Beautiful Bern

We left our cozy little Interlaken Hotel de la Paix this morning and started our trip to Bern, driving through beautiful countryside. Everything is such a luscious green, still. It looks like it could be spring’s first grass. We had an overcast day with rain off and on. We never got to see the Alps this time. Everything up there was hidden in the clouds. But everything down below is also spectacular.

This is one of the main boulevards of Bern. John served here on his mission 50 years ago.

Of course, the family detoured for chocolate shops!

We spent about 3 hours in Bern, enjoying every minute of our wandering.

Moving day:

This will be us one day:

Loving the tile and rooflines.

Aaron was shocked to learn that there really are bears in Bern. They’ve been moved to a much nicer habitat than where they were the last time I was here, down closer to the water.

This is the home of a famous Bern painter, Friedrich Traffelet, illustrating a family history and these sentiments–

Above: From baptism to wedding and burial, the sound of life comes from where to where, and why, you ask in vain.

Under the figures: Beauty and taste reign supreme here, with a pleasant varnish feel. Here we paint in oil and paste. Friedrich Traffelet Malermeister (master painter).

My Swiss friend once explained that in Switzerland there are white cobblestones mixed into the stones in the streets because they show up better in the dark and make it safer to walk there.