After the Emmental valley experience, we braved another train from Oberburg station and arrived in
Bern’s bustling and noisy 'bahnhof' by 10am. It was a cool morning and we headed
straight to the old town to find a warming cup of coffee to meander with. The
famous arcades of Marktgasse stretch for nearly 6kms and make it one of the
longest shopping centres in Europe.
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| Marktgasse looking towards Zytgloggeturm |
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| Einsteinhaus |
High street stores and luxury brands line
the raised walkways above a wide street which bright red trams and buses fly
along every several seconds. Viewing the ornate and colourful fountains in the
middle of the street is a precarious occupation as you have to cross tram lines
and time your arrival between passing public transport and other unnerved
pedestrians.
Marktgasse flows into Kramgasse which continues in a more
crowded fashion the arcades and fountains. Einstein lived at number 49 and
wrote the Theory of Relativity in 1905 here.
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| The midday chimes |
Just before noon we joined a truly
international throng looking up at Bern’s famous Zytgloggeturm, the
astrological clock tower. Our guide book promised an extravagance of crowing
cockerels, marching bears, a knight in armour, a head-turning lion and an apron-turning
god (whatever that meant).
What we heard was a rinky-tink noise and saw some
small black bears wheel out and back into the tower. People chuckled in
bemusement and turned their attention to having their photos taken.
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| Lunchtime chess outside the Federal Palace |
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| A contemplative Bern bear |
Down on the Nydeggbrucke we had views of the blue-green waters of the Aare rushing past the old walls of the town and its historical bear pit. Today three well-fed and content bears ambled about their terraced parkland below the city’s brewery.
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| A view from Nydeggbruck across the River Aare |
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| Town wall houses with terraced gardens down to the river |
We strolled back into town and up to
the Federal Palace, home of the Swiss Government. Tours were closed until the
end of September so instead we meandered around the steep town walls for views
across the river valley.
The city’s cathedral, St Vincent’s, echoed to noisy
renovation works inside so we admired the carved tympanum above the entrance
way depicting a ghastly vision of the damned on Judgement Day, as envisioned in
1495.
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| Anker's sublime "Madchen Mit Brot" |
The afternoon was spent in the Art Museum admiring and
disliking paintings by the Swiss masters. We were getting to know the different
styles and motifs of each and both enjoyed Hodler’s pure landscapes but found
his giant canvases of maiden like girls irritating, and little ‘unfinished’
looking.
Vallotton’s beautiful use of dreamy colours beguiled and Anker’s brightly
painted and realistic portrayals of peasant families appealed.
We left when the ‘live art’ group began and a procession of blind-folded
and head-phone wearing people were danced through the rooms and encouraged to
reach out blindly to explore a ‘virtual’ world around them. It was all very strange and definitely not to
our taste!
Back at the 'bahnhof' we expected to have to change trains
but instead were whisked directly back to our village stop in time for a quick
supermarket shop. It had been a full day in a fascinating city.
