Bern, Switzerland ( Part 1)

 

Sunday is always the best day to check out cities. Why? Here in Switzerland (and much of Europe) it's a dead day. Stores, supermarkets even drugstores and, many restaurants are closed. Trains aren't as packed, streets are less crowded with cars, trucks and people. The downside to Sunday? Well, you know how I love pastry hunting--most patisseries are closed. Today I'm in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and a pastry shop is call konditorei.

Bern, population 140,000, is the capital of Switzerland. I've been to Bern countless times before but, there're an area outside of town I've never been so, the plan is to cycle about a 30 mile loop. From Lausanne (home base) it's an hour and 15 minute train ride to Bern. I arrive around five minutes to eight and head to the Federal Palace (Swiss parliament building) to snap a photo of its exterior. Jeez, imagine my surprise to hear a gun go off and find about a 1,000 cyclists heading off for the start of a charity bike ride. So much for getting an unobstructed photo!

As you will see, Bern is the mother lode for spectacular water fountains. This one stands in front of a clock tower.

Check out this flute player. Take a look at all the characters below him.

I head a half dozen miles out of town to Koniz. I heard there's a castle here and boy do I love castles. On the wall it reads Schloss Koniz. (Schloss is castle in German). Very disappointing as there're no medieval fortifications. A thousand years ago it was a monastery then morphed into a castle. In 1992 the town of Koniz bought the property and turned it into a cultural center. 

This is one of the inside courtyards of Koniz Castle.

On a side wall of this house is the date 1538 then, there's a list of other dates which I'm assuming is when it was renovated--every 100 years or so. As I look across the street I spot something weird-looking. See next photo.

This is the courtyard of a restaurant next door to the medieval structure. Wow, if the people from 1538 building came back to the present what would they make of this?

This is the exterior of the unusual restaurant.

This is a strange-looking apartment building. Every balcony has metal mesh fencing on the balcony and evidently the growing vines are part of its look. If I was near the top I'd want to take in the view--not having it blocked by vines.  

On the other side of the river is a swimming complex. Have to cycle several miles up river to find a crossing.

This is where my bike and I crossed. The covered bridge has the date "1836" on the side. Note, before snapping this photo I check to make sure no bushes looking like poison ivy are present. 

I'm on the other side of river checking out the public multi-pool swimming complex. 

To get to this pool complex I had earlier cycled from the tree line up on the other side of the valley. 

Saw this big plant and could smell coffee. Of course I had to go check it out.

This is the head office/plant for Haco. It's Sunday but I knock on the front door. A security guard comes out and gives me the lowdown. Haco is a Swiss food manufacturer which makes foods for other companies. Here they make coffee capsules for Migros, Switzerland's largest supermarket chain. Later I google and find out Haco is privately-held, does about $450 in revenues. Haco has a presence in the USA with Girard's, a salad dressing which I've seen the the refrigerated salad dressing section in Albertsons, the second largest supermarket chain in the USA.