I. Views from the Rosengarten
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Later on, had dinner sitting behind the parliament (with its awesome views).
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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:
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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.
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
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| 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:
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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:
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After the sun was basically down, walked around the corner from the Münster through some cute streets
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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''
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| From Arolla-Switzerland 2012 |
Maybe it's an art installation.
I noticed that the side street I was on had a few faded murals.
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This next one is one of my favorite pictures from the trip:
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| 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:
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| 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.
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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.
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IV. Bears, again
Just one more, because went back to look at them again. They're pretty great.
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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.
Very cool! I liked the heaven/hell church door motif. For its graphic-ness, not because I like the idea.
ReplyDeleteSwitzerland is still on my list of Places to See Before I Die, so I'm glad to visit through your camera lens until I get the chance to go myself.
BEARS!! MORE BEARS!
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