Laowai

Yesterday we went to Bern. It’s the capital city of Switzerland. Another beautiful Swiss city that is just about an hour from our house. All we did was wander the cobblestone streets and wooded paths, but we had a great time. The medieval architecture is just so full of interesting details – there’s something to see wherever your eyes land. And the river that goes through town is so clear and beautiful – especially with a little bit of Fall color starting to line it. 

Bern’s city symbol is a bear so there are bear images all over and they even have some live bears. Here’s a bit of trivial history for you about the connection between bears and Bern:

Bears have enjoyed – or suffered – a long and rather one-sided relationship with Switzerland’s capital of Bern. According to one legend, Berthold V of Zähringen named Bern after the first animal killed during a hunt when the city was founded in 1191. (If the story is true, the Duke must have decided to honor the victim’s entire species, since “Bären” is the German plural form of “bear.”) The 1923 edition of Muirhead’s Switzerland explains: Whatever be the real connection of the words ‘bear’ and ‘Bern,’ the figure of a bear occurs in the oldest known city seal (1224), and living bears have been kept in Berne at the town’s exepense since 1513. 

Here are a bunch of random shots from our roaming around the city.

They had a nice big market – lots of pretty Fall produce and some strange and unusual looking fruits and vegetables too.

We couldn’t pass up a chocolate treat.

And here’s Claire – just so she doesn’t feel left out. She was very good in her stroller all day long.