Switzerland Part 4

Finally! The last stop on the Switzerland trip (a month late): Bern.

Fortunately we saved the best for last, as Bern was easily my favorite Swiss city. It's full of narrow cobblestone streets, chiming clocks, grey stone facades and a turquoise river that snakes its way around the edge.

 

Our timing was perfect, as we arrived on the first day of Carnival. Who knew the Swiss could throw an amazing party? 

Everyone was out and about in the confetti-lined streets in the most elaborate costumes I've ever seen. And I mean everyone.

It seemed like the older the person, the better the costume. We actually ended up going back to our hostel and throwing together cat costumes because anyone who didn't make some attempt looked silly.

There were about twenty bandstands set up throughout the city center. Incredible marching bands played at each one. After four or five songs, they'd pack up and move down the road to the next one.

Then there was the food. Oh, the food. It had already been a week of fondue, crepes and pastry, but the street food at Carnival put it all to shame. My favorites were the churros (the best I've had since Spain) and the chocolate covered fruit MADE TO ORDER. Is my sweet tooth showing?

The next day was exciting in a very different way. I visited the Bern Historical/Einstein Museum. The exterior was amazing...

...but didn't even begin to compare to what I found inside.

Rooms and rooms and rooms, four floors worth, of amazing artifacts I didn't even know I cared about. Even as a museum geek, I didn't think I could spend five hours learning about Bern's history (I was wrong).

The museum did the the most incredible job of telling a story; It was so much more than cases of artifacts with a label next to them.

One of the highlights for me was being able to handle a 500 year old book.

The Einstein exhibit was also amazing. It brought you through his life in the context of world history. Visitors wander through almost eighty years, including a 1930's movie theater and typical American house from the 1950's.

However, my favorite snippets had to be...

...the fact that Einstein sucked at linguistics and that his wife was a better mathematician.

After a month of (unnecessarily stressful) reflection, I can safely say this is the BEST museum I have ever been to. Sorry Smithsonian, Prado and British Museum! 

Unlike with the museum, it didn't take long for me to decide that Bern is comfortably in my top three all-time favorite cities. 

"You Alright?"

(Switzerland Part 4 will be coming soon!)

I've adjusted to the differences in language here without much trouble, and (believe it or not) there are a lot of differences between Standard British English and Standard American English.

Many of them we hear (and even joke) about,

chips = french fries
prawns = shrimp
zebra crossing = crosswalk
flat = apartment

I have adopted "cheers" and "queue" (among others) into my regular vocab. They're just used so often here it's impossible not to!

One that took a while to get used to was "stay in or take away?" You don't realize how used to "for here or to go?" you are until someone in food service asks a different question. As usual, the Brits thought of a more elegant way to say the same thing.

However, there is ONE difference that throws me every single time, even after a few months:

"You alright?"

Seems like a simple enough question, right? But it's one we use in the U.S. when something appears to be wrong. If someone just came up to you in a normal setting and asked, "you alright?" You'd probably wonder why and say, "Yes...? I'm fine."

Here it is used in place of "how are you?" or "what's up?" which means ALL THE TIME. And, let me tell you, it trips me up each and every time. I still haven't figured out the proper answer. "Yes" seems inadequate, but it is also a yes or no question.

My answer usually starts out with "uhh.."

Switzerland Part 3

Stop number three was the touristy, but beautiful Interlaken. It is happily situated in a valley, surrounded by the Alps, and (as the name suggests) between two lakes.

As the perfect starting point for the surrounding ski resorts and attractions, Interlaken is overrun with tourists (almost exclusively from China and Korea). However, like many places, there's a reason it attracts people from all over the world.

For example...

Our hostel

 

This leg of the trip began by almost getting on the wrong train. Actually, we did get on the wrong train, but luckily also got off the wrong train. Public transport is SO efficient in Switzerland that different trains arrive at and leave each platform every five minutes. Therefore, it's a good idea to hold off on boarding until about two minutes before your train is actually scheduled to leave! 

After a moment of panic, we got on the correct train.

Our hostel was incredible--probably the best I've ever stayed in (and I've stayed in 30+). They provided free ice skating passes to the rink in a nearby park. We decided to go at night--all of the surrounding grand, old hotels were covered in twinkling white lights.

Other fun moments included...

 a photo booth (where lack of sleep got the best of us). 

 and hot chocolate, which was melted chocolate "with a splash of milk." YUM.

The main highlight, however, was snowboarding in the Alps. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Though I hadn't been in a couple years, it felt natural to be back on a board (I suppose as natural as it can feel to have your feet strapped together). I forgot how much I love it! The view certainly didn't hurt either...

Interlaken fun fact: For whatever reason there are no crosswalks in this particular city. Drivers are incredibly polite (a welcome change from London) and stop anywhere to allow you to get across the street. 

Switzerland Part 2

The title of this entry is slightly misleading. This city was included in the Switzerland trip, but was not actually in Switzerland (just a technicality, really).

As a follow-up to my "Geneva is really boring" post from last time, this one brings us to Annecy, France. A small city we decided to day-trip to.

Geneva is only ten minutes from the French border, and Annecy is another hour beyond that. It was really easy to catch a bus from the Geneva station, as they run about every hour (it would be an understatement to say Swiss public transportation is AMAZING).

Annecy has a slightly more positive nickname than Geneva, as it's often called "France's most beautiful city." It's full of old canals lined with colorful houses--exactly how you picture "Europe."

"California Wine Gallery" in France?

I even found one of the routes of the Camino de Santiago (the walk I made across northern Spain a couple years ago). While most probably wouldn't pick up on the blue tile with an abstract scallop shell, it immediately caught my attention. I wasn't expecting to see this symbol again until I made my way back to Spain!

This was my first time in France, and I was very impressed. Annecy is a must for anyone within a reasonable distance. I wish we had gotten to spend more time there--one day simply wasn't enough!