This time, I decided to take advantage of the Xchange opportunities with UNIL, the University of Lausanne. They were offering to give us a tour of the city of Bern and take us to the Christmas markets. Although Bern itself is not that large, the city was still bustling with activity, as many Swiss residents were hopping from sale to sale to do their holiday shopping.
Bern is the city of 100 fountains (or some number close to that), bears, and arched buildings. My favorite fountain has to be the one of the ogre eating the children - Kindlifresserbrunnen. It depicts Kronos, the Greek god who ate his children to prevent them from taking his throne - I guess it was also supposed to remind children to be good to their parents. I saw a film about the history of Bern, but I didn't understand it fully - there were lots of flashy sounds and colors and effects, which were more interesting than the narration about Napoleon. After taking a tour of the old downtown, our group ventured toward the bear pit. Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to see the bears because one was still recovering from being tranquilized. Recently, a man jumped over the wall into the bear pit, and the bear severely attacked him. Luckily the man survived, but both he and the bear are in weak stages of recovery.
In addition to visiting the bear pit, we also had the chance to climb the Bern Cathedral tower that overlooked the city and had a breath-taking view of the Alps, snow and all. I am hoping to soon be able to go hiking in the snow with my snowshoes!
The buildings in Bern employ overhangs held up by arched structures that protect vendors from the seasonal elements and offer a nice wind breaker for pedestrians as well. After a few steps, you would see vendors selling traditional German breads made into the shape of men (with little raisin eyes) or people selling mugs of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. I have found that chestnuts are rather enjoyable, and I wish that they existed in Iowa! It would be nice to have a mug of mulled wine and a paper sack of warm chestnuts while strolling through the Iowa tundra. The Christmas markets, Waisenhausplatz and Munsterplatz, were full of handmade knick-knacks and delicious holiday foods.
Here, a man is cutting caramels. This stand sold Swiss spice cake with symbols of the Bernois bear and Swiss flags. How traditional.
Santa flag and the Bern flag behind. The Christmas tree really makes me miss home and holiday times with my family!
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