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:
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| 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:
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| 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!
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| 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:
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| 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:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
Power lines powering the electric trams:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
Another nearby tower had a cool clock inset:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
The underside had measuring rods on the wall
including a "Swiss foot" which is 3/10 of a meter:
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| 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:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
The city had a lot of fountains and cool animal things on the buildings:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
The water going to every fountain ran down this main street, mainly under grating:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
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| 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:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
and a view of the two levels of Bern, from above the Bärengraben:
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| 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:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
Cute bear shenanigans, post-food:
View from above the Bärengraben:
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
Sitting by the Aare, putting my feet in and pulling them out, by the Bärengraben:
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| 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:
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| 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.
this place is amazing!
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