# Bern - The Swiss Capital



## NiceGuy (Nov 21, 2004)

Here are some pictures from the Swiss capital Bern. 

This is what the city looks like from above: 

































Bern has several clock towers. Einstein used these when explaining his theory of relativity 

























The Swiss Parliament 

















The Swiss Central Bank 









The Casino 









The tallest church in Switzerland

























The local river is great for swimming. Notice how small the people are in comparison to the river. 









More pictures 









































































Bern - The city of Bears


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## Allan (May 4, 2004)

Great pictures.Have u taken them?
The city looks beautiful and clean. The fantastic architecture. kay:


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## NiceGuy (Nov 21, 2004)

Allan said:


> Great pictures.Have u taken them?
> The city looks beautiful and clean. The fantastic architecture. kay:


Of course I have taken the pictures myself. Most of them are of Bern's old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city burned down in 1405, and the Swiss learned from their previous mistakes and built something fire-proof and indestructible in its place afterwards. That is why the old town is virtually unchanged since the reconstruction after this great fire.


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## Hebrewtext (Aug 18, 2004)

what apictures nice city


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## Khanabadosh (Nov 16, 2004)

Lovely city.


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## staff (Oct 23, 2004)

Nice. I'm probably visiting in 2 weeks since Malmö FF is playing CL-qualifier against FC Thun in Bern instead of in Thun.


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## NiceGuy (Nov 21, 2004)

staff said:


> Nice. I'm probably visiting in 2 weeks since Malmö FF is playing CL-qualifier against FC Thun in Bern instead of in Thun.


Great. Don't forget to swim in the river. That is actually the thing I remember best about Bern. It is just awesome to travel downstream at about 10 km/h in clear water without any effort whatsoever. Getting back on land exactly where you want to is harder than it looks though, but if you miss one ladder just go for the next one.


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## Zarkon (Dec 22, 2004)

really a nice city.. :applause:


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## Indexi (Feb 13, 2005)

So pretty kay:


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## maciekwr (Dec 5, 2004)

I'm a lil' bit surprised... Really! Why the buildings are so grey??? But Bern looks so beatiful, It must be great to live in the city center.


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## Jakob (Feb 28, 2004)

Thanks for your amazing photos! =)


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## michal1982 (Mar 16, 2004)

WOOOW VERY NICE!!! i love it!


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## Menino de Sampa (Sep 21, 2003)

:eek2: I expected it was nice but the city is actually umbelievably beautiful!!!! The ancient low rises, the green river and the clock towers make up a PERFEKT combination! :applause:


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## Jape (Feb 8, 2005)

Oh my god, can a city be more attractive and beautiful!? :shocked:


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## Xeni-2 (Jan 20, 2004)

And this is called the Swiss capital. Really great :eek2:


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Thanks for these great pics! The city is indeed attractive but all the people that live there I know are complaining that it's nowadays very dull, small-town feeling and every kind of subculture is cut off from the beginning - and this in a city that was the craddle to the biggest Swiss folk and rock music movements and a lot of underground clubs in the 60s and 70s 

The city is especially attractive because in the Aare Valley around the old town are a lot of parks that give the city this green feeling. But outside of the city there are a lot of ugly commieblocks.


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## schmidt (Dec 5, 2002)

What's the population?


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

City: 126'000, national agglomeration: 350'000, metro (including Thun, Fribourg, Biel) 660'000


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## [email protected] (Jun 29, 2004)

surprizing and nice city i give it a 7.5/10


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## mzn (Feb 18, 2004)

OH MY FU*** GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why is it that I've never heard about this city??
It's fu*** gorgeous! I need to go there!

And fantastic pics!!


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## Farrapo (Oct 7, 2003)

WOW Bern is so beautiful!!! it's a really worth visiting place!!! maybe someday I can go there and check all this beauty!!! thanks for sharing these pics, they are great!!!


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

mzn said:


> OH MY FU*** GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Why is it that I've never heard about this city??
> It's fu*** gorgeous! I need to go there!
> ...


You never HEARD about it - I always thought it's the most famous place in the country apart from Zurich and Geneva because it's a UNESCO world Heritage city


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## londonindyboy (Jul 24, 2005)

nice pics.


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## Rik (Aug 5, 2004)

the river is so nice on the photos


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## scorpion (Sep 14, 2002)

looks great, can't wait to go swimming in that river!!


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## mzn (Feb 18, 2004)

Kuesel said:


> You never HEARD about it - I always thought it's the most famous place in the country apart from Zurich and Geneva because it's a UNESCO world Heritage city


I mean, I know that Bern is the Swiss Capital, but I have never heard about it as being that beautiful.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Oh, I didn't mean it as an offence at all! I am quite aware that a lot of people don't know the city 

And yes: you can swim in the Aare - if you can stand the cold (I think I was only once in for a few minutes), it seldom gets over 20 degrees


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## mello (Dec 21, 2004)

great shots of bern. I haven't swam in a river in years. Especially a river that wide. I bet there is some great hiking in the hills surrounding the city.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

For hiking close the best is Berner Oberland (Interlaken). It's about an hour by train from the center. But there are also nice hills in the city as the Gurten, famous for it's regular Rock Festival.


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## NiceGuy (Nov 21, 2004)

Kuesel said:


> And yes: you can swim in the Aare - if you can stand the cold (I think I was only once in for a few minutes), it seldom gets over 20 degrees


It wasn't cold at all when I was there, and the water must have been at least 23C. I jumped in a few times, and covered a total distance of around 3 kilometers. There is also a beach by the river just below the parliament, but it was so packed with people that I didn't bother to go there. 

It is great if my pictures can inspire people to go to Bern, but I wouldn't recommend staying there more than a day or two. Bern is a great place for going on day-trips to other places in Switzerland though, because of its location in the middle of the country.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

That's the infamous Marizilibad I think  I was playing a cricket game close to it once.


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## Smileyface (Oct 7, 2002)

Beautiful city kay:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Bernese skyline


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## leonk19 (Apr 7, 2006)

This is a great thread.

I've heard of Bern but I didn't think it was this beatiful. I'll be sure to try and stop by on my next trip across Europe. So is that river really clean enough for swimming? Most rivers have a current that's fast enough to drown people so it seems a little odd that people would just be allowed to swim there anytime.


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## urbane (Jan 4, 2005)

I didn't realize Bern is so beautiful


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## tanzirian (Jul 13, 2005)

Great city; Bernese Oberland (surrounding area) is at the top of my list of places to visit when I have the time and money:


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## opium (Apr 10, 2006)

I thought Geneva was the capital . Well my bad , nice pics .!


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## Aires Man (Jul 11, 2006)

mzn said:


> OH MY FU*** GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Why is it that I've never heard about this city??
> It's fu*** gorgeous! I need to go there!
> ...


I find it hard to believe you've never heard about Bern (Berna in Spanish). I just think you are playing naive to demean Bern. But it could also be that geography is not a strong subject in Argentina, but for the rest of us Americans we do know that Bern is the Swiss Capital and that it is a small, beautiful place too! 

So hurray for beautiful Bern


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## Aires Man (Jul 11, 2006)

NiceGuy said:


> Here are some pictures from the Swiss capital Bern.
> 
> This is what the city looks like from above:
> 
> ...



Wow! Bern is so beautiful it hurts  I always said it: Bern is one of my favorite cities in the world! 

So, Kuesel, count your blessings, and don't complaint so much about Bern being small and provincial. Be glad it's not overpopulated and filled with heavy traffic, pollution, and corrupt polititians because otherwise its lifestyle would go down, like in many other supercities. We don't want to ruin it by turning into a new highrise mecca! 

So let's keep Bern rather small, clean, safe and beautiful than huge, polluted and decadent!

And thanks Niceguy for such awesome pictures!


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## Aires Man (Jul 11, 2006)

tanzirian said:


> Great city; Bernese Oberland (surrounding area) is at the top of my list of places to visit when I have the time and money:


Hi Tanzirian:

I remember seeing this picture for the first time in my life when I was a kid and I was impressed by it. It's called Lauterbrunnen Valley and it's located really close to the Eiger, the Monk and the Jungfrau mountains. Later on when I was like 13 in the mid seventies came out a Japanese cartoon show called Heidi and that was it, I fell in love with Switzerland but I never said anything to anybody about it but kept it to myself! Ha, ha! 
Isn't great what tv can cause in the mind of a kid? 

The irony of it is that even though I've been to Europe, I've never been to Switzerland! Nevertheless, sooner or later I will make that old dream come true. Obviously the first place that I'm going to look for is Lauterbrunnen Valley and then I'm going to lay on the grass and look at the cliffs, the fall, and the sheep grazing. Then I'm gonna look for Zermatt and checkout its tall Swiss chalets. Then I'll try to find Dorfli, Heidi's hometown and see if the town fountain it's still there! 

It might sound absurd but I think that all adults long for beautiful places frozen in time. So I guess I have my own special place waiting for me!

Anyway, I'm getting too cheesy here, but I guess your picture and Niceguy's brought back old memories!

So thanks for the picture, Tanzirian!


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## Bond James Bond (Aug 23, 2002)

Too many red roofs.


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## JoSin (Sep 11, 2005)

How come I see submerged boats in rivers?


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Bern has also some great modern architecture as the Paul Klee Zentrum by Renzo Piano:









Main Station:


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

JoSin said:


> How come I see submerged boats in rivers?


Bern is infamous for annual floodings...


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## BuffCity (Jul 29, 2004)

very cool, never seen it before.

I like the big gov't building.


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## lpioe (May 6, 2006)

Bern is in my opinion the prettiest swiss city (2nd would be Lucerne).
Although I live only 2 hours away from it I was there for the first time only a few month ago and I was really impressed. 




Aires Managüenses said:


> Then I'll try to find Dorfli, Heidi's hometown and see if the town fountain it's still there!


I live only 10 km away from Heidi's hometown, pm me if you need the directions


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

You are a Churer as HR Giger?


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## lpioe (May 6, 2006)

Kuesel said:


> You are a Churer as HR Giger?


Sargans


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## Sister Ray (Apr 22, 2006)

Bern is definitely beautiful.
Switzerland is the jewel of Europe in my books. Although I have not been to Scandinavia. I hear that is lovely also.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

lpioe said:


> Sargans


Cool  I go a few times a year to Bad Ragaz spa and actually got engaged in Heidi's Maienfeld (this castle restaurant - Turm or the like) in 2001


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

More Bern from picswiss website:

























































































The unique background:


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Kuesel said:


> Cool  I go a few times a year to Bad Ragaz spa and actually got engaged in Heidi's Maienfeld (this castle restaurant - Turm or the like) in 2001


Hehe, and the fountain is still there, don't worry, Aires Managüenses.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

Verso said:


> Hehe, and the fountain is still there, don't worry, Aires Managüenses.


This one?


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## tanzirian (Jul 13, 2005)

> Hi Tanzirian:
> 
> I remember seeing this picture for the first time in my life when I was a kid and I was impressed by it. It's called Lauterbrunnen Valley and it's located really close to the Eiger, the Monk and the Jungfrau mountains. Later on when I was like 13 in the mid seventies came out a Japanese cartoon show called Heidi and that was it, I fell in love with Switzerland but I never said anything to anybody about it but kept it to myself! Ha, ha!
> Isn't great what tv can cause in the mind of a kid?
> ...


Aires, thanks for your reply. We seem to have a somewhat similar experience. I first saw this picture in a Geography book when I was a kid and wanted to know where in Switzerland it was. A few years ago after Google had come along I did an Image Search and found out that it was Lauterbrunnen. Remains my top place to see in Europe - quite possibly the world's most beautiful glacial valley.


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## Verso (Jun 5, 2006)

Kuesel said:


> This one?


Exactly this one.


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## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

What a beautiful little city.

... and the residents are nice too!


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## Lagunero (Sep 22, 2005)

Beautiful city and amzing pics.
Do you have pictures of Bern in winter?


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

Absolutely beautiful! :drool:


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## urbane (Jan 4, 2005)

Kuesel said:


> The city is especially attractive because in the Aare Valley around the old town are a lot of parks that give the city this green feeling. But outside of the city there are a lot of ugly commieblocks.


I was looking at Bern on Google Earth and I didn't detect many commieblocks: most of what I found seemed to be either the low-rise apartment buildings found in many European cities, rowhouses, or detached houses with yards.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

urbane said:


> I was looking at Bern on Google Earth and I didn't detect many commieblocks: most of what I found seemed to be either the low-rise apartment buildings found in many European cities, rowhouses, or detached houses with yards.


Well...









































And this beautiful neighbourhood is called Bethlehem:


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