Today we started our tour of the Alps. After a hectic breakfast we said our goodbyes to those people we’ve meet that are heading home today.
We then got on a bus and left Basel to go to Bern. Bern is the capital of Switzerland where today it was cloudy and cold. Bern is a very old city where most of the buildings in the old section of the town are made from sandstone because many centuries ago, the city was destroyed by a fire and timber structures fell out of favour. Like Basel, the pedestrian walkways have large fountains that tell the story of the city. An interesting feature of these streets is that sidewalks have been replaced with covered pedestrian arcades.
The Swiss parliament building is a large gold plated dome. In front of the building is a large square with dancing water fountains. Security appears to be nonexistent. I guess when you’ve been neutral for many centuries you don’t have to worry about terrorist attacks. The Swiss banks have very large palatial buildings surrounding the parliament building.
The history of Bern is based on a brown bear. As you enter the old city of Bern you will pass the Bern Bear Pit. This is a small park on the river where four very large brown bears are kept.
After lunch we continued to Interlaken. Interlaken is a very beautiful town situated between two large lakes and surrounding by snow capped mountains. Marg is reminded of Banff Alberta. We are staying in the Grand Hotel Beau Rivage which is an elegant old five start hotel. Our room has a wonderful view of the canal that runs through the city with the mountains in the background. I took a picture of Marg in the window and it looks like she is standing in front of a beautiful painting.
Tonight we went to the casino, where I was able to play blackjack for an hour and only lost 20 Swiss francs, which is about $23. Marg was at a point up about $100 but came out down about the same as me.
Pictures of Bern
Pictures of Interlaken
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