Bern

This weekend's travels were to Bern, the Swiss capitol. The train ride is about an hour and a half, with one switch in Zurich. We arrived in Bern around 10:30, and decided to follow Rick Steve's walking tour before further exploring on our own. We took our time strolling through the streets, looking at the sites, and letting Westin obsess over the many, many fountains throughout the city. Ryan and I both liked Bern - mostly a car-less city with cobblestone streets, lots of shopping and restaurants, a beautiful river, and a very cohesive look among the buildings... kind of reminded us of Florence a little, just not quite as bustling with action and not as many sites and museums. 

The train to Zurich had a family car, with a slide, a rocketship seating area, steering wheels and a wall puzzle. Pretty cool for a train.

Just off the train and ready to explore

Prison Tower

Barenplatz - a popular plaza with restaurants, shops and a huge market on Saturdays

The Parliament Building

One of the many fountains we stopped to look at (and this wasn't even one of the cool ones, but he still loved it)

Behind the Parliament building was a great terrace, with benches, grassy areas, fountains, a beautiful view and huge chess board sets. Westin decided to give it a go...

And went straight for the king

The view behind the Parliament Building - the Aare River and Gurten Mountain (more like hill compared to the real mountains in Switzerland)

On the Kirchfeld bridge over the Aare River and looking back to the city with the Bern Cathedral in the background

Bern Cathedral

On the facade is this depiction of Judgement Day... it's pretty gruesome when you get up close.

This is where Albert Einstein lived

On the West end of the city - this tower is the original town castle

And this is the town's oldest bridge

The first Lindt Chocolate factory

Bear Park - where they house three brown bears, the symbol of the city

Love this view of the city 

Taking a break by the river

We spent the later part of the afternoon on Gurten Mountain. It's a short bus ride from the train station and then another short tram ride up the mountain. It's a small mountain, but has a beautiful view and an awesome kids' park.

That white building with the steeple would be the Mormon Temple :)

This was part of the kids' area - there was also a huge tree house, climbing area, a water area, little cars to drive around, slides, and a train ride. 

We finished the day with Mexican food... or what the Swiss call Mexican food (they add a green curry sauce and don't put beans in their burritos - they also say the "ll" sound in quesadillas and tortillas). I'm not sure if it was actually good, or if I was so hungry or that desperate for Mexican food that is just tasted good, but it hit the spot. 

Really looking forward to this week - we have a playdate set up (yay for friends!), my dad and Loni arrive on Wednesday and we're going to Como on Friday!!!