Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Switzerland: Bern's Rose Garden and its Münster

The end of the tourist-office's recommended walk was the Rosengarten (Rose Garden), which had a nice views of Bern.

I. Views from the Rosengarten 

More Alpine views
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Bern's older part of town. This is just to the 'right' (North?) of the Bärgraben
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Later on, had dinner sitting behind the parliament (with its awesome views).


From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


II. Views from the Münster and the walk back

Also took a look at the Münster (a Münster is a type of cathedral) -- the city's main church/old.
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

which had a really ornate decoration above its door: 


and also had really nice views from the back courtyard: 

That's the castle/house thing that showed up in the pictures of Bern with the Alps from last post
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The courtyard was neat. It was a platform that basically extended the higher layer of Bern out over the lower layer.

Looking out from the courtyard, you can see we're on level with the upper layer of Bern. I really liked the terrassed gardens the people there had.

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

better view of the gardens
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The furthest point you can still make out in this picture, left 1/5 of the shot, and just below the trees, is the restaurant at the top of the hill that the Bärengraben is on. It was too far to make out any bears, even if they'd been that high up, though.



The platform had a lift that was somehow run by the city (part of public transit system??) which would bring people between the two levels:


You can kind of see in the background the different colors of water -- there was a very wide dam of the Aare right there. Like so:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

After the sun was basically down,  walked around the corner from the Münster through some cute streets

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

I heard a noise like someone had thrown water on the street. Wary of getting drenched, I looked around, trying to find the source. I could see the puddle.

 Finally, saw this strange thing up on a roof: 


and here it is ''in action''
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Maybe it's an art installation.

I noticed that the side street I was on had a few faded murals.
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


This next one is one of my favorite pictures from the trip:
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


and here's the square by the Parliament building again, but at night. Including the ''fachwerkhaus''-esque (white) tower that has a name and is on the tourist map, but not something you could actually go inside and poke around at:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


III. Views of the Münster

These were taken the next day, but I think make more sense to put here. 
This is from the bridge near the Münster:


This next one makes it pretty clear the platform/courtyard thing is seriously reinforced. I wonder if there's rooms and stuff inside/under it. Also, you can see at the bottom of the picture a restaurant that is on/above the dam. I imagine it's pretty expensive.

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012
Went down to that area in front of the restaurant. There was a pier or kind of an area that was really only big enough for a table that jutted out over the water. I'd be nervous to sit there. This is what was there, by itself:


The lower left side of this next picture is the sideview of what that table was sitting on. 

Looks reallllly sturdy. 
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

IV. Bears, again

Just one more, because went back to look at them again. They're pretty great.
mama bear
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012
Also learned that the bears had been kept separate when the cubs were young and only very recently (the trip took place at the end of August) were brought (back?) together. Might've been part of why they were so active (outside of general awesomeness of their enclosure).  




What's left yet from Bern: going up the funicular/Gurten, seeing the awesome stuff atop (including a viewing tower) and the botanical garden.

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Friday, September 21, 2012

Switzerland: Beautiful Bern

The train ride from Sion to Bern had some really lovely views, and for this ride I was by the window, so could take some pictures:



Even the train rides have amazing views. 
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Including a random hill, reminded me of the (three) strange hills in the valley Sion was nestled into:


I'm not going to complain about sunlight, but it did make it hard to photograph the Alps. 


First view of Bern. Sadly, you can't see the Alps, but you can see the crazy turquoise of the water:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Bern (with an "e" if you're German) has a river running through it which is swift-flowing, clear, and a brilliant and crazy shade of turquoise or aquamarine. Also, amazingly cold (being glacial runoff). When enough days in a row have been warm, the river warms up enough to swim in in the Summer, and walking by the Aare, one sees many people swimming or drifting, sometimes with their things in a waterproof bag that they're pulling along with them. They then climb out of the river, walk back upstream and do it again: 


Source of the name "Bern", ala wikipedia:

"The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. It has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin, possibly *berna "cleft".[9] The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s."

The visitor's office recommends a scenic walk around the old town area, ending around the Bärengraben and viewpoint at the Rosengarten. First view of the parliament building, with it's fun fountain in front:


More fountain!
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Turns out, the Parliament building had one of the best views in town (in my opinion).

View of the Alps from behind the Parliament building:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


a nice view of the Aare, in it's crazy glacial blue-green glory. In the back is the hill that the Gurten goes up:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Power lines powering the electric trams:


From Arolla-Switzerland 2012



Another nearby tower had a cool clock inset:
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012



The underside had measuring rods on the wall

including a "Swiss foot" which is 3/10 of a meter:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The walk included a peek at the Albert Einstein house, which was closed from water damage due to a broken pipe: 

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The city had a lot of fountains and cool animal things on the buildings:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


The water going to every fountain ran down this main street, mainly under grating:
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012



Rar I'm a lion
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Bern seems comprised of two 'levels', one along the river and one a bit higher.  Here's looking down from one to another:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

and a view of the two levels of Bern, from above the Bärengraben:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Nearby, first view of the Bärengraben, where two of the bears were swimming:



The Bärengraben and the Aare were the best parts, I think.

Bears in the Bärengraben, interested in the food about to be thrown down:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Cute bear shenanigans, post-food:

View from above the Bärengraben:
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012



Sitting by the Aare, putting my feet in and pulling them out, by the Bärengraben:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The Bärengraben had a row of grapevines behind what looked like an electric fence, and in front of a stone wall. There were also grapes growing on another wall:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012
At least one more post from Bern (hey, I was there ~3 days :) ) coming up, including the trip up the Gurten (very small ski hill) and other scenic views of Bern. 

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Sion, Switzerland. Home of Switzerland's largest bus station. Also, two castles.


Startled Panda says: What? Gone so soon?
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The bus took me from Arolla to Sion, which I stayed in for a day. It is, indeed, home to Switzerland's larges bus depot. As a result, you see a lot of people with giant backpacks wandering around, presumably waiting for their bus connection.

Not to sell Sion short, in addition to having Switzerland's largest bus depot and two castles atop some bizarro hills, there is also a near(ish) underground lake big enough to go motor-boat on and also a half hour away (which is probably about 25 CHF, if anyone's counting) is a castle.  The Swiss tourism site says "Sion (or Sitten in German), the capital of the Canton of Valais, is known as the most sun-blessed town of Switzerland," which I imagine would make it a nice place to be in an Alpine winter. It has a population of about 30,000. The Castle-Church of Valere has one of the world’s oldest playable organs (15th Century), which I did not go in and see, as they were in the middle of mass when I went by.

 Switzerland is...incredibly expensive. Beautiful, and expensive.  The trip from the Geneva airport to Sion (~2 hrs?) was about 50 CHF. On the upside, the euro <-> swiss franc exchange is in the euro's favor, but only a bit. Outside of döner kebab, eating out meant usually 20 CHF(17 euros, 21 USD) if you got a good deal. I had pizza with raclette cheese and various delicious kinds of meat. The place was on the main street, which had tons of places to eat, all with outdoor seating.

The exciting fountain of downtown Sion:


From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

There were two main attractions to Sion, the church-castle and the castle,  one per hill.
Church-castle on left, castle on right
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Before getting to either,  wandered a bit around the town:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

A somewhat official-looking building had a fancy wooden door that had the same scene on it as one of the doors from the Hamburg Rathaus. That of the whole cut-the-baby-in-two story from the Bible. This was a favorite Hanseatic story.
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Approaching the two hills, things got prettier and older.

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

En route to the church-castle,  there was a tunnel thing to go through first which cars were not allowed through

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

then around the corner and up the hill. More cute buildings:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012



Near the top of the hill, the houses conformed a bit more to the hill, getting pretty slanty:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012
It was no surprise to find an archeological site near 


Looking the other way gave the first view of the castle 
Tourbillon Castle
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


and a third hill. It looked liked something had been built atop it as well, but I didn't make it over to check. 

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Here are a few pictures of the church-castle from relatively close:
La Basilique et le Château de Valère
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

the view from behind (taken later)
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


View of a mini chapel and mountains beyond
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

The church-castle thing had a really nice lookout point. Here's the rather uneven yet picturesque last stretch of patch up to there. 

Rocky path up to the main part of the chapel area
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012
The view from the vantage point. 

Great view of the valley and Sion
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Walking back down the hill, looked up to see the chapel: 

Walking around Sion, saw this. Not sure what they old lady was doing following me around:


Sion is on the Rhone, which was a crazy blue-green color that didn't show up at all in the pictures. It was really nice walking around.

The region is known for its wine. The grapes are grown on terraces cut into the mountain.  

terracing
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Despite the steepness of the two weird hills atop which sit the castle and chapel, the spare space was still used for grape growing:

From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


Sion has a pretty golf course (I don't golf, so I just enjoyed the impressive views).

Chapel + mountain, golf course in front
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012


the two hills, golf in front, alps in back
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Walking around, also saw this run down Brazilian Discotheque 
which was around the corner from a horseback riding stable. 

After the sun went down, I waited a bit too long (hey, I was hungry) to take this picture of the church-castle again: 

View of the Chapel at night.
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

and here's a nearby fountain:

Fountain at night in Sion. Hooray new camera.
From Arolla-Switzerland 2012

Being in the French-and-German-speaking Canton of Valais, English worked okay, and didn't try German until we went to the Döner place. There are at least two in town, this was the one by the main square (here).  Their answer to "Deutsch? English?" was "Sure. Deutsch, English, French, Turkish, Arabic,...". The guys were cool and I think it was the best Döner ever. To be fair, I did have chicken, which maybe wasn't your usual coagulated meat-product-on-a-round thing, but, still.  I'd sworn off Döner since spending too many lunches in Copenhagen 4 years ago eating Döner (I was on a limited budget), and was glad to have given these guys a try.



Next time: Bern! 
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