Bern Archives ⋆ The Passenger

August 16, 2021April 14, 2022

Grüessech

For some years I tried to avoid trips to Switzerland. It is a nice country with beautiful nature, but the prices are just horrible. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 I was searching for places I could reach by train and as I’ve never seen the capital city of Switzerland, I booked my ticket. But then our Swiss neighbors held a large yodel festival (really!), and the infection numbers were increasing dramatically. Therefore, it took me another year before I could do the trip.

August 16, 2021December 19, 2021

Dählhölzli

Visiting the zoological garden of Bern is quite a surprise. It is not a giant zoo, but a good one: focused on local and European animals and aiming for providing them a suitable environment. They reduced the number of animals to give them more space. Dählhölzi is a place that you can visit with a good conscience.

August 14, 2021December 9, 2021

Floating in the Aare

It’s a unique pleasure I’ve so far only observed in Switzerland: citizens jumping from bridges and floating in rivers through their cities. But who would want to blame them when the river is so clear and has such a beautiful color like the Aare? It is the longest river of Switzerland; it originates in the Alps and runs into the Rhein.

August 14, 2021December 9, 2021

Museum für Kommunikation

It is one of these interactive museums you can only love and enjoy: the museum of communication at Bern, Switzerland. It was founded in 1907 as the museum of the Swiss Post and is today a large playground about all facets of human communication. It is very modern, well designed and it activates and involves the visitors.

August 14, 2021December 7, 2021

Berner Historisches Museum

The history museum of Bern resides in an impressive building created until 1984 in historicism style. It exhibits collections about the early history of the region and spectacular findings over the centuries (like the statues hidden in the iconoclasm of 1528). This includes archaeology and ethnography, but also numismatics.

August 14, 2021December 7, 2021

Kunsthalle

The Kunsthalle of Bern is just a small exhibition space for art that has been opened in 1918 and is used solely for changing exhibitions. A visit there can be amazing if you get to see a fantastic exhibition or rather boring if you come at the wrong point in time. Reviews of the museum vary extremely – but how could it be any different?

August 14, 2021December 7, 2021

Einsteins flat

Who doesn’t know Albert Einstein? He was the most renowned scientist of our times. A special episode of the life of this theoretical physicist was when he had a dull job in the patent office of Bern. Some of his most important works were finished during this time and in that phase, from 1903 to 1905 he was living in a flat in the famous Kramgasse.

August 14, 2021December 6, 2021

Kunstmuseum

One of the oldest art museums of Switzerland is the Kunstmuseum at Bern, located next to river Aare in the north of the city center. It dates back to the year 1879 and is located in a beautiful renaissance revival style. But for sure the people are coming for what’s inside: from Franz Marc to Paul Cézanne, from August Macke to Lovis Corinth.

August 14, 2021December 5, 2021

Senkeltram

The Mattelift is a simple elevator at Bern which you’ll find attached to the Münsterplattform close to the cathedral. It is part of public transport and connects the city center with the lower quarter Matte which was in old times a zone for the lower class and crafts like tannery. Locals call it the Senkeltram – a tramway going up and down on a lace.

August 13, 2021October 12, 2021

Rooftop bar for railway lovers

I’m always in for a sundowner with good views. Bern offers different high-class rooftop bars but if you want something special you should visit the PinkLime for a beer, some cocktails, or classic Apéro snacks. By the way: the Apéro is not only an important tradition in France, but also in Switzerland. You meet with friends to talk and your drinks are always served with small snacks (cheese, olives, bread, dried meat, …).