A day trip to snowy Bern

Sunday in Switzerland is quiet by law. For example, it is forbidden to throw glass bottles into a recycling bin on Sundays because that would disturb the peace. In our apartment block, we are not allowed to use the washing machine on a Sunday, because even from the basement it is too noisy. Correspondingly, almost no shops are open, and big supermarkets and most restaurants are shut. The exception to this rule - for there must always be one - is the train system. The trains run perfectly on a Sunday like any other day. So last Sunday Tanya and I took advantage of the trains and went to Bern to meet some friends from Zurich for lunch.

Lac Léman and some sneaky sun on our way out of Lausanne.

Coffee improves a train ride, it's a well-known fact.

There's snow all over the place! From the moment we left Lausanne the countryside was snow covered and beautiful. I saw a man and a dog walking in the snow; the man pointed out the train to the dog and the dog dutifully watched as we passed. Bern is always beautiful and under a coat of snow it has a certain cold charm. It was -3 degrees C when we arrived at midday and it didn't crack zero the whole time we were there. I gather this is not cold by Northern Hemisphere Standards (NHS) but for us it was chilly, and we walked fast to keep warm.

Tanya has exceptionally warm ears and is exceptionally pleased about it.

We spent a few hours in the afternoon wandering through the old city in Bern. These next two pictures are looking towards each other, if that makes any sense at all. In each one you can see the spot where the other was taken. I think they give a good impression of the loveliness of Bern under a blanket of snow.

Bern and its river on a cold and snowy Sunday.

The city of Bern!