Berne

A trip to Bern

Being the capital of Switzerland, I found it essential to visit Berne. My flatmate had an offer from the train line where two people travelled for 90 CHF if one had a half fare card, so we ended up choosing to go and visit Berne. Geneva to Berne is not a long train journey at all, it only took 1H45 to arrive. So we arrived at the station around 11 which gave us enough time to cover the most of Berne before it got dark.

Once out of the station, we walked down Spitalgasse which is basically the main shopping road which also leads to the most important sights to see in Bern. The first thing we saw was the church Heiliggeistkirche, which was built as a protestant church in the eighteenth century and is now considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Switzerland.

City of Fountains

Following down this street you will find quite a few fountains. Berne has a total of 250 fountains which are very famous for comemorating important historic individuals or events. For example there is the Pfeiferbrunnen which is based on the bagpieper and Anna-Seiler-Brunnen which commemorates the founder of the first hospital in Berne, 1354. They are so pretty and well preserved that I couldn’t stop taking photos of them - each fountain had a different characteristic to it.

We carried on walking until we reached the Bärensplatz where, luckily for us, there was a farmers and food market. There were so many delicacies to chose from. I ended up buying a Jamaican Patty whereas my flatmate ordered some tacos from the mexican stool. Food markets in Switzerland are of such high quality; I always find when discovering a new place, unless you have been recommended a good place to eat, I would always prefer to eat in food markets as you pay little and the quality is usually very high. On the other hand, restaurants are slightly riskier as even though the quality might not be great you still might end up by spending lots of money.

The Bärensplatz square is situated just before the Bundeshaus, where the Swiss parliament is situated. This building is stunning, the architecture is neo renaissance, similar to that of Vienna, with beautiful green roof tops and ornamented façades. Unfortunately the sun was in the completely wrong place, therefore my photo of it is quite shocking and does not do it justice but it is a really beautiful building.

Brigdes and Churches

Just before we continued our journey down Marktgasse, we quickly crossed the road to the other side to get a fantastic view from the bridge Kornhausbrücke. Bern is mesmerizing, I wouldn’t know what other city to compare it to. It is composed of little hills and valleys; It is a very tranquil and calming city. Just before the bridge take time also to appreciate the Kornhaus which actually gave the name to the bridge. The Kornhaus is a great example of Bernese high baroque architecture and it is today a very elegant restaurant housing Münger frescos on it's ceiling.

We continued our walk down the Kramgasse taking photos at the interesting Swiss German architecture and I noticed quite a lot of little independent cafés on the street which if I had more time I would have wanted to explore more of. However we turn right through Kreuzgasse into Münsterplatz where there is the beautiful Baroque cathedral called "Berner Münster". This cathedral is a prime example of gothic architecture and was completed in 1893. It is said to be the tallest cathedral in Switzerland which from what I can remember, I completely agree.

Following on from here we took the back road that lead us to the terrace Münsterplattform. From here you have a stunning view of the west side of the city, with the river streaming towards the dams and the houses built vertically on the valleys; it really is a post-card worthy view. We continued the walk through the park, where, being autumn, the leaves were a mixture of beautiful warm colours. We took some photos and then found our route back on the Gerechtigkeitsgasse until reaching Nydeggasse and consequently the Nydeggbrüke (bridge). Out of all the views on “downtown” Berne, this is by far the best. This is where the houses are built on the hill merging into the valley - I find it beautiful how the houses are all varying in heights. It seems as if they were just picked up and placed in random spots.

Once you cross the bridge, you will be next to the famous Bear park, known as Bärenpark. There is a little itinerary you take for free and you have the chance to see Berne's Grizzly bear. I do admit I got quite sad looking at the poor creature but it was still a good experience. The Bear Park allows you to descend to the riverside and take a little walk down by the river, giving you a beautiful full-frontal view of the little residences in front of you.

Going to a Museum and enjoying Nature

We then decided to do something a little more “knowledgeable” and to learn about our Swiss heritage in terms of products. So we went to the Swiss Brand Museum, located on Gerechtigkeitsgasse 72. Here you have displayed a whole range of products that the Swiss invented. I was quite surprised to see that aluminium foil was invented by the Swiss!

The next thing on our itinerary was the Rosengarten. Although autumn is not necessarily the best time to go and visit a Rose garden because there are actually no roses, we thought to go and have a walk around anyway as we heard there was a beautiful view over Bern. The Rosengarten is located on Alter Aargauerstalden which was not particularly close; in fact we took the bus number 10 from Bundeshaus to Rosengarten. Walking though the garden you can just imagine how beautiful it is in the spring, when all the beautiful roses fill this garden with colour. There is also a café here you can sit down and have a warm tea or coffee whilst appreciating the view.

After having seen all the important parts of Berne we thought it was time to go and explore another city in Switzerland, so we took the bus number 10 back from Rosengarten to the train station.

All in all Berne is probably the most important city to come and visit in Switzerland. It may be small, and not have as many museums as Geneva, or as many shops as Zurich, or as many mountains as Montreux but after having visited it I now understand why it was nominated a capital city; it has an incredible amount of culture and history behind it that is really worth spending time and appreciating it.

Photo gallery