Swiss Holiday - Part 4 - Zurich and Bern

From the mountains to the city.

The city of Zürich.

A fountain with the flag of the city.

Moving from Chur and the East of the country, we drove Westwards towards the big cities of Zurich and Bern. My time in the mountains was up - I was a little sad, but I was also looking forward to this change, a real chance to see city life in Switzerland. Waking up in the morning, looking out at that mountain view from the window, I knew I was going to miss it. The weather today had turned - no longer the blue skies of the past week. It was colder, white and cloudy. Heating turned up in the car, we set out for Zürich - the view was cold and cloudy, like a single white sheet draped over the skyline. As we got closer and closer to the city, I saw more drivers from Zürich on the road - the people from Chur and Arosa don't like drivers from Zürich and say they are the slowest, most stupid drivers in the country. State rivalry at it's best - but by the end of my stay here I started to see that they were indeed a little slower than the mountain folk - maybe it's just a City VS Country thing instead. We parked just outside the city centre and decided to walk in and get the tram out, figuring we'd warm up a little on the walk and by the time we were ready to go home we'd be frozen and need a quick route back to the car.

I just love Swiss fountains - interesting and functional!

View of the Limmat River and the East bank from the viewpoint.

City selfies.

Zürich rooftops.

Sadly the weather hadn't improved at all - it was still very, very cold, my fingers froze a little more every time I took a photo, and the sky was quite depressing. A fog also sat over the city, hiding views of the lake and the mountains that I had been so looking forward to seeing. Braving the cold, I got my camera out and made the most of my visit here. Zürich is not the capital of Switzerland as a lot of people mistakenly think, but it is the largest city, with a population of 400,000, and both it's airport and railway station are the busiest in the country. Zürich has been constantly populated for over 2,000 years, the Romans founding the city in 15 BC, calling it Turicum. Although it's population doesn't make it a metropolis, or even a large, important city like London or New York, it has been ranked quite high on many of the lists made for "quality of life," Monicle Mag put it at No. 1 in 2012 and even Mercer rank it highly every year - I think the small population plays a part in this too. It's also a global city as far as the financial world and research industry goes too - mainly due to the low tax rates for such companies. The Paradeplatz, the main square of the city, in the Bahnhofstrasse area (Downtown Zürich), is one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the country, home to the Swiss banks and head office for UBS and Credit Suisse. Although all banks are thieves and bastards nowadays, the Swiss banks have the reputation of stashing black money and even hiding Nazi gold from victims of the Holocaust, and in 1999 a lawsuit cost the banking industry more around $1.25 billion. They seem to be doing alright though - spare change for them I guess.

Downtown Zürich.

the Grossmünster of Zürich.

Pretty streets of Zürich.

I enjoyed walking around the city and seeing the sights, despite the cold and terrible weather. At least it wasn't raining, so my spirits weren't dampened apart from the fact that I knew the city wasn't being shown in it's best light. The river is the main attraction, apart from the lake, and from a viewpoint on the West bank I could imagine what it would look like on a sunny day. The Zürich cathedral is called Grossmünster, or 'Great Minster,' and is  a Romanesque Protestant church that sits just off the river, commanding a view of the lake and the rest of the city. Built on the site of another church, said to have been commissioned by Charlemagne (Charles The Great), a Frankish King in the 8th Century - he chose the site when his horse fell to it's knees, over the tombs of Felix and Regula, the patron saints of the city. Members of the Theban legion, they were threatened to be executed along with the rest of the unit in 286 due to their mass conversion to Christianity, the two brothers we eventually caught, tried and executed in Zürich. After their heads were cut off, the miraculously stood, picked up their heads and walked forty paces uphill and prayed, before lying down and dying. This is the spot where the new church would be build - the present-day Grossmünster, which took 120 years to build (1100-1220). Sounds silly I know, but recent archaeological evidence confirms the presence of a Roman burial ground at the site, so maybe it was true... apart from the decapitated bodies getting up and walking. Inside, sadly, is nowhere near as large or as impressive as the outside - it was small, had a plain ceiling and no impressive stonework at all.

Simple yet beautiful - that's Switzerland.

The busiest train station in Europe.

The Bern Zytglogge.

Albrecht von Haller at Bern Uni.

After a kebab lunch (which I might add cost 10f for just a kebab - but an awesome one!), it was time to leave Zürich and head for Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Many people think that the capital is either Zürich or Geneva, much like Rio is to Brasilia, Sydney to Canberra, Toronto to Otawa, and so on - the capital is not always the famous one, the city with the most people or even the prettiest, and sometimes it's a geography thing (Madrid is the dead centre of Spain for example). The naming of Bern, according to the local legend, states that Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern in 1191, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. Some people also say that it was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in German. Bern was made the federal capital in 1848 and hasn't looked back - it is not a boring political city at all. Although it only has around 400,000 people, small compared the rest of Europe and the World, it is a bustling city with lots of things happening and also things to see. I arrived on New Year's Eve, just in time for a siesta before heading to a private house party to celebrate the night. For dinner it was a typical Swiss meal of Raclette - cheese on small metal plates is heated from above by flames, while the grill on top is where you cook vegetables and potatoes, then pour the melted cheese over these. Yum! I also had a Fondue while in Switzerland, even though I'd had it a few times before, I'd clearly not actually had it as it was never in Switzerland!

Houses and church along the river.

Sunset in Bern.

Anna Seiler Fountain.

Bern's main street.

There is a saying in Switzerland that says you don't 'bring in' the New Year but rather 'skate it in,' so this is what we did! We rented boots and skated around the man-made ice rink in front of the Government building in the centre of the city. We had champagne and wine while we skated and other people were launching fireworks in the square next to us. Compared to a normal NYE, it was quite tame, but very civilised and far less drunk. Families were out, people behaved themselves and although there were some puke puddles on the street, there weren't any big fights, arguments or any other disorderly behaviour - very Swiss and quieter than an average Friday night out in Sydney. By the time I went for a walk in the afternoon of the 1st, the city was all cleaned up and looking beautiful again. This was my first chance to see the city and I was quite impressed. The Historic Old Town of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and the city is also ranked highly on the top places to live. The medieval city is where most people spend their time and where the tourists go too - it's a strange contradiction though, as you see 500 year old buildings, paved streets and wonderful architecture, there is still the 'taint' of modern life - fast food chains occupy once-wealthy merchant's houses and big 4x4's driving through little back streets. Still, there are trams which are quiet and environmentally friendly which take people back and forth along the long streets, most people walk, preferring little shops to shopping centres and there is no real rush about it. I didn't get much of a chance for exploration as the sun sets at around 5:30pm here at this time of year, but I was excited and ready to be up and out tomorrow for more.

Beautiful houses in the University suburb of Bern.

Bern after a dusting of overnight snow.

The child-eating Ogre.

Another unique Bern fountain.

One thing that really stands out here in Bern, apart from all the lovely buildings, churches and cobbled streets, are the Medieval fountains. I've mentioned this before when I was in Chur, but here in this city they are something special. The most famous fountain, and possibly also the weirdest I've ever seen, is The Kindlifresserbrunnen. It was created in 1545 by Hans Gieng (sculptor of another famous fountain in Bern called "Lady Justice") to replace a wooden fountain, and the new one depicts a sitting ogre eating children. The word 'kindli' is a Swiss German diminutive for child ('Kind' in German), and the literal translation of the whole word is "Fountain of the Eater of Little Children". The creature is thought to be either represent a Jew (as he is wearing a typical pointed hat) as an expression of a blood libel, or what most Bernese think is the Krampus, a mountain creature who punishes children at Christmas who had misbehaved. Either way, it is a fascinating yet horrible carving - the creature is stuffing naked babies into his large, open mouth, head-first, while a sack full of the next victims hang at this waist, all crying and trying to escape the ogre's grasp. Another, The Zähringerbrunnen, was built in 1535 as a memorial to the founder of Bern, Berchtold von Zähringer. The statue is a bear in full armour, with another bear cub at his feet. representing the one that Berchtold shot on the Aare peninsula as he was searching for a site to build a city.

The scariest (and also one of the most interesting) fountain statues I've ever seen!

Snow and sunshine - perfect day for a walk!

The Mediveal City of Bern.

Bern's Aare River.

The weather in Bern, although very, very cold, was mainly sunny and lovely. It hadn't snowed since I'd arrived at all (something that people were quite worried about as it's not normal at all), but on the night of the 2nd it did snow a little, leaving a white, snowy blanket over the city. What else can you do but quickly put your boots on, grab your camera and head out? That's what I did - a whole day out exploring this beautiful city. I started from the house, which is in the university neighbourhood of Länggasse, sitting on a hill above the rest of the city. The Universität Bern is a beautiful old building, it's grounds white with fluffy overnight snow, trees icy and frozen, making everything look like a Winter wonderland. It has a good view of the city and also a lovely cafe at which all the students sit and sip their expensive Swiss coffee. I headed down into the Medieval part of the city, find yet more of Bern's 100 unique and wonderful fountains, including the Anna Seiler Fountain, which shows a woman pouring water into a bowl and represent the founder of Bern's first hospital in 1354. I also wanted to see the Bern Minster, the famous Zytglogge as well as the 'Bern Bears' that people had told me about. I love this city!

Houses overlooking the river, with the Minster behind.

Bern's Parliament building as people 'skate in' the New Year.