The Swiss Confederation's Capital.
Leaving Geneva behind, I head towards Bern across the great Swiss plain. Despite seeing it from inside the car, the landscapes are extremely beautiful thanks to the typical villages between green meadows at the foot of the Alpine mountains, as well as the various lakes that line the road.
As I approach the Swiss capital, the names are germanised, and signs are no longer written in French, but in German. The Swiss territory is divided into four linguistic communities:
The Alemannic or German-speaking part, where Bern and Basel are located, is the largest and most populated one. However, German is not the truly spoken language, but Swiss German or Schwyzerdütsch, a Germanic dialect very difficult to understand for any student of German or even German native speaker. Here are some examples, of several posters that I came across in Bern:
The French-speaking part or Romandy, where Geneva is located and where French is spoken, although unlike German, there are few differences with French from France.
To a lesser extent, Switzerland also possesses an Italian-speaking part, as well as a small regional Romance language called Romansh.
The linguistic diversity of the Swiss country is reflected in this sign at the entrance to the Federal Palace in Bern, where the Parliament is located. In fact, in order to respect this diversity and prevent any community from being privileged, the official name of the country is usually written in Latin: Confœderatio Helvetica, as well as the national domain on the Internet (.ch) or symbol of the Swiss francs (CHF).
Back to Bern, the fact of being here on such a rainy day could not spoil a city as beautiful as this European capital is, it resembles so much a fairytale village and, indeed, it is the least populated Swiss city I visit despite being the seat of the government. I started my journey through the city in the station square, where the free-for-tourists tram leaves me. From there, I walk through the picturesque streets to the Käfigturm, a beautiful clock tower that later on will not even amaze me, given the large number of monuments and beauty that I’m going to come across in Bern. Right on that square, der Bärenplatz, there is a small flower market and further beyond the Palace of the Swiss Parliament. Behind the building there is a large terrace, die Bundeshausterrasse, from which I confirm Bern’s small village atmosphere.
Carrying on through two of the main streets, called Marktgasse and then Kramgasse. There, I imagine that it rains very often, since most of the streets I walk have the pedestrian sidewalk covered, and the heavy rain does not stop either the merchants of the square nor the cyclists of Bern. In the same way as the Bernese, the climate does not prevent me from enjoying the city and I go window-shopping, there are many chocolate shops, antique stores and, above all, old pharmacies. In addition, at every step you take you find an ornate fountain, a statue, another clock tower such as the Zytglogge or even drawings and paintings in the covered passages in the middle of the street without anyone spoiling them. It is a city with a lot of culture and, in fact, that's why Albert Einstein himself decided to live here for a while, the house he inhabited today is a museum that I had the opportunity to visit.
At the end of the street, there is the huge Bern Cathedral with beautiful stained-glass windows and a large panoramic terrace, Münsterplattform, from which I see that the old town is located in a large meander of the river Aar, a Rhine’s tributary. Then, I go down Townhall’s street and then I enter through some alleys that take me to the river level. The turquoise water colour is stunning and it totally resembles a small village despite being in the city centre. There are people bathing and I also see some young people bungee jumping.
I cross the little bridge to the Bärengraben, literally a pit with bears in the middle of Bern. According to the legend, Duke Berthold of Zähringen decided that he would fund a city named after the first animal hunted in the area in 1191 and, indeed, this animal was a bear. Therefore, the name of the city "Bern" resembles the German word bear "Bär" and by extension also in English as a Germanic language "Bear". This actually happened where the Parliament of Switzerland is nowadays located and there was an ancient moment of a bear pit from 1513 until 1857, when it was moved to the current place. However and unfortunately, when I visited the pit the bears slept, but the views of the old town from the area were incredible and learning about this legend up there made me understand the obsession with bears by the Bernese who even have bears on their flag. I decide to continue my tour by walking through the forest near the other side of the river and thus enjoy more time of these city views.
I go back up and across the river to enter the city again, I see many museums, the famous casino, the great theatre, and wonderful views of the Parliament; but above all and obviously a lot of streets, alleys, and beautiful squares. I finish my stay in Bern trying a pretzel for the first time and the saleswoman responds "Merci" instead of the typical "Danke" that would be expected from a German-speaking city, so I see that Swiss German has a lot of French influence.
I thought that my trip through Bern would end there, but I got the wrong tram and ended up on the outskirts, however, it made me see that the city was beautiful, even far from the center. Amongst all the cities on this route through the Rhine, Bern is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cities to ever set foot in. Surrounded by nature, arts and history, it is a mandatory stop and one of the best destinations in Europe, I assure you that this city could not leave anyone unamazed.
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