A Walk Through Bern

On Tuesday of last week, we took a day's excursion to Switzerland's capital city, Bern, to visit yet another cousin, Hans-Peter.  Long time readers might recall that for a number of years Hans-Peter lived in Bergen, Norway, and worked at the university there.  In 2016 I took a trip to Norway to visit him and his family.  Now he is semi-retired and is living once again in Switzerland.

It was a pleasant 50 minute train ride from Aarau to Bern, and Hans-Peter met us at the station.  We walked to his home, and he showed us the main sights of the city along the way.  Not far from the station is the "Bundeshaus" or Federal Palace where the Swiss Parliament meets.

Entering Bern's Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we see the Clock Tower, one of the city's most photographed landmarks.

The tower dates back to around 1220 as a gate for the city's fortifications.  Over the centuries it has been remodeled numerous times, and the astronomical clock was added in the15th century.

Within the Old Town there are eleven public fountains which feature Renaissance statues dating from the 16th century.

A bear, the symbol of the city, is dressed in medieval armor

Samson slaying a lion

Moses

A statue of a "venner" in full armor.  The "venners" were officials in charge of maintaining the security of the city.

Lady Justice

The "Rathaus" or City Hall was built in the early 1400s.

The Gothic "Münster" or Cathedral was begun in 1421, although its tower was not completed until 1893.  It is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland.  During the Reformation, the Swiss Reformed Church took control of the church.  However, unlike many other churches that were stripped of their decoration after the Reformation, the "Münster" in Bern seems to have retained more of its ornate style.

 

Below the heights of the Old Town, the Aare River flows through Bern.

After our long walk, we arrived at the home of Hans-Peter and his wife Larissa.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner and good conversation.

It was almost night when we said our good-byes and took the train back to Aarau.

Another wonderful day with Swiss family!

  

The City of Beautiful Gables

After spending a weekend with my cousin Brigitta, it was time to move on.  We took the train from Zurich 26 miles to the east to the small city of Aarau.

Aarau has a population of 21,000 people and is the capital of the canton of Aargau.  Most importantly it is the home of my cousin Walter and his wife Helen.  We spent several nights with them in their lovely home.

After we were settled in, Walter took us on a long walk. We began by hiking through the forest above Aarau.

Walter then gave us a tour of Aarau's picturesque Old Town.

The entrance to the Old Town is the "Oberer Turm" (Upper Tower).  The lower portion of the tower dates back to the founding of Aarau in the 13th century.

Paintings on the inner side of the Upper Tower Gate.

The city church was built in the 1470s.  After the Reformation, the altarpieces and artwork were destroyed.  Today it is a Swiss Reformed Church.

Outside the church there is a fountain with a statue of "Lady Justice".

 Aarau has been nicknamed the "City of Beautiful Gables" because the projecting undersides of many of the roofs in the Old Town are painted.

I really like Aarau. The core of the city is extremely picturesque.  It has a pleasant small town atmosphere, but it's large enough to have everything you need.  And the big city of Zurich is only a short train ride away.

Walking Around Zurich

(NOTE - Yesterday we flew back to Mexico City, but I have at least another week's worth of posts describing our wonderful trip!)

After we visited two of Zurich's most famous churches (the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster), we then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Zurich, especially the "Altstadt" or Old Town which is built on the banks of the Limmat River.  Besides the towers of the previously mentioned churches, another church dominates the Old Town... St. Peter's Church.  Although a church has stood on the site since around 1000, the current building dates from 1706.  We did not go inside (it was closed at the time) but its clock tower is in many of my photos.  It has the largest church clock face in Europe.

The Old Town is a picturesque web of narrow streets with little plazas and fountains and interesting shops and restaurants.  Since it was a Sunday, almost all of the shops were closed.  However, there was a touristy souvenir shop that had special dispensation to be open.  We stopped there to buy some trinkets to take home as gifts.

Some photos of our wanderings in the "Altstadt"...

We walked up a hill known as the Lindenhof.  It was the site of a fortress when Zurich was an outpost of the Roman Empire called Turicum.  Today the park at the top of the hill provides nice views of the city.

We then walked down to the shore of Lake Zurich, a long glacial lake that extends 25 miles to the southeast from the city.

 

The Zurich Opera House on the shore of the lake

We next headed up the Bahnhofstrasse (Train Station Street).  The avenue is lined with luxury stores selling designer clothes and Swiss watches.  It is one the most expensive shopping streets in the world.

At the end of the street is Zurich's main train station.  From there we took the train back to the home of my cousin Brigitta.