March 26, Day 30, Basel & Bern

 We did a nice run around town to start the day. Saw a bunch of other joggers too. Then we went around looking for breakfast. It looks like bakeries are a popular choice among locals, so we went to one near the main square, which was getting a farmers' market set up.

After that, we continued walking around until about 11 am, exploring the beautiful courtyards and churches and really getting the feel for the place. Could easily spend more time here. It is lovely.

We were blown away by the kinetic fountain, Tinguely Fountain. It was created by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely in 1977 and is made up of whimsical mechanical sculptures that constantly move, spray water, and almost feel alive - playful, slightly chaotic, and very Swiss-modern in spirit.

And then Elisabethenkirche near the fountain. It looked like a mix of a soup kitchen, a prayer house, and a club. That’s actually intentional. It’s a neo-Gothic church from the 19th century that today functions as an open community space, hosting events, concerts, social programs, and welcoming people throughout the day. 

Then we grabbed our stuff and went to the station to catch our train to Bern.

Bern is lovely in a different way. The endless covered arcades, with what look like slightly dated (almost 70s-style) stores in them. The weather started to turn a little cooler... excited about the upcoming weekend in Lisbon, but we braced and focused on making the most of the place.

I lost track of the count of the bears. The connection comes from the city’s name, "Bern," which is thought to come from the German word Bär (bear). 

According to legend, the city’s founder decided to name it after the first animal he hunted there, a bear. Since then, bears have been the symbol of the city, and they have been kept in enclosures in Bern for centuries.

We decided to try mailing the books we got back home to the US because our bags are starting to get heavy. Apparently, you can no longer mail anything over 2 kg back to the US via European postal services. USPS customs processing and tariff handling can be unpredictable, and packages sometimes get returned, stolen, or stuck. In some cases, insurance companies do not want to pick up the slack, and, in the end, you cannot really send anything larger than an envelope. You can still send via DHL or FedEx, but at $180 or $1,400, respectively, for several kilos of books, not sure there are lots of takers. Hope all this is helping rebuild US industries in a big way. Bern postal clerk said she is sorry for us.

For lunch, we looked at a couple of options, decided on Lokanta-style, and picked our schnitzels, mash, and veggies at the COOP supermarket restaurant for a $50 clip. Good, tasty stuff, but boy, things are expensive here.

Then we continued walking around - twice went to the other side of the beautiful glacial-blue river (Aare River), went to see the BearPark, a large, open riverside habitat where the city’s bears now live in a more natural environment compared to the old historic bear pits.

Then sleet started — very cool.

Then we started to look for a place to grab some coffee and baked goods — they all disappeared. We’ve seen that thing before :). Continued persevering and ultimately found a place.

And then went back to our room to relax. The photos below are from Bern: