Bern and Murten

Monday, May 14, 2018

Our chalet, and the entire town of Beatenburg was still enveloped in fog as we set out this morning; it was eerie to see the shapes of people, buildings and cars appear out of the mist as we drove down the mountain.  We still had no idea what view – if any – we have from our balcony; we can barely make out the cows on the hillside across the road!

 

Bern is about an hour’s drive from our digs and it was pretty chilly when we arrived there this morning.  It is a lovely city, small for a country’s capital, but then Switzerland is a small country, so I guess all is proportional.  The old town center is easily covered on foot and we followed a walking route provided by the local TI to cover the most important landmarks. 

 

Unfortunately for us, the old town’s focal point, its clock tower, was sheathed and scaffolded for renovation.  It stands at the head of the main street, which is lined with the banners of the 26 Swiss cantons, leads downhill to the swiftly moving Aare River.  That street is lined with arcaded sandstone buildings, as are most of the other streets in the old center; they run for a length of 6 km.  After a 15^th-century fire that destroyed the wooden structures of Bern, the city was rebuilt of local sandstone, creating a harmonious whole.  The arcades are full of shops, offices, and restaurants, and on the street side of the arcades are hatches that open onto subterranean restaurants and clubs.  Bern is known for its series of fountains, dating from the mid-16^th century. They are dotted throughout the old center, most often in the middle of the cobblestoned streets, and are notable for their sculpted and painted figures.  Beneath the main street, a (mostly) covered stream runs to the river, connecting the “dots” that are the fountains. 

 

Bern was first settled along the banks of the Aare, and grew uphill.  The old tile roofs of the city’s oldest neighborhoods were at our feet as we took in the views from a couple of bridges and the panoramic terraces that formed the “backyards” of the Munster (cathedral), Casino, and Parliament Building.  The hillsides on either side of the cathedral were terraced with well-maintained garden plots. 

 

Until the Reformation, the Gothic Munster had been a Catholic church; it was then stripped of most of its decoration, except for the series of sculptures representing the Last Supper above the central portal. The spire is the tallest in Switzerland and the bell is the largest.  Speaking of bells, we have really enjoyed hearing the hours tolled throughout this trip.  Today at noon, the Munster’s bells sounded for an extended period; it was lovely to stop and listen.

 

Bern may be a small capital city, but the Parliament Building can certainly hold its own against other such edifices.  The Federal Assembly, topped by a gilded copper dome, is flanked by two wings housing government offices and a library, sits on a terrace above the Aare, with a large, fountain-filled public square facing the city.

 

After leaving Bern, we stopped a short distance away in Murten, a medieval town on Murten (Morat in French) Lake. Murten is sometimes referred to as a mini-Bern, as its old center is dotted with fountains and its main street lined with arcades.  We especially enjoyed walking atop the old city walls and climbing up to a couple of their towers. While on the walls, the bells of the town’s churches began to ring out the three o’clock hour.  Once again, we stopped, listened, and enjoyed the surround sound.  Murten holds an important place in Swiss history; in 1476, a small band of Swiss Confederates successfully attacked a large invading force led by the Duke of Burgundy.  The battle ensured Switzerland’s autonomy for decades afterwards.

 

Before we left Murten, we had a chat with a local school bus driver awaiting his charges as dismissal was under way.  He was interested in our travels and told us that Beatenburg, our current base, is the longest town in Switzerland.  (Who knew they kept measurements?!?!)

 

We were able to get some sense of that when we returned to our apartment.  The fog had lifted and we could clearly see Beatenburg strung out along the side of the mountain as we switchbacked upward.  We also had a chance to see the views from our apartment.  Lake Thun and Interlaken are below us, there are snow-capped peaks in several directions, and homes surrounded by fields on the hillside above and below us.  By the time we finished dinner, fog began to billow up filter down, leaving us with just patchy “windows” through which to see our surroundings.