Switzerland Bern & Zurich

Trip Start Mar 11, 2008

Trip End Mar 10, 2009

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Where I stayed

HI Hostel Bern

(Bern hotels)

Flag of Switzerland Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Monday, September 8, 2008

Hi guys, i spent a few night in Bern the capital of Switzerland, it is a very small capital city but very beautiful! There is a Bear pit down by the river which is really sad but everyone goes there to feed the huge brown grizzly bears. They do get put away at night & can hide from us tourists if they wqant to in tunnels, but one of them seemed very content to pose for the camera & get free apples from the tourists. From there i walked up to the rose garden where there is a fantastic view of the city & the rivers are the most beautiful bright rich green colour. I spent the whole day seeing the sites, the parlimentary building was impressive,there was a french cathedral which dates back to 1270, Munster cathedral which dates back to 1421 & einstein's house which is now a museum. The next day it was 22degrees & sunny so i took my bikini & book & headed to a free complex with 3 outdoor pools, a diving pool & lots of gardens. The water was freezing 17degrees but i still went for a swim.

16th century street

I then went to Italy Rome for 4 days & took the train back to switzerland to Zurich for 3days. The train ride in both directions to & from Italy was amazing, lots of beautiful huge lakes, green mountains & of course the swiss alps! Also lots of castles built up high on the hill tops.

Zurich was a lot colder than Bern which is just over 1 hour on the train. It was 13degrees in Zurich by day & 8degrees at night. I took a cruise up the canal & then went window shopping on Zurich's world famous shopping street Bahnhofswtrasse. I also saw grossmunster chapel & st peters church which was built in 1534 & holds the record for the largest clockface in Europe. I then went to the old town where there are lots of tiny streets full of shops,pubs,bars,strip clubs & kebab stores.

The next day i took the tram up to Uetliberg mountain & climbed up aq huge spiral staircase to the top for a fantastic view of Zurich city. From there i decided to walk back to town & it was all down hill but took about 4hours! I then went to vist some quaint streets in the old town where the houses date back to the 14th century. I then found the energy to climb Lindenhof hill for good views of the old town & canal.

Bye for now, luv Jo.x