Bern: The City of Bears, Tourists, and History
The best part of Europe where to really experience the Alps is
in the middle of Switzerland, in Bernese Oberland region.
Bernese Oberland region is where cows graze on high pastures
during the warmer seasons, the starting place for the hiking
trails, excursions into the higher Alps region, rail and cable
cars lifts, plus many more activities. Here one can savor the
natural world while enjoying the most modern creature comforts
while undertaking some very daring adventures.
In Switzerland in general and in Bernese Oberland in particular,
visiting the capital city of Bern by the river Aare is a wise
decision. Here's a tidbit for writers. Bern is the city where
first international copyright laws were passed during the late
nineteenth century.
The city of Bern, at 1800 feet altitude, snuggles into the U
shaped arm of the river Aare, extending its reach from side to
side by historical bridges and railways. Surrounded by densely
wooded areas and mountains, Bern is not a crowded city, except
for tourists.
A walking tour in good weather--starting along Hauptbahnhof
(train station) and stretching along one street, which doesn't
even take two miles--gives the traveler the feel of this old
city with its cobblestone streets, famed clock tower (no, not as
tall as Big Ben but its clock is more visible), many flamboyant
ancient fountains still with water, monuments and a cathedral.
On one of the fountains--I believe it is called "Justice
Fountain"--the figure of justice steps on the heads of criminals.
Bern's train station has three levels of shopping that
introduces bear paraphernalia. The bear toys, bear figures, and
everything about bears can be witnessed all over the city. Two
real live bear pits may be visited where automatic carrot
dispensers or human carrot vendors serve to feed the bears.
On our tour, we were told that bears have been Bern's symbol
since the twelfth century. The legend or fact is that the duke
who founded the city said he would name the city after the first
animal he shot. (Nice guy!) He shot a bear and thus he named the
city Baren for bear which became Bern. For the same reason a
bear figure is on the state flag and also on the coat of arms.
Bern's astronomical clock tower is situated at the east gate
right around the marketplace where one can buy Swiss goods at a
much lower price than buying them here at home in USA at the
imported price. Every hour on the hour when the clock strikes,
there is a four minute performance by quite a few moving
figures. Under the watch of father time, a jester rings the
bells to a parade of bears, a knight in armor and a crowing
rooster. This routine, we were informed, has been going on since
the sixteenth century.
In Bern, each fountain has a story or depicts some kind of
imagery. The weirdest one, I thought, was the fountain of the
child-eating ogre.
What we saw was an ogre eating a child while holding other
children to be consumed later. Maybe it was the despotic
feudalism that produced such gory ideas. Someone commented that
the ogre represented the Jews of Europe, which made my hairs
stand at end. For a continent that prides itself in being
civilized and open-minded and lords that thought over to USA and
many other countries in the world, Switzerland--actually all of
Europe--sure has a nasty, shameful past.
Many people climb the 270 steps of the huge church tower of the
famous Cathedral of St. Vincent in Bern and they say the view of
the Alps is fantastic from the top. Well, I didn't. I had
climbed the Statue of Liberty in NYC, and even though I was 23
years old then, that was enough to teach me a lesson on climbing
tower stairs. Yet, the inside of the Cathedral is lovely with
antique stained glass panels, although the tympanum at the west
front of the Cathedral is overly decorated with nearly 250
figures portraying the Last Judgment. Somebody must have
counted, since they told us that number. Right around the
Cathedral, stands the Moses fountain and after that is the place
where Einstein lived and probably developed his theory of
relativity while he worked at the University of Bern. The Swiss
take great pride in Einstein's having lived there and also in
their higher education that led the world for a while.
The main street lined with houses and shops built several
centuries ago and in good condition is called Marktgasse. The
famous prison tower now serving as some kind of a museum is
situated on Marktgasse.
There are several museums in Bern. We went inside the Swiss
Alpine Museum that contained ancient maps of the Alps,
mountaineering equipment used through the centuries, models of
mountain huts, and anything belonging to the exploration of the
Alps. It was interesting enough but could not match the beauty
of the mountains themselves.
An interesting aspect of Bern was the many flags hanging and
waving everywhere. I thought they had a national holiday but
they told me the flags stayed all the time.
Bern is a very pretty, tidy city. Passages lined with vendors
connect the streets; the streets are filled with tiny shops and
small, clean restaurants. Many varieties of flowers can be seen
everywhere. Along the windows of almost every house, flowerboxes
are filled at least with geraniums, and if a tourist can stand
the fatigue of walking, the horse and cattle market is a sight
to see.
All things considered, a walking tour in Bern is very enjoyable,
because in a small caf