Bern

My next and last stop in Switzerland was Bern, the capital of the country. No it's not Geneva or Zurich. It's Bern. Although it's more of a de facto capital since Switzerland doesn't officially have one. Since the Federal Parliament and government are located in Bern, it is seen as the capital.

I walked from the train station to my hostel, which was a short distance away, but down a pretty steep hill. Going up and down hills and steep staircases isn't fun when you are loaded down with backpacks. I just needed to move slowly. I checked into my hostel, where I got upgraded from a 20-bed mixed dorm to a 6-bed female dorm. Score. The guy felt bad since there were 10 dudes in the mixed dorm. I was happy with the upgrade for sure. And I met a friendly girl from the US.

I went for a run along the Aare River. There were some great paths along the river and it really didn't feel like you were in the city. The weather was warmer, and I was definitely taking advantage of wearing shorts, even if it was a little rainy.

The Aare River.

Later that evening, I walked around a bit and looked for a grocery store to get dinner. I had a great view of the Parliament Building at night walking up the hill from my hostel.

The Parliament Building.

And as I headed back to the hostel, there was a light show. Even though it was raining, I committed to watching the entire show. It was pretty cool. I definitely picked up on the Red Cross theme throughout and later learned that this year's light show (6 years running) was honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Swiss Red Cross.

Parliament Building's light show.

The rain didn't really stop the next next morning, so I lingered for a while in the hostel, but chatted with my new friend, Shelby, from Florida. She's also a runner, but I didn't get her to go for a run. But she had a half planned that weekend and was looking forward to possibly running the Berlin Marathon next year. It's really cool to meet other runners on my travels. Especially since most people give me weird looks when I head out or return from a run.

City view on my morning run.

Falling for fall.

I spent the afternoon wandering around town checking out the sights.

Zytglogge.

I had to visit the cathedral, which actually went uncompleted for several hundred years. They finally finished the tower in 1893. Construction had started in 1421. It only took 472 years to finish.

Bern Cathedral.

Since Bern is located on a hill, there were a lot of nice views around town. I walked down hills, and across bridges to get all the different views.

One of many views of Bern.

Terraced gardens.

The Old Town buildings were really pretty, and I do love some plant decor.

Pretty facades.

I visited the Swiss Brand Museum. It was pretty small, but of course chocolate was included in the museum.

Yummy chocolate.

Eventually I made my way up the hill to Rosengarten to get a full view of the city from up above. I wish the sun would have made an appearance, but I made do. I sat on a terrace, made friends with a dog, and took in the view.

Bern.

After a walk around the Rosengarten, I headed back down the hill.

Rosengarten.

I wandered a bit more in town and eventually headed back to the hostel for dinner.

Plants everywhere.

Afterwards, I motivated myself to meet my new friend for a beer. I did have a few francs that I needed to spend before leaving the country. Apparently Switzerland has a lot of craft breweries. Something that I hadn't heard of, but will happily partake in. 

A Swiss beer before leaving town. 

Of course the next morning was gorgeous. Seriously I feel like every day that I choose to travel, it ends up being a gorgeous day. My bus wasn't until later in the afternoon though, so I did have a little bit of time to enjoy the weather.

Beautiful last day.

Roofs for miles.

Graffiti and leaves.

I backtracked a little bit around town, and I went to check out the bear again. I had seen it the day before, but it was a bit more active. Although I did feel bad that it was held captive.

Brown bear.

Signs of Halloween.

One last picture.

I got my bags, caught the local bus, and headed to the middle of nowhere to get my bus to Lyon. My time was up for Switzerland. Time to head to France.