How to spend one day in Bern, Switzerland

Bern, the federal city of Switzerland. It is located on the Swiss plateau and 20 km away from the Bernese Alps. There are two mountains closed to Bern, on the one hand the Mountain Gurten (864 m/ 2835 ft) and the Mountain Bantiger (947 m/ 3107 ft). It is surrounded by the river named Aare. As its ground is uneven, there are several differences of hight between the different city districts.

In Bern, we also stayed for one night in a hostel named Backpackers Hostel Glocke. As this hostel didn’t have his own parking places, we had to search another park house. So we had to walk with our suitcases through the whole city, which was quite annoying. Arriving at the hostel, we noticed that there weren’t any elevator to reach the first floor. Another difficult situation for me, because at the one hand, I’m not that strong, and on the other hand, my suitcase was so heavy.

Zytglogge

The Zytglogge, which is the Bernese German word for Time Bell. It is a medieval tower built in the early 13th century. During that time, it has served as guard tower, prison or clock tower. It is a major tourist attraction and one of Bern’s most recognizable symbol.

Federal Palace

The Federal Palace is the building in Bern where the Swiss Federal Assembly and the Federal Council are housed. When you’re standing on the Bundesplatz, the square on which the Federal Palace is built, you see the north side of the building. When you want to see the south side, you have to walk down to the Aare. From there you have a beautiful view with the Aare in the foreground.

Einstein House

Another famous place in Bern is the Albert Einstein house. Nowadays, it is a museum, but he lived there from 1903 to 1905.

Renaissance Statues

Something really special in Bern are the eleven Renaissance allegorical statues on public fountains in their Old Town. I think the most famous one is the Kindlifressbrunnen (in English Child Eater Fountain or Ogre Fountain). It should represent a Jew, the Greek god Chronos or a Fastnacht figure that should scare the children who disobey.

By that time, it was my 4th city which I visited in Switzerland and I have to admit that they are all unique. Everyone of them has its own charm and attractive corners.