Merry Christmas from Switzerland!

After three years of Bern City Photo Blog this will be my last post. I hope you enjoy all the photos here online. Thanks for visiting and merry Christmas!

Once the shops have closed

River Aare

Swiss Parliament at Christmas

Cold so cold

Altenberg façades

Altenberg is a charming little neighbourhood lining the River Aare in its valley below the town centre.

Lorraine

Restaurant Du Nord, gateway to the Lorraine,
Bern's northern neighbourhood

Lorrainestrasse, the main throroughfare

The Lorraine is a funky little neighbourhood mixing artistic and working-class values

Brasserie Lorraine, the neighbourhood's "alternative" bar, café, and concert venue

The Italian joint


The kiosk - love the plastic seats

The Lorraine is a five-minute walk over the Lorrainebrücke (Lorraine Bridge) from the railway station. Most tourists would miss it as they gravitate naturally towards the medieval Old Town in the centre. But Lorraine is immediately beside the centre and for those with more than just a few hours in Bern is well worth a wander - especially for those who dig the alternative neighbourhood vibe.

Down by the river...

Everyone loves a good sunset

it's hot and it's sunny, so great sunsets abound. we love summer

More Dutch football fan madness at the Euro

Bern goes Euro

Euro2008 Football Championships

Switzerland and Austria are jointly hosting Euro 2008, the European Football Championship games. The Dutch team have three games in Bern over the next eight days, and their massive fan base - at 120,000 almost the same number of people as live in Bern - has arrived in style.

Tonight is the Netherland's first game, against Italia... should be magic.

Full article here.

Bern Walking Tour

In advance of the summer tourist season, and especially the Euro2008 football season (starting next week - more on that later), I have put together this short walking tour of Berne. Visitors might find this useful...!

Thanks to Bern City blog reader Jonathan Hughes, you can access the file as a PDF at this link. Thanks J!

Kirchenfeld Bridge and a Big Sky

"What were the skies like when you were young?

They went on forever, with little fluffy clouds..."

Anyone remember that song? :-)

The farmhouse at Gurten Hill

View down to Bern from Gurten Hill

The River Aare flows around the town. In summer the straight stretch approaching the Federal Parliament is full of river-swimmers (Bernese: "Aareschwummer") being whisked along by the smooth-flowing river's fast current. The credo seems to be: Do it once, then walk back up along the bank, do it again...repeat until hungry...

View from the top of Gurten

Spring's on the way!

View over Bern from Wabern

Up amongst the allotments between Wabern and Köniz there is a good view over to the city centre, where you can see the Federal Parliament, and the old town of Bern, easily identifiable by the medieval cathedral.

Le paysage fribourgeois

Fifteen minutes from Bern, just before the bilingual town of Fribourg, the villages give way to hilly green countryside, rolling from Fribourg past Gruyère down to Lake Geneva.

Snow on Gurten Hill

Winter over Kirchenfeld neighbourhood