F E L I N E R S

Over the weekend in Geneva, we daytripped to Bern, the underrated capital of Switzerland. It is another place that is on the Unesco World Heritage protection order and it isn't hard to understand why - the 15th century medieval old town is guaranteed to sweep anyone off their feet.
The old town centre in Bern is compact and contained within a sharp U-bend of the Aare River. View of old town from our epiphany bench.

The pleasant train ride from Geneva took 1 hour and 45 minutes and I am forever convinced that if you think you know what beauty is, you don't - until you've journeyed Switzerland by rail. Mind you this route isn't even considered a panoramic route like the Glacier Express or Bernina Express. I think those will blow my socks off in a heartbeat.

Train ride over Lausanne, another city on the shores of Lake Geneva.

There are a few interesting sights in Bern on top of the fascinating medieval buildings, cobbled streets and charming window shutters.

Albert Einstein first developed his theory of relativity in the Einstein Haus/Museum. It is actually a small apartment where he lived with his young family during his times in Bern working as a low-paid clerk.

The Munster is the Gothic cathedral of Bern. It is a sight to behold although I don't think I took very good photos of it. Looking at the cathedral I realized that most of the jaw-dropping stuctures I've seen in the places that I've visited are often ancient places of worships. This one features imposing, 12m high, stained glass windows and attention to details at every corner.

Main entrance.

Elaborate details of main entrance. Ref: Last 2 photos by wikipedia.com

Throughout the city there are panoramic lookouts for panoramic-hungry visitors. Here are some of my favourites.

It is really one postcard shot after another.

Others attractions in the old town centre is the Zeitglockenturm, a colourful clock tower with revolving figures that herald the chiming hour.

We also visited the Paul Klee Centre in the outskirts of town. It is an extraodinary building with its wave-like form, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. It has a very cool kids creativity museum!

For those of you who are clueless, Paul Klee was a Swiss-born painter and graphic artist whose personal, often gently humorous works are replete with allusions to dreams, music, and poetry. His artworks revolved around primitive art, surrealism, cubism, and children's art.

Meanwhile, look what I spotted in old town Bern.