The Beauty of Bern: Springtime in Switzerland

Out in front of our hotel along the river Aare, we mounted our two-wheeled kick scooters and set out across the bridge into the medieval center of the city of Bern. Giggling like Pee-wee Herman and giddy with exhilaration, we glided over the bridge as the Swiss stopped in their tracks. What to make of this impromptu parade of American tourists on scooters? What else could they do but smile and wave?

It was the Saturday morning of the Bern Grand-Prix, a road race described as "the ten most beautiful miles in the world" - and more than 25,000 runners were warming up. We breezed through the cobblestoned streets, passing pedestrians and marching bands in medieval costume. We took the hairpin turns and sailed down the hills like school kids on holiday. It was Saturday; it was spring - and we were in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, as the city burst with civic pride.

Consistently ranked among the world's top ten cities for quality of life, Bern was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Its medieval city center (established in 1191) is most famous for its Zytglogge (German for "Time Bell"), a 13th-century clock tower whose mechanical figures turn the changing of the hour into a crowd-pleasing puppet show with bears, a jester, and a cock-a-doodle-doo.

Lest anyone think, however, that Bern is a featherweight composite of Heidi and Maria von Trapp, there's the Kindlifresser ("Child Eater"), a somewhat macabre 16th-century statue of an ogre stuffing a baby into his mouth. Three toddlers at his feet await their fate in the ogre's stomach. Imagine your parents pointing that out when you were a child: "Sweet dreams, kiddies."

Switzerland has never been only sweetness and light. Bern's coat of arms, established in 1224, is charged with a black bear, with talons, tongue (and phallus) in bright red. And just as two lions guard the entrance of the New York Public Library, the front of the Historical Museum of Bern (Einstein Museum) is guarded by two bears, fangs bared.

Less than twelve miles from the Alps, Bern (from the German word "b�r," for bear) has had a bear pit since the 16th century - and the current incarnation of BearPark is one of the city's more popular attractions. Completed in 2009, more than two million visitors have visited the nearly two-acre riverfront park with its winding footpaths and staircases, to witness its four bears - Bjork, Finn, and their cubs, Ursina and Berna - at play. Your teddy bear fantasies from childhood, however, might get a rude awakening watching these massive animals frolic with each other - and for your own health, don't linger too close to the glass barriers. (Ask a local to tell you the story of one who did...)

Bern contains more than four miles of arcades, which front the baroque sandstone facades of Old Town, making it the longest covered shopping arcade in Europe - and a breeze for shopping, even in inclement weather. We skidded to a stop on our scooters and wandered through one of the city's bountiful produce markets, gorging on artisanal cheeses and marveling at bouquets of spring wildflowers. The peonies were in bloom, as were the calla lilies, bursting with color. Bunches of lavender permeated the air, as did freshly-baked pastries. Across the way was Einsteinhaus, where Einstein lived from 1903-1905 when he published his theory of relativity.

Along the river Aare, with its hairpin turn around the city center, we passed into the red light district, where centuries before, Casanova had frequented the Bern baths - and where centuries later, Bern's gay disco was located in an old warehouse. In other words, the entire trajectory of Bern's sexual history displayed along the waterfront. Or as Cicero wrote, O tempora o mores!

Switzerland is a country roughly the size of the state of Maryland, with a population less than New York City (with less than 150,000 people living in Bern, the country's capital) - and yet, what an inordinate amount of influence this one country has had on European and world culture. As the birthplace of the Red Cross, Nestl�, Swatch, among other multinational corporations, and one of the richest countries in the world, Switzerland has had 113 Nobel Prize winners (including nine Nobel Peace Prize winners). Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1942, and gay people are allowed to serve in the military as well as register their partnerships for the same rights as heterosexual marriages.

As the rain fell over the city, the Bern Grand-Prix runners continued racing through the wet, while up at the Rosengarten with its panoramic vistas of the medieval city, the restaurant was full of Bernese eating and drinking their way through a lazy afternoon. And when the rain intensified, we watched as an entire table ordered another round, another bottle, and continued their conversation, laughing and enjoying the opportunity to linger longer with each other.

"The most beautiful place we have ever seen," wrote Goethe about Bern - and it would be hard for most people to dispute his comment. For it's not only Bern's architectural and cultural treasures that make Bern so appealing: there's also the Bernese habit of deceleration. Similar in spirit to the Italian philosophy of "la dolce vita," the Bernese recognize that life is often lived best when it's savored the most.

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(Feature story continues on next pages: What to Do, Upcoming Events, Where to Eat...)

What to Do:

Market Tour: Cruise through Old Town by scooter and glide through the markets with their copious bounty of vegetables, fruit, flowers, and crafts. Certain markets are open all year, every Tuesday and Saturday morning, while others are daily from May to October. Stop by the market stall Jumi for a cheese degustation and a history of Swiss cheese-making. The fifth-generation owner, Mike Glauser, grew up near Emmental, and his "belperknolle," a cheese with Himalayan salt and black-pepper-coated garlic is a revelation on pasta.

LINK: Scooter and Market Tour
Cheese Degustation

Bear Park: More than two million visitors have visited this 6,000-square- meter park, with footpaths and staircases leading to the riverfront - and the four bears, Bjork, Finn, and their cubs, Ursina and Berna. The large bear pit, now a historic monument is still accessible to the bears, while the smaller bear pit can be rented out for events. Imagine that: a dinner party, with bears! Open all year, with free admission. Guided tours available.

LINK: Bern Bear Park

Museum of Communication: One of the best places in Bern to watch Swiss families interact, the Museum of Communication focuses on people rather than technology and the end result is an interactive experience that helps visitors reevaluate the ways in which we transmit information to each other. Test your powers of communication over a coffee at the stylish cafe.

LINK: Museum of Communication

Clock Tower Tour: More than 800 years old, the Zytglogge (German for "Time Bell"), is a 13th-century clock tower whose mechanical figures turn the changing of the hour into a crowd-pleasing puppet show with bears, a jester, and a cock-a-doodle-doo. Take a guided tour with one of the incredibly knowledgeable docents. You'll visit the western city gate - and then climb the clock tower to discover medieval technology and the workings of the 15th-century astronomical clock. One used as a women's prison, the tower affords brilliant rooftop vistas over Bern and the environs. It's the history of Bern in one building.

LINK: Zytglogge/ClockTower Tour

Upcoming Events:

Gurtenfestival: Woodstock in Bern, this four-day, open-air music festival in July is legendary for its peace-loving atmosphere. 14-17 July, 2011

Buskers Festival Bern: Street performers from all over the world convene in this medieval city for music, comedy, and performance art. 11-13 August, 2011

Christmas Market: What could be more traditional than Christmas in Old Town Bern with its 15th-century townhouses and Christmas markets? 3-29 December, 2011

Where to Eat:

Restaurant Giardino: This glass-fronted restaurant within the Hotel Allegro opened in summer 2008, specializing in Italian dishes from the Piedmont region. Overlooking the hotel's picturesque pond, Restaurant Giardino enjoys a scenic setting that is as warm and welcoming in winter as it is cool and breezy in the summer. Classic Italian dishes include ossobucco, as well as an assortment of toothsome pastas. If you're fortunate enough to be dining during asparagus season, Restaurant Giardino has an entire asparagus menu, including warm asparagus salad with wild garlic, white asparagus with new potatoes and Hollandaise, and asparagus soup. Chocolate cake with Bailey's ice cream is the sort of dessert that makes you happy your room is right upstairs - and room service still available should you get a second wind.

LINK: Restaurant Giardino

Restaurant Rosengarten: Located high above Bern's Old Town, Rosengarten (Garden of Roses) affords stunning views onto the medieval city center and the river Aare. With more than 200 varieties of roses, 200 different irises, and nearly 30 kinds of rhododendron, the gardens are a pleasure to wander through - and all the more when knowing that Restaurant Rosengarten awaits at the end of one's peregrination. The restaurant's setting is sublime - in any season, at any time of day, but especially at sunset - and the classic Swiss food is tweaked with Italian influences and the result is delicious. To eat at Restaurant Rosengarten is to experience firsthand the supreme pleasures of a Swiss life well-lived.

LINK: Restaurant Rosengarten

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(Feature story continues on next page: Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Getting There...)

Restaurant La Terrasse: For nearly 100 years, the five-star Bellevue Palace Bern has been receiving the Swiss capital's most honored and celebrated guests. Located next to the Swiss Parliament Building on a gorgeous promontory overlooking the river Aare and the medieval city, the Bellevue Palace benefits from a superior location - and its myriad pleasures befit its locale. With 16 GaultMillau points, La Terrasse is the Bellevue's premier restaurant. Utilizing produce from the local Bernese markets, Chef Gregor Zimmerman blends Old World cuisine with contemporary flourishes to create dishes that are modern classics. Thanks to iPad technology, guests can witness the preparation of their own meals in the brand-new, state-of-the-art hotel kitchen - and even leave messages for the chef. This is silver-domed dining with a twist - and the result leaves you as giddy as a jeroboam of pink champagne.

LINK: Restaurant La Terrasse

Restaurant Schwellenmatteli: Once a tavern for local fishermen, the Schwellenmatteli is one of Bern's more fashionable eateries, serving food that is as delicious as its setting. Dubbed the "Riviera Restaurant" for its splendid waterfront locale, this glass-floored eatery sits atop the river Aare, which gushes over the weir as you sip local wines and nibble on Mediterranean specialties. The atmosphere is convivial and familial and you'll find yourself lingering longer than you'd expected.

LINK: Restaurant Schwellenmatteli

Where to Stay:

Hotel Allegro Bern: Opened in 1998 as part of the Kursaal Bern complex (one of Bern's more notable landmarks), Hotel Allegro Bern, a four-star, lifestyle hotel, fuses classic Swiss hospitality with contemporary design. The hotel's 171 rooms and suites were completely renovated in 2009 with an interior design befitting the hotel's Italian name. The furnishings are sleek examples of Italian style. Musical instruments are scattered throughout the hotel and the wallpaper is embossed with the Italian words for musical tempi. Rooms with terraces overlook Bern, as well as the hotel park with its bubbling brook. An architectural staircase descends from the upper level rooms to the Atrium, thereby enabling a grand entrance for breakfast. Everything is immaculate, spotlessly clean in that Swiss manner, which might well spoil you for many other countries.

LINK: Hotel Allegro Bern

Getting There:

Swiss Air: One of the nicest ways to fly across the pond from New York is Swiss Air's Business Jet. All 56 passengers on the Boeing B737-800 are Business Class, making the entire eight-hour experience akin to flying on a private jet. Even with sleeper seats that recline into beds, you'll be tempted to remain awake for much of the journey, thanks to the surfeit of culinary offerings. Delicious meals and a wide array of in-flight entertainment on your own DVD player make the entire flight equivalent to a flying hotel. Warning: you'll be spoiled.

LINK: Swiss Air

Swiss Pass: As soon as you land in Switzerland, you're going to want to ride the trains and the trams. Taxis in Switzerland are prohibitively expensive - and besides, the trains and trams are as punctual as a Swiss watch. Furthermore, you've never been on such clean trains. Sit back and relax - and marvel at the beauty of the Swiss countryside as you travel from city to city. Rail Europe allows you to purchase your tickets online, in advance of your trip, thereby saving you money.

LINK: Swiss Pass

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LINK: Capturing Switzerland's Charms in Photos