Today we headed to Bern, the capital of Switzerland, but we drove the long way round so we could see the Swiss Alps and alpine meadows along the way. At first we began to see the hills get higher, dotted with alpine homes and grasslands perfect for cows (we even saw a few cows off in the distance). Then the real mountains started to come into our views, with snow still up top and even a little waterfall (look close it’s in the picture).
When it was lunchtime we stopped at a town called Gstaad. It’s a cute place, with chalet looking buildings all over. We heard that it’s where lots of famous people go for getaways and skiing, and some have even lived there. We saw a sign that said Julie Andrews lived there and called the town “the last paradise in a crazy world”.
We decided to make a quick stop at BärenPark to see some real bears, before we reached Bern. These are Bernese bears, that used to roam the area before there was a town here, that’s how Bern got its name. They live in a natural habitat with lots of trees, some access to the river the same way they would had in the wild.
It was late afternoon when we reached our hotel in Bern, we discovered it’s right next door to the Bundeshaus (that’s what they call their federal parliament building). It’s quite warm here so we only did a short walk around, so much to see. This is the city’s clock tower, it dates back to the 14th century. The musical mechanism was added in the early 1500s, and the astronomical clock in 1770, which is what we see today. It even keeps good time.
Well Behaved Kids Travel 