorations and paintings dismantled by the
Reformers. In the Tower is the largest
bell in Switzerland (10 ½ tons built in 1611).
It was named Susanne by a bell ringer after his sizeable
girlfriend. It took 8 men to ring this
bell. The bells are no longer rung by
hand after a drunken bell ringer was killed by the bell’s swinging clapper.
On the side of the
church that faces the river is a 14th century platform or terrace
that was built from all kids of recycled stones from older buildings. From this terrace you get a nice view of the
River.
Leaving the Cathedral,
we walked back to the main street (this street has several names beginning with
Spittalgasse at the Train Station, then Marktgasse, then Kramgasse, and finally
Gerechticketsgasse near the Nydegg Bridge).
A short block off the main street is the Rathaus (built in 1406-16) and
next to it the Christ Kirche. We took
this little side trip, but there was nothing spectacular about either building.
Returning to the main
street, we walked back down toward the Nydegg Bridge to see some of the
fountains we had missed. Bern has 11
historic fountains with most of them located on this main street of Old Town. The first fountain you come to from the
Nydegg Bridge is the Justice Fountain.
Built in 1543, this is an allegory of Justice, with worshipping
subjects, including the pope, at her feet.
Along this stretch of the street, a grate reveals a bit of the stream
that used to flow open down the middle of the peninsula on which Bern is
located and that provided people with a handy disposal system.
Continuing
our walk up the main street we came to several more fountains in the middle of
the street -- the Samson Fountain, a tribute to strength dating back to 1527
and the Zahringer Fountain. The
Zahringer Fountain is a monument to the city Founder, Berchtold von Zahringer
and was erected in 1535. It features the
Bern bear, the mascot of the city, and the Zahringer coat of arms.
Near
this fountain is Albert Einstein’s home.
He lived here from 1901-1909. In
1905, he wrote his “theory of relativity” while he was working at the Patent
Office. When he first came to Bern, he
had hoped to teach at the University, but his GPA and resume were deemed too
mediocre for university employment so he ended up working at the Patent
Office. He spent his free time hiking in the nearby mountains or reading,
drinking and discussing math and philosophy with a group of like-minded friends
known as the Olympia Academy. It was
during 1905 that he wrote five papers that touched on a variety of subjects –
how molecules move and how light can appear as either a wave of energy or a
beam of in tiny particles. Of course his
most famous was his theory of special relativity. In 1909 he was granted a teaching position in
Zurich and left Bern for good. In a
letter to FDR in 1939, he warned that scientists (including some from Germany)
could soon discover a way to release an enormous amount of energy based on his
principle that energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared (E=mc2).
People here like to say that the
principle behind the atomic bomb got its start in the small streets and pubs of
Bern.
We then came to perhaps
the most famous and photographed building in Bern – the Clock Tower or
Ztgloggeturn. From 1191to 1250, this was
the west gate of the town. The clock dates
back to 1530. Its chimes start pealing
at 4 minutes before every hour. The
happy jester comes to life, Father Time turns his hour-glass, the rooster crows
(in German “kee-kee-ree-kee”), and the golden man on top hammers the bell. Because of Daylight Savings Time, the clock
is an hour behind for half the year. The
clock will also determine the zodiac, today’s date, and the stage of the moon
using the black and gold orb. Under the
clock are the old regional measurements (Swiss foot, the bigger Bernese foot,
and the Elle, or “elbow,” which was the distance from the elbow to the
fingertip) and the official meter and double meter. It took Napoleon to bring consistency to
measurements in Europe when he replaced the many goofy fee and elbows of
medieval Europe with the metric system of today. Although you can take a tour up into the
tower, there is only one per day and that is at 2:30. We were about 2 hours too early so we went
instead in search of lunch.
In front of and across
from the Clock Tower is Kornhausplatz.
This plaza was once the ditch around the first city wall. After a fire in 1405, the ditch was filled in
to make this plaza. We walked to the far
end to see the Kidlifresserbre (Bernese German for Child Eater or Ogre
Fountain) which was built in 1544.
Several legends try to explain this grotesque sight. Some say it is a folkloric representation of
the Greek god Chronos eating his children, others say it is likeness of
Krampus, the beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought
to punish children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved, while others
theorize that it is just a carnival figure that was intended to scare children
off the former city walls.
Across from this statue
is the Café des Pyrenees, considered by some to be the nerve center of the
town. Many international journalists, visitors,
and expatriates come here to eat or drink.
We decided to eat here and were not disappointed. Bill had a ham and cheese sandwich, while I
enjoyed a bowl of white bean soup – very delicious as was the wine. And for Switzerland, the price was very
reasonable.
Our last stop on the
walking tour took us to the Prison Gate, which dates back to the 1200s. It was once part of the city walls. On the tower is a clock in which the hand of
the clock is actually a hand. There is
only one hand on this clock as at the time this clock was made an hour-hand
told time precisely enough. Just up from
the Prison Gate was the last fountain we saw – the Bagpiper Fountain. It shows a bagpiper on top of a column and
was erected in 1545.
We were now approaching
the Bern Train Station so we hopped on the #9 Tram to go back to our hotel and
rest a while before dinner. The desk
clerk at the hotel had recommended a Swiss restaurant – Le Mazot so we decided
to give it a try. It was located back
down in the Old Town, very near the Prison Gate. Their specialty is rosti – a typical Swiss
dish that the Bern area is famous for.
It is a potato dish that can be prepared many different ways. It is essentially hash-browned potatoes with
your choice of toppings – garlic and onion; mac and cheese, sausage or
mushrooms in a brown gravy. Your topping
is mixed in with the potatoes and baked in a cast-iron skillet. They had one called Rocky Mountain Rosti
(prepared with the mushroom sauce) that I had to try. It was very good and very filling –I could
only eat half of it. Bill opted for a
veal dish. As we left the restaurant
they were having a classical concert in a nearby square. We went to investigate, but after one more
song, the concert was over. It really
looked like a cool event – in addition to the music there was also a light
display.
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| Looking down on Old Town of Bern |
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| One of the Brown Bears in the Bear Pits |
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| Nydegg Bridge |
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| Looking from Nydegg Bridge to Nydegg Church |
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| Cathedral of St Vincent (Munster) |
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| Justice Fontain |
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| Samson Fountain |
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| Zahringer Fountain |
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| Clock Tower |
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| Ogre Fountain |
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| Prison Gate |
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| Bagpiper's Fountain |
