Beautiful Bern, Switzerland

 Clock Tower

I certainly lucked out with the weather while visiting my friend Lauren in Bern this weekend.  I met Lauren in New York at the 2008 job fair.  This is where I got a job in Athens and she in Bern.  Spring has definitely sprung here in Bern.  The grass is so lush and green, the tulips are in bloom, the trees have grown leaves as I watch them and the sky is a beautiful blue.

I arrived on Friday afternoon I arrived in Zurich and then took the train to Bern.  Though Bern is the capital of Switzerland it is much smaller than Zurich.  We went to a microbrewery by the bears for dinner and I had a typical Swiss meal of potato hash with apples, cheese and bacon and of course a beer!

Baby Brown Bear

Saturday it was a beautiful day  walked all around Bern, checking out all the stores.  It is nice to see cute Easter stores with unique  gifts - preppy things.  However, though I love to shop it is probably great that we don't have these great stores because I would waste money!  The mascot of Bern is the brown bear.  And so they have 4 brown bears in the bear pit.  Daddy bear was on one side and Mommy bear and her two cubs were playing on the other side - climbing the trees and eating the branches.

What I like about Bern is that when you look around at the people you really can't tell where they are from or what language they speak.

Sunday we packed a picnic and headed to this large green space right by the main river in town (Aare River).  Others had the same idea as us but many folks were there in their Speedos and bikinis!  it was about 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.  Lauren and I put our towels down, had a picnic and I read and she napped.  However thinking to bring sunscreen was not on my packing list and now I have a beautiful farmer burn!

Lauren

Albert Einstein's house

Monday I went with Lauren to school - The International School of Bern - I started the day in her classroom - grade 4 but also visited grade 1, 2 and 3!