Bern-ed out…

Bern is the capital of Switzerland and is roughly half way between Zurich (money!) and Geneva (self-important, overpaid bureaucrats…). Since I’m on my way to Lake Geneva, I thought I’d stop over and check out this UNESCO World heritage city.

The figures on top of the Parliament building



The building looks like a concert hall, not a hall of politicians!
BTW, “rathaus” means “town hall”. If they only knew how easily that would apply to San Francisco City Hall!

The famous clock…

With the guy that rings the bell on the top
The old part of town has remained pretty much the same since it was rebuilt in sandstone during the middle ages. Most of the buildings have shops and boutiques and lots of fast food inside, just like the buildings of the middle ages did. It gives it a Disneyland vibe, especially when the tram rumbles by.

Here’s the postcard shot of the old city

And the Disney-feeling main street

complete with leftover Carnival musicians!
The Old Town had a neat feel for the first 30 minutes but there’s only so many times you can see a kabob place or a McD’s. This part of the city is the big draw here. Once you get outside of the old town, it looks like a very expensive, well kept city.

I like corner houses!
BTW, Bern means “bear” in German and they have five of them as mascots near the tourist center.

Don’t interrupt while he’s drinking
Speaking of drinking, the legal age for beer and wine is 16 and for liquor it’s 18.
There’s not much here and instead of staying overnight, you can visit here on a day trip.