S is for Switzerland! #12

S is for Switzerland...

Switzerland is Smart
From smart phones and wifi everywhere (without which this blog may not have been possible) to precise buses and trains (for the most part) to timed light switches, green/yellow/red lights for pedestrian crossing, bike lanes and parking everywhere, using electricity monitors to charge tenants for exactly what electricity they use, making the same key open the front door to the apartment building and also the door to your apartment and no one else's (?! How ingenious is that??)...but the best is...charging for trash bags. Switzerland is smart enough to know that people suck at separating recyclable plastics...so they charge for trash bags and the trash men separate ALL the trash...this in turn 1) makes people think more about how much trash they create (cause they will have to pay to throw it away) and 2) encourages companies to create biodegradable and/or smarter packaging which in turn is better for the environment...now, how smart is that? And only the Swiss can make a clock out of flowers.




Switzerland is Savory but with Slow Service
From the cheese to fondue to the speck (bacon) atop almost everything...Switzerland is full of savory tastes that yes, you are supposed to savor as Yetta explained last night. When you have dinner at a restaurant, they expect you to be that table's only occupants for the evening and they treat you as such (as opposed to the revolving door in the US). Not once did we receive a check without asking...not even when we simply ordered coffees. We never felt rushed out the restaurant doors. Food here is meant to be eaten slowly and savored over hours not minutes. Perhaps this is how a country so full of cheese and milk chocolate manages to maintain healthier weights than its American counterparts ;)



Switzerland is Sweet
Almost as sweet as it is supa...from the vistas from 7000 feet up, the snow capped mountains all around...the chocolates, croissants, crepes, steamy hot chocolate and of course the schnapps...move over Hershey: Switzerland is by far one of the sweetest places on earth.



Switzerland is Simple
Patrick was right when he said the dress code in Switzerland is functional. No where did I see girls wearing tank tops in winter or stilettos on cobblestone (unless they were obvious tourists). People dress for the weather not necessarily to impress. Case in point...summer uni-suits to go with their winter skiing uni-suits:




Switzerland is Steep
From the mountains (upwards of 7000 feet) to the subway platform in Lausanne...to the prices: the cost of living in Switzerland is super steep (and I don't mean supa!). A cup of coffee was 5 Francs ($5.50 USD) and a Big Mac was 12 Francs (not that I would eat one of those anyway but still). To ride the bus one way, 3 stops for a 'short trip' was 2 Francs. A one hour massage was 160 Francs! This place is steep. Thankfully having great friends and hosts such as Yetta and Patrick helped lessen the blow to our wallets...and of course the Swiss pass helped as well...



Switzerland is Snowy
Which makes it a great destination for skiing, snowboarding and soaking in the hot springs/spa-ing (is that a word?). The snow capped mountains were beautiful and while the winter low-lying clouds obscured some of our views, the snow to us in an otherwise snowless winter was welcome :)



Switzerland is Safe
I will knock on wood as we still have one more city to explore but for the most part Switzerland seems a fairly safe destination. Poverty doesn't even seem to exist here and if it does, it is very insidious. Switzerland enjoys the highest income earnings per capita in the world (according to Fodor's) and the only homeless and/or people asking for money seemed to be stranded backpackers and certainly were not Swiss.



Switzerland is Systematic
You saw the tangled web of trolley electric lines and complexity of the train tracks...but yet this country of watch makers somehow manage to keep everything moving and perfectly coordinated and precise. Buses with ticket machines at every stop as well as digital displays to tell you when the next one is arriving...and always, always on time. Maybe it's because the Swiss are proud, painfully neat and rigorously prompt...as Fodor's describes them. No offense, but these qualities do not necessarily hold true for Philadelphians: Switzerland certainly puts Septa to shame.



Switzerland is Subdued
"They don't stick their nose out in the cold wind but would rather wait and see" as Yetta explained. Switzerland is a country of neutrality and peace keeping. Below is the president's house in Berne (?) with an open door policy. Switzerland is fairly self contained with only 60% of the population being true Swiss...they protect their heritage and birthright and grant citizenship not to everyone born here, but only to those who earn their keep and put in their time...




Switzerland is Supa!
From our Supa personal tour guides and hosts to the Swiss Alps to the hot springs to the milk chocolate, raclette, rosti and fondue...All around Switzerland is Supa! Thank you Yetta and Patrick for such a wonderful and memorable trip!


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Location:Flughofstrasse,Rümlang,Switzerland

Saturday: cheese, chocolate and castles, oh my! #11

Surprisingly, after our ordeal at the train station and getting in so late last night...we were up by 7:30 am! Yetta and Patrick soon followed and we realized we had to get on the road or else we would miss the last processing of cheese for the day! We opted to grab breakfast of croissants and kaffe at the train station to save time. On the way we saw this:



I would have missed the irony if Patrick hadn't translated: "bikes parked here will be removed at owner's expense". You can see that this sign is clearly being disregarded and as far as the eye can see there were bikes parked along that railing...We climbed aboard the first of only three modes of transport today...train, bus, train to get to Gruyères...the cheese making town. Just look at this webbed mass of train tracks...I am surprised they don't have problems more often!



The first train was a double decker and we secured our favorite upper level seating arrangement:



Guess what? With our Swiss pass yet another free admission! Brian is going to have to tally up all the $ we've saved with the pass because it has been a lot! A woman dressed in a milk maid outfit explained the system of the self-guided tour. We each got one of these things that looked like a huge remote control. You could program it in different languages to hear Cherry the cow explain her story of making milk...we walked along as we viewed pictures of cows, pastures, different flowers, etc. Then there was a part where you could smell each of the different types of flowers and herbs that the cows eat in the local pastures including herbs such as cumin, jasmine and vanilla orchids (something tells me this was not entirely true...if an orchid cannot survive my apartment it certainly cannot survive the hills of Switzerland!). All in all Cherry claimed that milk and the cheese that is ultimately produced can have as many as 76 different flavors depending on what the cow ate while grazing (my sense of taste is certainly not as astute) for an average of 100 kilos of grass (what?!) and 85 liters of water (omg) every single day to make 25 liters of milk. They gave us some cheese samples to taste at various stages of aging...6 months, 8 months, 10 months...I could only detect the flavor of cheese, haha! I also did not know that cows have 4 stomachs?! Learn something new every day...

So then the cows are milked by a machine and 400 liters of milk are pooled together to make just one batch of cheese or a 35 kilo round. No wonder cheese is so damn expensive! The milk is collected over a 24 hour period and is then pooled all together (I am assuming the nutritional composition is more balanced this way)...the cheesemaker was actively making one batch as we walked through in a giant cooper vat...



Then they add enzymes to the milk to make it form into curds...I will not tell you where the enzymes come from mostly because I hope to forget. Once the cheese has curded they form it into a spring form like pan and then place it in a salt bath to suck out some of the moisture before storage on spruce shelves in a temperature and humidity (95%) room where it is flipped and brushed with salt once a day and matured over a certain period of time...6 months would be mild cheese that's softer in texture.



We left the cheese factory after acing Cherry's final exam:



And headed up to the castle...this was quite a steep journey and I myself would have preferred a gondola. But the hills all around were beautiful and alive with the sound of music so Yetta and I tortured the boys with our singing en route while they reminded us, once again, that the movie took place in Austria. Meh. Tell me these hills are not alive:



We finally got to the top and there was this really cute cobblestone street of shops, restaurants and a fountain leading the way to the castle. We stopped for a bite and of course all our meals included local cheese. Jul- if waitressing is not for you then this place certainly isn't! Almost every dish comes with this Swiss contraption with a flame underneath to keep your food steamy...


We also got free admission to the castle but I passed mine on to Yetta who was really excited to check it out. Patrick and I stayed outside and enjoyed the scenery and once they were out we had 18 minutes to make it all the way back down to the train. The task seemed impossible but we accomplished it.

We got a quick coffee in Bulle while we waited for our next connecting train (and Patrick headed back to Berne to finish his lecture)...and we took our last train to Broc where a massive white building forms the Swiss chocolate company Cailler...we arrived just in time to get into the final English tour...which was a series of rooms (first down a Wonkavator) pumped with a chocolate aroma in each taking us through chocolate's tumultuous past and origins in South America.

Chocolate cannot be grown in Switzerland as the climate is not tropical to support to cocoa plant, but it was the Swiss who first added lait or milch (milk) to the chocolate and thus created their own booming chocolate industry. They buy their cocoa beans from all around the world:


Brian was very excited about the chocolate factory:




And the songs of the sound of music were replaced with songs of Willy Wonka.

We continued on and got to see how they make their signature candy (which comes in all different color packages and yet is all the same)...and got to taste it at the very end. Who knew chocolate tasting could be so complicated?




Just when we thought the tour was over, we ended up in the tasting room...a series of tables with samples of pretty much every kind of chocolate they make...



Soon back on the train where Brian Totally disregarded all of the Swiss transportation warning signs:




Not sure how we could even think about dinner after all that chocolate but we started making plans for just one more authentic Swiss meal...Yetta took us to downtown Berne for a special treat of Swiss rosti- shredded potatoes topped with whatever you like...in my case cheese and vegetables...I could hardly make a dent in this!




Our last night in Berne was a good one...we thanked Yetta for being such a great host all week and hopped on our final mode of transport to get back to her place...the number 12 bus. We just about collapsed into bed at the end of this cheese and chocolate filled day...only one more day in Switzerland :(

Location:Rue Jules Bellet,Broc,Switzerland

Friday: trains, buses, cable cars, boats, and more trains...#10

I was just about to comment on just how precise everything is in Switzerland when we got stranded at the train station for 1.5 hours with no trains in or out and no announcements in English! Well Switzerland, so much for that compliment: I take it back. This train station was particularly loud, smokey and filled with rowdy teenagers drinking beer. We were pretty close to taking off and booking a hotel here instead and then the boards magically came to life and a train back to Berne was scheduled to depart in 30 minutes so we opted to wait it out and settled in on the train on track 4. Although we continue to sit here at 2308, 8 minutes past our scheduled departure time and still we sit. At least it's warm, smoke free and with electrical outlets...

We spent the day today in Luzern (or Lucerne to us Westerners). We arrived at about 12 pm and went straight to the tourism office to buy tickets for Mount Pilatus- Luzern's biggest attraction. Since we purchased the Swiss Pass we got 50% off but it still cost us $74 USD. The woman in the info booth gave us a map and a brief intro to the bus system and we set off...grabbing a freshly baked vegetable quiche on the way. We shared the pastry while we waited at the bus stop 3 minutes for the #1 bus...a short walk up a hill, past a farm that reeked of manure, and around the bend and there it was: the gondola to Pilatus.

We took a series of 3 scenic gondola rides up, up, up and farther up to get to the top. The sights started out green...sunny...cottages...windy roads and progressed to a light dusting of snow then deeper, deeper and finally to the point that houses were buried in snow! Bird and animal tracks dotted the blanket of fresh snow and evergreens sunk under the snow's weight. The private gondola was like being in a soundproof box...it was so quiet that Brian and I found ourselves whispering instead of talking, lol...You are not allowed to stand up and throw large rectangular things out the window:




We had to switch to a big gondola for the final stretch and got to share the ride with a group of Japanese tourists...a shattering break to the quiet and calmness of the route thus far. We looked like we would hit a huge rock wall and just then the cables pulled us up and over...




You can also reach the summit by cogwheel train, but It was unclear from our travel guide if it was functional in winter...this train was opened in 1889 and was the result of innovative construction of two horizontally revolving cogwheels. The train rides over 4618 meters of railway and remains the steepest cogwheel train in the world at 48% grade (Manayunk wall is 17% for comparison)...when we eventually arrived at the 'kulm' (summit), we knew why it wad not functional in winter: it was buried under snow (you can see a tiny portion of the track on the left side of this picture)




The views were breathtaking and ever changing. I told Brian a story of how when I was little I couldn't wait to fly on a plane because I was going to sneak on a plastic ziploc bag and secretly open the window to catch a piece of a cloud. As we stepped out onto the snow covered panorama level, Brian simply asked "did you bring a ziploc?"...

We were literally inside the clouds. But they were not the fluffy kind that you could catch in a ziploc ;)

There was a church and a cross perched up on one of the hilltops and between clouds I caught this:




There is a hotel at the top as well so we decided to sit inside and have lunch which was delicious (and as you can imagine, expensive). We also broke Patrick's rule which was that today was supposed to be a cheese free day...oops:




The hotel was built in 1890. My God how did they do this?! I looked around at the heavy granite walls, the enormous tables, the ancient wood burning fireplace. The train was barely operational and they must have already been hauling construction materials up!

We spent about 3 hours at the top and even that didn't seem enough. You turn around and the view is completely different than it was just a second ago! We were literally on top of the world (7000 feet) and damn is it bright up here!




Brian was in photographer's heaven:




We reluctantly headed back to the gondolas and the ride back was the exact opposite of quiet. I subjected poor Brian to a solo round of acapella karaoke mostly to the tune of the Sound of Music despite his reminding me that took place in Austria, not Switzerland. To which I just had to say: same same. He couldn't beat me so he had no choice but to join me :)

We jumped off the gondola and hopped on the 1 bus to visit the Old Town.
Yes, this city has it's own Old Town too. And guess what else- it has a clock in the center, expensive shopping and old churches. Are you picking up on the theme here??




We strolled through the old town, saw a famous wooden bridge (Chapel Bridge) that is supposedly the oldest bridge in Europe (Fodor's reference) but Yetta says that it keeps burning down and it's not the original but it is the oldest "place" in Europe where a wooden bridge has been. Details.




We circled down to the lake and to the docks to inquire about a boat ride. It was just about 4:15pm and we had almost made it to the boat's entrance on the pier when they blew the whistle and started off without us :( We went to the information desk and were in luck: there was one more boat today at 5:18 AND it was free with our Swiss pass. We stopped in "World Cafe" next to the train station for an incredible cup of coffee to warm up a little and kill some time. I reflected on how similar this city was to Philadelphia: world cafe by train station, concert facility on the water. I guess the similarities end there. Check out how clear the lake is and this cool white-beaked bird:




Philadelphia definitely doesn't have stuff like this.

We finally got to climb aboard the boat and of course I was drawn to first class seating (but Swiss pass doesn't cover that). So we mostly walked around the docks and took in the sights (while the other commuters simply read as they passed the time traveling from point A to point B)...it was dusk so it was that time of day when the water looks like glass melting into the sky...or billowing satin...it's hard to capture in photos (Brian complained you couldn't see anything) but I still tried:








We arrived at the other side of the lake, with cottages built up on the hills gently reflecting the setting sun...We had to switch boats but had 10 minutes to spare and jumped on the merry-go-round at the sea-side playground. It was a lot of fun but Brian was spinning me too fast!




Before we traveled back to the other side we saw this warning sign which clearly means you can swim if you want but should swim away from the propellers...?




The sun was setting and Brian was busy taking photos...I simply sat and enjoyed the scenery, indoors. I could not believe how high Mt. Pilatus was...nor could I believe that we had spent the better half of our day there...it just seemed worlds away:




Night was falling by the time we docked on the other side. Or Brian's favorite "blue hour" as he calls it so he was still in photography mode. We walked around a bit as he shot some really cool night pictures...

More later...

We consulted Fodor's for dinner options and chose a French Swiss restaurant in a 17th century tavern that boasted local fare and Croissants sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar for dessert. It didn't seem too far and I had the route all planned out but Brian insisted we turn off the main road earlier than I wanted to...and of course, we then couldn't find the street...we realized we had gone too far, turned back, walked down another street and finally Brian asked "what is the restaurant's name again?"...I had to dig out the book but literally as I read the name and we crossed the street it was directly in front of us:




We went in and got a table near the front. The tavern did appear old but we were too hungry to take much notice! And then we quickly got distracted with their free wi-fi. We ordered dinner...Brian chose meatloaf with a red wine reduction sauce and I got the local white fish with almond butter and vegetables...it was so delicious we cleaned our plates.



Afterwards, we learned that they did not have the croissants Fodor's promised and the waiter looked at us as if we were crazy for asking. We got chocolate mousse instead which was a close runner up. There was a couple from Seattle sitting next to us...they have been staying in Luzern all week and we talked to them for a few minutes. They were amazed with all the cities we had been and likewise, we couldn't really comprehend staying in the same place for a whole week!

We headed back to the train station and if you've already forgotten about that ordeal then I suggest you go back and re-read paragraph one because I don't want to think about it again! ;) Yetta and Patrick absolutely could not believe the delays we've experienced with the Swiss trains...according to them, this kind of stuff just "doesn't happen in Switzerland".


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Location:Schweizerhofquai,Lucerne,Switzerland

Thursday: The bumpy road to Geneva #9

Brian and I got up early and set out in the rain for the12 bus en route to SBB. We got on with the morning commute and were confused when we arrived at the final stop. We got off when the conductor popped his head out of his window and we realized we were the last (and only) ones left on the bus. We walked the additional block to the station, took the escalator down and stopped at the Migros take away for a quick breakfast of croissants and kaffe (coffee). We headed up to track 6, boarded our train, settled in nice comfy seats for the 2 hour scenic route South only to hear an announcement about 5 minutes into the ride that the the train would be stopping in Friborg due to an "accident involving a person" (bump #1). Buses were arranged and waiting for us...it was definitely like a well oiled machine when we got off and crammed into a bus, fortunately getting seats for the hour long bus ride to Romont then a train to Lausanne. Ugh! We decided to take the detour to Lausanne and see what it had to offer...

We stopped first at Mr. Clean- a full service train station bathroom. There was a 2 Franc price for women and 1.5 Franc price for men using just the urinals. You put your coins in and walked through a turnstile and entered the cleanest train station bathroom I have ever seen!

We left the station and headed straight for the metro. Lausanne is home to the Olympic committee's office, fyi.



We found ourselves on a platform slanted at a 30 degree angle uphill and took the metro line 2 stops up to the center square. We saw another very old church:



(where it seemed as though an organ lesson was taking place) and would have had excellent views had it not been so cloudy...

We took the metro the other way...downhill to Ouchy:



which was right next to Lake Geneva. We took heed to this warning sign and stayed on the main tram:




We thought we could take a boat to Geneva from here but turns out the boats are not functional this time of year (bump #2). We strolled along the lake a little and caught a glimpse of the snow capped mountains in the distance as we watched the ducks and swans feast on something in the water. We soon headed back to the metro to return to the train station and took a detour down this cobblestone path that led us right into an enormous group of Japanese tourists (Yetta did warn us of this)



and the shopping district. Lausanne is also known for the theater and dance industry so advertisements for plays and music seemed to be everywhere we turned. This hologram was pretty cool:



Soon we were back on the train headed to Geneva. We arrived and exited the wrong side (which was my fault). Found ourselves in the multicultural center...passing Ethiopian restaurants,



kebabs, Brazilian steakhouse, Chinese, Thai, Sushi...you name it. We were about to turn at the next corner when we saw the headquarters for Medicins San Fronteirs (MSF) or more commonly known in the US as "Doctors without Borders":



We continued down a ways and stopped into a crepe place that advertised wi fi (it was 2 Francs for 15 minutes and despite being appalled at the price Brian still paid so I could post my blog!) and we sat down had enormous crepes for lunch! Patrick would be proud of how healthy we are being ;)

We oriented ourselves with our 15 minutes of wifi and google maps and headed down to the lake where boats were all neatly lined up and clinking against each other...black ducks swimming in between and what looked like Joshua trees lining the path:


We had expected to see the famous Geneva water fountain but it was no where to be seen...it was cold and overcast and we saw a sign for information so we headed up the hill to get a map. We walked into the tourist office and asked the girl behind the desk (who luckily spoke English) about the water fountain..."oh yes, it should be going...well that is unless it's too cold or too windy..." hmm. Well that pretty much describes today. (bump #3). We then asked her how to get to the Red Cross Museum (which came highly recommended from Yetta) and she quickly said it was closed, Until 2013. (bump #4).



She suggested maybe we would want to take the number 8 bus in that direction and visit the United Nations instead...? So we took her advice and had some time to kill before the tour so set out to walk around Old Town Geneva...this is very similar to Bern except no arcades (so the streets are more open) and more expensive stores. Rolex, Hermes, Louis Vitton, Fendi, Gucci, Tag Heur, Burberry, Guess, Diesel, Bally, Peter Pitake just to name a few. One noticeable difference to America is that all items on display in the window actually have price tags listed - I suppose to avoid any potential Pretty Woman moments :)

The weather wasn't great for picture taking, I wasn't in the mood to shop (nor could we afford anything more than a hot chocolate (5.5 Francs) on this street and it was pretty cold and windy...I couldn't wait to make our way up to the UN! We found the bus stop and waited for the 8 which only took a minute or two...about 20 minutes later we had arrived at the Palais de Nations or the palace of the United Nations...

We entered and had to go through metal detectors, produce our passports (thank god for that guy at the train station who insisted we bring them everywhere we go!) and get our picture taken. Under no circumstance were we allowed to roam the grounds without a tour guide. The Palais de Nations was built between 1929 and 1936 and quickly turned into the largest center for multilateral diplomacy in the world. The United Nations seal or symbol includes a map of the world with latitude and longitudinal lines supported by an olive branch to symbolize the primary function of the organization which is to promote peace and foster cooperation of all nations to support basic human rights.

Our tour guide explained that the symbol for the organization was (ironically) highly debated...the countries involved could not decide who gets to be in the middle of the map! Have you ever thought about this? In the US, the US is in the center of our world maps. But if you live in France then France would be in the center, if you lived in China, China would be the center and so forth. Finally it was decided that the north pole, which was considered neutral (at least at that time) would be the center of the symbol and everyone seemed happy with that compromise :)

The United Nations' compound is rather impressive with a succession of massive buildings set upon pristinely landscaped grounds and tight security. We had to wear bright orange lanyards to identify ourselves as tourists. The UN hosts more than 9000 meetings a year with participation of an average of 25,000 delegates in 34 conference rooms. Some meetings are open to the public (with some even having an online option!) while others are closed. An example of a closed meeting would be those on very sensitive and heated topics such as disarmament.

Each meeting must be interpreted (spoken in the moment) in the 6 languages of the United Nations which are: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Arabic (and I thought the meetings at HUP were long!). While meetings must be translated (written) into only English and French (although this will vary depending on the countries affected/involved). Our tour guide explained a fun fact about the property: peacocks had always been found roaming the grounds and the city of Geneva wanted to make sure this tradition would continue even with the construction and expansion of the UN...so at any given time at least 10 peacocks could be found on the property. I wanted to go look for some but our tour guide wasn't really on board with this ;)

All in all, the tour of the UN was really interesting and I am excited to know that I can attend their online sessions! We left and boarded the 8 bus back to Old Town for a few more photo ops. As we walked back to the train station we stopped in a few chocolate shops for some snacks for the ride. I chose a Swiss version of the caramello bar which was delicious. We headed to the train station just in time for our next train (for a country of watchmakers they sure do keep time well!) and had no more bumps in the road on the way back...

Patrick and Yetta had prepared a Swiss feast of raclette! This is a special table top BBQ machine (for lack of a better description) with an upper layer for grilling meats and vegetables and a lower level for melting cheese (of course! A meal would not be Swiss without cheeses!). We had meatballs, chicken and bacon along with several different kinds of cheeses and a variety of vegetable toppings: white potatoes, baby corns, grape tomatoes, asparagus, and even pineapples for a Hawaiian raclette (Yetta was excited about this but I passed on the Hawaiian version!). We ended the meal with a shot of pear schnapps and fell asleep watching "The Hangover"...an end to another good day in Switzerland, despite all the bumps in the road :)







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Location:Rue du Prieuré,Geneva,Switzerland

Wednesday: Berne again #8

Brian was already up working on pictures when I finally woke up at 10...he made me some coffee with the Nespresso maker and then we realized we were out of milk...He was getting ready to venture out alone when Patrick woke up and then the 2 of them set out for Migros (the grocery store). I cleaned up the kitchen from last night's dinner while Yetta showered and soon they were back with fresh croissants, fruit, mushrooms and milk...Yetta whipped up mushroom and herbed scrambled eggs and bacon while Patrick -the cardiologist- looked on critically as he ate yogurt and granola (and a croissant which I pointed out was just as healthy)...I also explained that cholesterol in eggs doesn't translate into high blood cholesterol but he just laughed at me.

We hung out at the house for a bit, looking through our travel book and trying to decide what to do for the next few days. Brian found this 4 day Swiss pass idea where we would have access to all trains, buses, subways, etc around Switzerland for the next 4 days. It seemed to be a good deal and I was sure Brian would make sure it was worth our while. Meanwhile, I continued to trip over the thresholds (is that what they're even called?) as I walked from room to room in Yetta's apartment. One thing about Switzerland (and Heidelberg for that matter) is that every doorway has one of these:




It is even more difficult in boots!

Patrick stayed behind again as Yetta volunteered to be our tour guide for day 2 in Berne. Our first stop was the train station to buy our Swiss passes. We walked along the same route as yesterday and took the elevator to minus 4 ("normal farht"- Brian got a juvenile kick out of this) in the SBB (Bern Bahnhof train station). No matter what time of day this place is always chaotic! Yetta brought us first to the local sales desk and then we realized we had to go to the international sales desk...we took a number and waited our turn. A stern Swiss man informed us that we could not purchase Swiss passes without our passports. He looked at our PA driver's licenses with a blank expression as Yetta explained they were valid means for identification in combination with a PDF file (Brian had thankfully made) of our passports and negotiated with him until he relented and gave us the passes..."Supa!" Yetta exclaimed and sent us all into hysterics as the man just looked at us with confusion in his eyes...




We continued out of SBB and walked along the arcades, the clock tower again and through an alley way to one of the smaller arcaded streets. Yetta told us that the signs with blue backgrounds meant whatever it is is "allowed". So this sign means fixed gear, flat handlebar bicycle parking is allowed:



And this sign clearly means that creepy men wearing top hats and long sleeves can cross with little girls wearing dresses:




None of the stores were "offen" (open); it seemed that all the shop keepers were having a siesta. This was convenient...we wondered if Patrick and Brian were behind the timing of this?! We approached the Münster (no, not cheese but the Cathedral) whose construction began in 1421 and continued for 180 years! Not surprisingly, this cathedral has become the largest and most artistically important church in Switzerland. The detail of the artwork was stunning and I simply could not fathom how this typeof construction was even possible so long ago. Even Brian was moved by the church's magnificence:




The "finishing touch" was the addition of a 328 foot steeple which was added in 1893. If you climb to the top, the reward is 360 degree panoramic views of Berne and getting up close and personal with the bells...a nice woman cleaning bird droppings off the stone at the top (an exhausting 312 steps) told us that an entire family lived on the same level of the bells and that the father was responsible for sounding them as an alarm for the rest of the town in case of fire, emergency, etc. I didn't bother taking pictures out front Or at the top (1- because the whole church would simply not fit on my iPhone camera and 2- because I was sure Brian would show me up...) but I did get one of the impressive organ which seemed to take up the entire loft:



We descended the vertigo-inducing 344 steps down (not sure how or why there are more steps down) and I purchased a few postcards from a woman who asked us where we were from and then shared that she had visited Philadelphia just last year before vacationing in New Bern North Carolina on a Bernese group tour. Apparently the Bernese founded 50+ "Berns" in the USA. Who knew?

We continued along the arcades and past a running store which proclaimed "this will be your best year" and we all agreed:




Yetta insisted we get Thai for lunch, and you know Brian would not argue with that. We went to her favorite secret, tiny Thai place which I can say with authority was authentic. The workers were speaking Thai and for a minute I thought about greeting them in Thai (sawatdeeka) but decided against it for fear they would want to continue on in conversation and I would only be able to respond with kortotka (excuse me), or kapkunka (thank you). We all had a delicious and creamy yellow curry with carrots, peas and potatoes...it was filling and afterwards I was ready for a nap...

Yetta wanted to take us to the Paul Klee museum...more for the enjoyment of the building's architecture than to see his actual artwork. Before that however, she made us stop to see this building because it was important although she wasn't sure exactly why ;)



After paying 1 Franc to use a bar's restroom (told you it was almost like South Street!) we boarded the 12 bus again which drove past the bear park to the suburbs and dropped us off at the Paul Klee. The building was impressively designed and Yetta said in the summer you can actually walk over it. I wasn't sure exactly how that would be possible but didn't question. We went inside and browsed the gift shop. His artwork reminded me of my dad's friend Rachel's artwork. We flipped through books (this was free) and Yetta pointed out his scary collection of puppets that he had designed to entertain his children(yikes!). We opted not to enter the actual museum and headed back outside. There was an art class for children in the lower levels and all of their watercolor paintings were displayed neatly along a clothesline. They bore a striking resemblance to Paul Klee's style...

We jumped back on the 12 bus which seems to run every 3 minutes (septa could stand to learn a lot from the Bernese public transportation system) and headed back to Yetta's apartment. She checked her phone for the time of sunset, as Brian didn't want to miss his blue hour of opportunity to take some great shots of the clock, and we arrived to her apartment by 530pm...I did some blogging, Brian worked on pictures, and Patrick made us some coffee...

Brian and I set out alone to stop at the clock tower and we were disappointed that it wasn't lit up. This doesn't make for great pictures. But Brian jumped at the opportunity to take some shots of the Parliment instead which turned out pretty awesome. We walked along-you guessed it- a cobblestone path lined with restaurants with outdoor seating and a semi outdoor section topped by a communal tin roof and glass surrounding each one. We took the 12 back towards Yetta's and met them at Le Carousel- a French Creperie for dinner. The place had a top of a carousel mounted to the ceiling and an old fashioned silver candlestick reminiscent of Les Miserables on our table. We had a delicious dinner of an assortment of crepes (tre frommage, honey/goat cheese and walnuts, plums/cheese and lard aka bacon, and figs/goat cheese and lard) and shared one for dessert...chocolate, banana and ice cream...Yum! Yetta made us try a sparkling apple wine and insisted on treating :)

We headed home and went to bed early...tomorrow would be an early day for all of us!




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Location:Berne Switzerland