The Trip That Keeps Growing: Bern – The Capital of Switzerland

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 12^th 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 14^th 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.