Switzerland by train and foot Part 2 by Robert Fullarton Copyright 2015

Switzerland by train and foot Part 2

by Robert Fullarton

Copyright 2015

2.

People have said to me in the past that they believe Switzerland to be "boring" or less culturally rich as say neighbouring Germany, Italy or France. There is wealth and some conservatism to be seen in this successful Republic of finance and entrepreneurial success, but boredom depends upon what you come here for. I believe that the Swiss landscapes are raw natural canvasses of stretched beauty, the highest elevations of mountain that cover and elongate through six countries- form impressive peaks, passes and are greatly accessible to the aesthete) and offer unique flora and fauna to the region.
Switzerland is by no means a boring country! There is a refined tourism for people who know what they want and know what they are going to get -it is for nature lovers, recreational users, skiers, locomotive addicts and yes, business people too)- it also offers quaint, rustic, fairy-tale like towns and villages with artisan cheese makers, chocolatiers and wine makers that offer tourists local, home grown tastes and tourism.

This country has a superb network of trains that are connected with the little mountain and regional trains, the steam locomotives, the funiculars and the cable cars that take tourists to places that were previously deemed inaccessible. You will be treated to vast panoramas of spectacular glacial landscapes you will enjoy all the Heidiesque stereotypes of picture perfection and tidiness because this country has a romantic- almost spiritual- feel to it, whether you are going past the lakes of Zug and Lucerne or ascending the spheres and heights of the Bernese Oberland, you will be in for a treat. Of course as I said before, just make sure you have the money, or a very tight budget to afford a country that has high costs to match its high wages and standard of living.

From Interlaken you can catch an express train to Bern (the Swiss capital) which will take you past the opulent and truly gorgeous lake Thun. Great Crested Grebes, buzzards and Red kite can be seen around these waters, even on occasion from the comfort of the train carriages.

Both me and my aunt, spent the day wandering through the old town (Altstadt) of Bern through the arching arcades by the little trams, we walked past the Glockspiel- famous Bernese clocktower- and the famous fountains- including the Samson fountain, the Bear fountain and the ogre fountain( with a statue of an ogre devouring children from a sack!- past the various flags and flower boxes that adorn the side streets and hang colourfully from oriel windows. Initially when we arrived at the Bahnhof we were rather hemmed in with the weekday rush of people coming and going, but once you venture past the crowded Bundesplatz (Swiss Parliament building) you will enter into more quieter quarters where the streets are tram-free and have lovely little squares -very reminiscent  something straight out of France- where people sip their coffees, gawk at passersby and engage in conversation. Some of the buildings have a sort of Art Nouveau appearance to them with their gilded facades, classical like friezes on top of neatly ornate stone masonry. Both me and my aunt sat in a quaint square with views of the Rathaus (Town Hall) and an impressive gothic church -we drank nearly a litre of lemonade..which we were given in a superfluous amount, but it was a very hot day!

My favourite memory and association with Bern has to be wonderfully well constructed Gothic  Swiss Reformed cathedral (Munster) that offers tourists a steep climb to the belfry for a fantastic panorama of the city of Bern and the beautiful, green river Aare that flows through the fringes of the old town. The front facade of the cathedral- on the main front door- is filled with wooden statues, beautifully hand carved, adorned and painted over time, up above it covers the last judgement, with angels, Apostles and Jesus himself adorned with golden rods and  silver swords. Justice sits in the centre and on the left there are the wise and foolish virgins -from Christ's parable of the virgins- this for me was like a child's first gaze at the abstract picture of life itself- on where we are going, on who we are and what good and evil really mean- it was a profound experience of ecstatic delight for me, as the medieval features, the wooden statues, the frescos of the annunciation spoke to me in sheer delight...and within the cathedral, the beautiful stone walls and stained glass windows evoked something out of Tudor England.

We wandered through the back streets of Bern and looked out on the beautiful, green, river Aare thast flowed around the streets bellow. To my side there was a steep drop with a view of gorgeous little allotments, flower gardens and vegetable patches with houses bearing resemblance to somewhere in Provence. People gathered by the little park nearby above the rushing of the waters on a gigantic weir, men played boules in the gravel, couples ate ice cream and I took photos. I just wished I could have stayed and surveyed the little back streets that went and disappeared into quaint little corners, cafes and local restaurants. There was wall to wall sunshine that day in that fairy like town -just a pity that the bear pits were closed for renovation!.