Bern Orientation

No Pig

Fairy Tale CIty

Rosti

Sept. 26, 2015-Bern

Orientation

Our day started with breakfast at a civilized hour. They serve until 10:30. We were greeted with a varied buffet and a sign near the meat selections with a picture of a pig with a slash across it. Perfect. No pork. Dried beef and turkey for David. The downside was that darned all pervasive cigarette smell. There's absolutely no smoking indoors, but somehow it leeches in.

In the light of day we're still quite pleased with the hotel. The floors don't squeak; it is so quiet I didn't need earplugs; and the first thing we saw when we opened our curtains this morning was a fruit stand across the street. On the downside, our bathroom door is opaque. For privacy we turn the light off in the bathroom and on in the room. Otherwise it's like sitting center stage.

The sun shone and mid-60's was predicted as we ventured out on foot past the train station (ten minutes away) to Bern Platz and the open market. We were in search of a Swiss flag for Sammy Baumgartner who requested it for a teacher of his who collected flags. Although we didn't find one in the market, we were directed to a souvenir store called Coop. At first we thought they said "cop," when we saw the sign I thought it was "coop" as in chickens, but it's co-op which does sound like cop.

Migros, a supermarket chain, might be our go-to place for necessities. We scored bottled water and bananas far cheaper than at the farmer's market, but did create a problem for locals. We didn't know to weigh the bananas in the produce department. The cashier had to run back to do that when she realized we were clueless. No one groused.

Lunch was unremarkable and David was ticked with our server. We ate outdoors and ordered a pizza to share. We were brought a pizza and one napkin. Guess he didn't like us sharing. No problem. It was a large napkin so I tore it in half. Easier than getting his attention.

As I've mentioned, public bathrooms are a problem. We scouted H&M Department Store for a jacket for David. Didn't buy it. He's so cheap. Asked for a toilet there. No way. Then we saw a McDonald's. Scored the code for free and made that potty central. While waiting for me to finish in the Ladies room David served as doorman for a group of Asian women who hadn't gotten the code. He entered it into the keypad and they bowed as he held the door.

After taking too much time locating the Tourist Info Bureau and missing the guided walking tour, we decided to do it on our own. Bern is a very small city and we had a good map. The main street has sheltered sidewalks like an arcade. We hit all the highlights (clock tower, prison tower, Town Hall, Parliament) and made it up to the rose garden for a bird's eye view of the town. Let me tell you, the walk up there was killer and on cobblestones. For those of you who can relate, it's steeper than Portage Path up from the Valley. At the top we found families who had pushed strollers and carried babies uphill and people older than we using canes. That's why it's hard to find an out of shape Swiss. Heidi Klein, Janet's mom, told me how steep the hills were. She helped me make a wise decision about footwear. I chose clunky and serviceable over a sleeker more stylish walking shoe.

We toured Einstein House where he'd lived. Things I learned were his wife and he had a baby girl before getting married. She left the child in Hungary with her parents and it's thought the baby was adopted out. Einstein never saw his daughter. They subsequently married, had two sons, and divorced. He did agree to share his Nobel Prize money with her. He married his cousin with whom he'd been having an affair. He'd failed at passing exams and getting jobs until he either got his act together or they realized his brilliance. He was excluded from the Manhattan Project because the U.S. government didn't trust him. He was shocked when the atom bomb was dropped. He was a pacifist.

We managed to sleep nine hours last night. We thought we'd be rested, but jet lag eventually set in. We took a break while David had gelato and I had hot chocolate. I have to say the cocoa was nothing like the thick molten drink I had on Mt. Etna.  We decided to take a tram back to the hotel after our long day, but stopped at the central train station to check on our return trip to Milan. It's a good thing we did. We go back on a Sunday and Expo Milan is still in full swing. Several trains were sold out, but we did get a seat.

The population here is lots more diverse than I thought. The woman last night from Zimbabwe  is not alone, although she did tell me she doesn't like it here. No elaboration. Fortunately, diversity adds to culinary options. Tonight we ate in our hotel neighborhood at Ristorante Beaulieu. It's Swiss fare. We scarfed down a dish I thought I'd avoid. But once here it sounded appealing. It's rosti. We'd call it hash browns with melted cheese and an egg on top. It's usually served with meat (pork or veal) but we asked them to leave it off.

Always planning ahead, we toured the area around our hotel for future dinners. We found an Indian place that smelled of delicious curry when the door opened. But the find of the day was Injera, an Ethiopian place filled with university students (they seem to get discounts at restaurants), and families with babies crawling around. We spoke to a server whose English was helpful. He assured us they served authentic Ethiopian fare and when I asked about pork he insisted they were orthodox in food selections.

We're aiming for an early bedtime tonight. We catch a train for Zermatt and the Matterhorn tomorrow.

Toby