1980 Berne/Bern (8/14/1980)

Thursday, August 14, 1980

At about 05:30, or 04:30 Swiss time, we arrived in Lausanne and got off the train. We wanted to head for Berne, and a train heading in that direction to Fribourg was to leave at 05:02. We used the restroom which only cost us 20 Pfennig, but we got an 80 Pfennig profit because some lady pressed a franc on us for holding the pay door open for her. We boarded the train marked Fribourg which was on the proper track, but a conductor came along and told us “the next train.” So we got off, then watched this Fribourg train leave at exactly 05:02! So we did take the next train which left at 05:20 and took us all the way to Berne. Had breakfast of cookies and water. Saw typical scenery of mountains, although misty in the early morning light, and we watched the sun cut through. The sun appeared to continually rise and set according to the mountain profile. Arrived in Berne at about 06:15 and found ourselves outside a post office and not within sight of the station! Found a city map to see where all the sights were, but were still lost not knowing where we were. Walked in the opposite direction over the tracks to find ourselves in a university complex, then saw a sign pointing to the trains. After a roundabout walk we did find the semblance of a station. At a tourist information booth we put 50 Pfennig in a machine and out came a red envelope full of information on Berne. We decided to follow the suggested walking tour and set off. Walked past the Holy Ghost Church, then down a street full of fountains with odd figures. Passed a city gate with the "prison tower," and the one with the clock tower.

Zähringerbrunnen/Fountain

Kramgasse Zytglogge/clock tower

Postcard of Kramgasse

We had just missed the show at the clock. We continued past the fountains and turned to see the little city hall. Then across a bridge looking down on the Aare River and on some of the famous red roof tops.

Red tile roofs

We noticed the tops of the chimneys often resembled stone birdhouses.

Note chimneys

On the other side of the bridge were the bear pits – a simple cement hole in the ground with bare pines sticking up, one in each half. One half housed three brown bears and the other half two tan bears. A couple of them were playing with logs.

Berne bear pits

We then walked back over the bridge and up past the Münster Cathedral with its overlook of the river.

Berne Münster

Then up past the parliament buildings where supposedly you could view the Bernese Alps, but they looked like less than the Ramapo Mountains!

Bernese Alps not seen due to haze

We returned to the clock tower in time to see the tiny "puppets" turn in a circle, and then the gold man at the top hit the bell (here sound travels faster than light!). We walked back to the station stopping to buy some tuna fish at a delicatessen/specialty foods store where we couldn't find other appropriate groceries. Terry saw some Hummels, but the store didn't take my charge cards, so we didn't even look further. Kathy cashed a travelers’ cheque at a bank just opening. Back at the station we retraced the roundabout route to the post office to mail our postcards.

Berne Map

Map of Berne

We caught the 09:06 train to Zürich. On the way we saw a nuclear reactor station which appeared to be the local cloud maker! Also saw the typical gardens of northern Europe which are located in the rural area. The land is divided into small plots where people plant vegetables and/or flowers and often have small garden houses in which to dine, keep tools, or whatever. Arrived in Zürich at about 11:00 and put our bags in a locker before setting out. We walked down the main shopping street unsuccessfully looking for Hummels. We did find the huge confectionery store to buy the local specialty: chocolate balls with a fudge filling. We ate those as we tried to find the guild houses as recommended by the $10 book, but we didn't find anything in particular. Oh yes, in Berne we stopped at one of the frequent candy shops and tried a bar of Lindt and a bar of Suchard. Excellent, of course! Back in Zürich we reached the docks, then walked through a park where apparently they were shooting (photographing!) models. We walked up a hill to the Art Museum, which had a large variety but mostly modern paintings and sculpture. Finally saw some Paul Klees.

Zürich Art Museum ticket

We walked back along the river and stopped at a bakery for bread, and at a grocery store.

Zürich Map

Map of Zürich

Back at the train station, we didn't take the 13:38 train because it appeared to have a special designation (express?). As we waited for the 14:10 train to Sargans, we had roast chicken sandwiches. Once on the train we shared a huge Bretzel, yes, Bretzel, which was a very large soft pretzel. On this trip we passed some huge lakes with clean water, and mountains that still had snow on them. And we saw some Swiss chocolate brown cows! At Sargans we immediately caught the 15:18 train to Buchs. Only a few minutes later we arrived in Buchs. We put our bags in a locker there, then went across the street to the bus station to get tickets to Vaduz.

Bus ticket for Vaduz

We were able to get right on a bus and two minutes later we crossed the river into the principality of Liechtenstein. We passed through one town of Schaan, then arrived in Vaduz, a neat clean little town, a mixture of modern and old. Up on the hill was the simple castle of Vaduz.

Vaduz Castle on the mountain

Postcard of Vaduz Castle

Vaduz Cathedral

We walked around the downtown area about two times, passing restaurants, hotels, and souvenir shops! We found some Hummels, and we found they were very expensive and couldn't believe they were that much cheaper than in the U.S. (We later found out they were about 30% cheaper!) So we didn't buy any, and Terry didn't see any she really liked anyway. We did buy some huge ice creams at the local Wienerwald. The waiter recommended the most expensive ones, so like the previous ice cream splurge we had a Danish, a Jacques, and a banana split, this time with melted ice cream and lots of garnishing. Bought a Sprite from a teasing vendor at a refreshment stand for our thirst, went to the post office, and then went to wait for our bus. By 18:00 we were back in Buchs, where Kathy decided to snack on Japanese crackers. I changed most of our Swiss money into Austrian as we had decided to head for Salzburg. We had only 65 pfennig left and needed at least 20 for the toilet. So we took a slow walk through downtown Buchs as the stores closed up looking for something that would cost less than 45 pfennig. All too soon we got back to the station at barely past 18:30. We sat for a while in a small park and prepared tuna fish sandwiches for later. Then we went to thoroughly use the restrooms; brushing teeth, washing faces, taking a chemical bath (phrase courtesy of the Georgian!), changing clothes, etc. We then went to join all the "Yugoslavians" who mysteriously appeared to board the 20:00 train for Beograd. We got a compartment to ourselves and watched out the window as we passed through Liechtenstein. We also could really see the stars and the Big Dipper was low in the sky. We were later joined by a Yugoslavian older couple. We slept quite a bit.
Next: Salzburg.