We headed back to Bern for our second last day in Switzerland. We checked in and walked out to the nearest bus stop. For some reason, waiting for the bus on this road was so pleasant!
We took a bus to Rosengarten (Rose Garden). So far, we have nothing but praises for Swiss transportation. The buses are punctual and clean. No continuous devilish pressing of bells happening as befalls the buses in UK.
The garden had many varieties of flowers. We quite enjoyed 'stopping to smell the roses'.
Had to get a picture with my namesake- the Lotus flower (莲) Blossoming from the mud below.
At the edge of the garden, this view of Bern met us.
After a nice relaxing stroll, we headed towards the Bärengraben (Bear Pit). The thing I love about Bern is it is mostly accessible by footpath and the distance from one viewpoint to another is not too far. They also provide a stellar tourist map.
On our way down the hill, we saw another brilliant view of Bern. Love the overlapping roofs!
Bears!!
Love their shiny coat. Not missing clumps of fur like some unhealthy ones I've seen in zoos before.
The bears have quite a huge portion of landscape to wander about. Their habitat is equipped with pools and is located on a slopy hill which allows for plenty of climbing. As you can see, it was clearly a hot day.
All around Bern, there are these interesting fountains. We managed to see quite a few (we took them as check-in points sometimes as they were plotted clearly on the map). The one to the right is a bit disturbing- known as the Ogre/Child-eater as is clearly portrayed.
Another view of interesting buildings- on the top right is the Church of St Peter and Paul. Particularly love the allotment-like gardens behind the houses that were very neatly kept.
Clearer view below. Don't you just love the sloping terraces?
Hubby loves trams and tramlines so this picture is for him.
Love the long tram.
We were on our way to the Munster Cathedral when in front of me there was water that seemed to spurt of nowhere! For 2 seconds and it was over. We looked high and low and couldn't see anything. It would happen again after about 1 minute or so. After standing there for a while in silence, a lady emerged from an underground shop, saw our confused faces and told us a story about the 'Devil'. There was a coin lodged in the bricks on the floor and whoever was tempted by the coin would be spat on by the 'Devil'. Aha! We managed to catch the 'Devil' 'red-handed' (pun intended). It was really not this bright and easy to spot. The building was very high up but with the magic of zoom lens....
From afar, it looked deceivingly quiet.
The lady emerged from this quaint shop. Pictured below was an interesting display in the playground. From what I can make of it, being German-impaired, it is a complex ball-rolling machine? Kugelbahn??
The cathedral entrance. Majestic.
We went to the centre of town to get some lunch and saw some men playing giant chess in the square. How intense. Some very yummy baked goods pictured below as well.
We walked hurriedly to the Zytglogge Tower which was built in the 13th century. The clock faces are epic and have so much story behind them. You can click on the link and slowly read about them. There were so many other tourists standing there, cameras poised, ready to capture the bell when it rings.
We walked around for a bit after, admiring the beautiful architecture.
The bank.
Parliament House.
This was the outside hallway of Parliament House.
Goodbye beautiful cobbled streets of Bern!
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