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Switzerland Train Pass & Camping Trip - 2021: Day Six – Bern – Part One (Inc. 4K Video)

Photos and video from my 11 day trip to Switzerland in the Autumn of 2021.

Day five and I visit the capital of Switzerland ‘Bern’, I check out the Zytglogge clock tower in the medieval city center, the Bern Bear Park and the area around it including some wonderful bridges and the fresh crisp water of the River Aare – enjoy the photos! 🙂

A tram passes under the Käfigturm - a baroque tower with clock built on the site of a earlier tower in 1644
Electrical box art of the Swiss mountains - could well be the Bernese Alps
Kornhausplatz
Kindlifresserbrunnen - Hans Gieng's 16th-century fountain depicts a child-eating monster with a bag of children
Detail of the Kindlifresserbrunnen
The front of the Zytglogge clock tower with a tram passing in front of it
The Zytglogge medieval tower in Bern has been a guard tower, prison, clock tower in it's life, built c.1218–20 it is the oldest monument of the city
The Zytglogge: the astronomical clock is built in the form of an astrolabe (look that up on internet for a wealth of info on the subject!)
Every hour the clock chimes on the hour and these medieval bear figurines appear and rotate below Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen who flips the hourglass over
The jester or fool rings the bells above the Duke
One of the paintings in the arch underneath the the Zytglogge tower
The Marmot is a popular species of the Swiss mountainside with a population of about 130,000 (I caught a glimpse of one myself in Zermatt, first time I had heard of them!)
Marmot's are from the rodent family and there oil has been a muscle pain cure for centuries
The same street the Zytglogge is on, known as Kramgasse, is lined with the wonderful old medieval buildings of Bern which now house various shops and businesses
The archways of Kramgasse street, in one of these buildings a second-floor flat rented by Albert Einstein in the 1900s
A classic old cigarette sign I spotted in the Kramgasse street archways
In the foreground the Zähringerbrunnen - a 16th-century landmark honoring the city's founder depicts a standing bear with a shield & flag and in the background the Zytglogge, all on Kramgasse street
Detail of the Zähringerbrunnen (Zähringen Fountain) c.1535, it is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance and a very popular photo spot for obvious reasons!
More detail of the Zähringerbrunnen (Zähringen Fountain) can be read on this information plaque
A long photo shot of the wonderful Kramgasse street in the Old City of Bern
Detail photo of the Simsonbrunnen (Samson fountain) that can be found on Kramgasse street, dating from 1544, this fountain features a statue depicting the biblical Samson killing a lion
The Berner Rathaus (town hall) c.1406 is today where local politicians to discuss matters & vote and has a public viewing gallery - it's also a very nice looking building!
Across the way from the Berner Rathaus (town hall) is the Vennerbrunnen water fountain c.1542, the Venner was military-political title in medieval Switzerland
Interesting restaurant facade just behind the Vennerbrunnen water fountain
Adrianos - a famous coffee bar in the day and drink bar at night
The exterior of Bern railway station, the station opened in 1858 and was renovated and partially redesigned between 1999 and 2003, and due to increasing passenger numbers it has now seen renovations again which should finish in 2025