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.