Now that we're ready to leave this place I decided to consult my travel guide to see what it says (thanks Joey and Carly!)...apparently Leukerbad is Europe's highest spa village at 4,628 feet elevation. According to Fodor's- travelers have been coming here for "centuries" to enjoy the curative waters and breathe the cleansing mountain air (as long as a smoker is not walking ahead of you!). It was also a famous destination for arthritis relief treatment centers. Calcium sulfite hot springs flow underneath the entire village filling stone troughs with warm vapor (this is true), circulating to private pools and keeping thoroughfares free of snow (I was wondering as I didn't see a plow the entire time!).
We walked back up to Alpentherme (hot springs) and had a coffee in the café next to the spa. We grabbed our luggage and made it just in time for the 11:30 bus...so first the bus, then the train, then a second train and one more bus before eventually making it to Berne...I am tired just thinking about it all!
I occupied myself writing my blog :)
We arrived back to Yetta's around 2 pm and immediately raided the fridge...we still had lasagna! Popped that in the oven for a quick lunch and Yetta, Brian and I left Patrick behind to work while we explored Berne by foot.
Yetta walked us past the university (see below) where we saw cloudy but picturesque views of the Old Town with the mountains behind...their peaks covered up by low-lying clouds.
We took an elevator 4 floors below to cut through the bustling train station. When we emerged we found ourselves in a farmers market where old men were playing life size chess and Mühle...Yetta says this game is usually on the opposite side of chess boards. She never even noticed these until we pointed them out and then we started seeing them everywhere! There were large benches which actually were huge toy chests for the pieces.
We walked to the Bundeshaus (Houses of Parliment) which Yetta explained has water fountains in the likeness of the Bellagio in the summer except they are open and children can run through them...it was below 0 so the fountains were unfortunately not in operation. Close by was 'Credit Suisse' which Yetta highly recommended for opening traditional numeric Swiss bank counts...hmmm...
Our first stop was to Nespresso so Yetta could stock up on coffee for her fancy coffee maker. It was quite the operation. The people who worked there were wearing suits! They also sell chocolate which they pair with particular coffees. Brian got in trouble for taking pictures, but he had already gotten the shots he wanted of course :)
We walked over a bridge which had beautiful views of the Old Town and rushing water below. The glaciers haven't started melting yet so the water was low right now but in the spring they turn into fast moving rapids. We walked down a cobble stone path to a glass front restaurant below the bridge...this reminded me of the art museum area. We walked along the river front past runners and polizei doing something in the water...? Brian had lots of great photo ops:
We were on our way to the bear park...Berne actually means Bear and they have a bear family living here with 2 girl cubs. Berne has kept bears as their city mascot since 1513 when Bernese soldiers brought one back from the battle of Novara and kept it in a hut which has now become known as Bärenplatz. Their names are Björk (mama bear), Finn (papa bear) and they have 2 girl bear cubs:
When we visited Yetta complained that the bears were "boring and just grazing like cows"...they kinda were. I didn't know bears ate grass? I also didn't know that bears hibernate on an empty stomach for up to 7 months a year during which time they slow down their heartbeat and body temperature cools to 4 degrees celsius. You are also not supposed to throw round things at them:
We walked over another bridge and continued along the Lauben (arcades) - which Berne is famous for...Einstein lived in Berne and wrote to his fiancé in 1902, "both sides of the street are completely lined by old arcades so one can stroll from one end of the city to the other in the worst downpour without getting noticeably wet". True story. It is now somewhat of a shopping district which is like a blend of South Street, Manayunk, and Suburban Station all rolled into one and culminating at the Zytglogge (Clock Tower), complete with a full astrological clock below which is accurately pointing at March and Pisces...it also tracks the moon and the day of the week...The calendar clock began its timekeeping in 1530!
We stopped at Chocolate Heaven. I am not sure what it is really called but this is what Yetta calls it and rightly so...they have huge sheets of chocolate bark and the biggest display of truffles I have ever seen. Their biggest box of assorted truffles was 120 Swiss Francs! And no free samples! The nerve!
We stopped at Migros, the grocery store, to pick up ingredients for dinner...Patrick would be making us shrimp scampi with bowtie pasta. There were no Obama cookies to be had so we had to settle for Mont Choco cookies which boast a chocolate representation of the infamous Swiss peak-Matterhorn:
They weren't quite as good...
Patrick's dinner was delicious even for a non-shrimp eater! :) We shared a bottle of wine and then walked to Yetta's favorite café/bar 2 blocks away where we ordered Pimm's cups and had to negotiate for seats...the conversation started to get a little ridiculous (and involved expensive methods to cultivate coffee beans...you'll have to ask Patrick if you want more details!) which was in part due to the alcohol but probably mostly from being overtired...we were home and in bed by 11...this trip is wearing me out! Will likely need a vacation from my vacation ;)
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Location:Seidenweg,Berne,Switzerland
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