Danny Yee >> Travelogues >> Switzerland

Bern

Wednesday 11th August

I did a one-day flying visit of Bern, coming in on the train from Lucerne in the morning and leaving on the train to Basel in the evening.

At the station I left my backpack in a locker, keeping just my camera and what I could fit into my pockets (since I didn't have a small backpack). At the Tourist Information I found out that the museum card mentioned in my guidebook no longer existed.

I wandered down Marktgasse to the Zytglogge or clock tower, which is the symbolic centre of Bern.

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Bern clock tower / Zytglogge
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tram passing the clock tower
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Zytglogge and Kramgasse
The Münster platform, under the cathedral, is a flat open area that juts out towards the river and offers great views.
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a basement cafe opening up
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Kirchenfeldbrücke from the Münster platform

Then I climbed the tower of the Münster Cathedral, which is some 100 metres up and offers fantastic views over the city. On the way down I was passing the upper bells just in time to hear and see the 6.7 ton midday bell sounding — with my hands over my ears; a solid grill stops anyone touching the bells or being injured by them. The plot of Dorothy Sayers' The Nine Tailors seemed more plausible after this experience!

There's also a great diorama over the main door, and some lovely stained glass windows.

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cathedral detail
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"Dance of Death" window detail
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Bern rooftops from the cathedral tower

Crossing the river, I visited the Historiches Museum, where the big attraction is the Einstein exhibition, but there's also some local Bern history (though not an integrated historical presentation).

The nearby Alpine Museum has excellent displays and reliefs about the development of Alpine cartography, the history of the Swiss Alpine Club, and the Alpine hotel industry.

After a quick lunch from a bakery I walked down to the Bear garden, where the crowd didn't seem particularly interested in the poor bear, and from there up to the Rose garden, which would have been a nice place to sit and relax if I'd had more time. I caught a bus to the Zentrum Paul Klee, where the major attraction was an exhibition highlighting contrasts and comparisons between Klee and Picasso, in which I spent over an hour and a half and got sore feet.

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Bern Parliament House
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Bear Garden (Bärgarten)
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Rose Garden (Rosengarten)
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Zentrum Paul Klee
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Zentrum Paul Klee

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people outside the station
I caught the bus back to the station. Nearby is the Stauffacher bookshop, which is a pleasant place to browse and has lots of English-language books (but not a history of Bern). I grabbed a few slices of takeaway pizza for dinner, then caught the train to Basel.

Next: Basel: Goetheanum + Tinguely Museum
Previous: Lucerne
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