Bern Bears and Basel Paper

Phillip and I are currently in Lupberg, Germany, spending the weekend with Phillip's niece, Becky, and her family. Wednesday and Thursday were our final days in Switzerland before riding three trains yesterday to get here.

We left Lausanne Wednesday morning and were in Bern by 10:30 am. Bern is the capitol of Switzerland and its Alstadt (Old Town) is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We didn't get any crepes in France, so soon after we got off the train, when we saw a creperie, we split a Nutella crepe. Her crepe pan was much larger than mine at home and of course her crepe tasted better!

One of the characteristic features of Bern is its collection of over 100 public fountains. Eleven of them are crowned with Renaissance allegorical statues. Thee most famous one is the ogre fountain, the Kindlifresserbrunnen. The fountain was built in 1545-46 and is of a seated giant swallowing a child.

These fountains were originally built as a public water supply. As Bern grew, the original fountains were expanded and decorated but still serve as a water source. We regularly refilled my water bottle from these.

Clock towers are also important to Bern's history. A time bell was one of the earliest public timekeeping devices. The clock connected to a hammer that rang a small bell on the hour. One in Bern is 900 years old.

The mascot for Bern is a bear. The City of Bern owns three bears, kept next to the Aare River. The association of Bern with bears began in the 1200s when the Duke of the area named the town after the bears that were in the wild in the area. During medival times, the Bernaisse fighters used the bear as their symbol for ferociousness in battle. In 1513, someone captured a bear and the City decided to keep it, so the City has had bears for quite a long time.

 As you can imagine, the conditions the town bear (now 3 bears) lived in have improved over the years. They currently have a 6000 square meter enclosure with access to the Aare River. We were on the nearby bridge to take these pictures, so the bears aren't bothered at all now by the toursts.

Bern is built on both sides of the Aare River. Although the streets sloped toward the river, it was much easier to walk in Bern than it had been in Lausanne.  This is the view of the river from the other side of the bridge that we were on to get our pictures of the Bern bears.

Another of the many public fountains. If you look at the feet of this soldier, you can see a bear holding a musket to fight also!

These are some of the higher Alps Mountains, in the Berner Oberland range and visible from the patio behind the Federal Palace.







Phillip and I caught the 6 pm train from Bern to Basel on Wednesday evening, spending that night and the next in Basel, Switzerland. Basel is on the border with Germany. Thursday, we walked around Basel and went to the Papermill Museum, with its interactive exhibits, and rode the cable ferry across the Rhine river.

Fountains were everywhere in Basle, but not with the allegorical statues. They were more of this type, with the (drinkable) water coming from a part of the statue.

The cathedral we passed while walking had the decorative downspouts that I love. This one didn't have the stained glass windows like the one in Lausanne.

This building was unique in Basel because of its color. Most of the buildings, although decorated, were of light colored sone, This was on the Marktplatz, an open air market with vendors.

After the Marktplatz, we walked to the Rhine River, then along a path next to the river. We walked across the bridge in the picture in the afternoon, after we rode the ferry to that other side of Basel.

 The Basel Papermill Museum is at the location of the papermill that was founded in 1433. By the 1500s, Basel was the leading papermaing center for Switzerland. Here, I've dipped the mold into the vat of fibers and am letting the water drain off. I'll tip the paper onto the piece of felt to my right.

Phillip is pressing water out of the paper we made. He's using a hand press, but the museum had the huge presses that were actually used.

This is the oldest surviving paer press, a double press from the 15th century.

After we learned about making people, the museum described writing on it. Phillip is trying to use a quill pen, much more difficult than today's ink pens.

One floor of the museum was dedicated to linotypes and other typesetting machines. They also had displays of old typewriters. There was a demo area for the old manual typewriters, but three teenage boys were busy using it, having fun as their smartphone fingers tried to push the keys of the huge typewriter.

Four cable ferries operate in Basel to carry people across the Rhine River.  This dog hopped off the ferry when it arrived to our side. The dog then tritted up the steps and down the path. It didn't seem to belong to one of the passengers, it just was a passenger!

The front of the ferry is attached to a cable stretching across the river. The operator uses a rudder to direct the rear of the boat and the current push the ferry cross the river. No motor at all.

On our way back to the hotel, we saw this fountain and I took a picture of the intricate carving and water works on the lower half of it.








Today, we are going to a football game and then to Regensberg (UNESCO World Heritage site). Becky's son, Ryan, is the quarterback of his team, and it will be American football, not soccer, on the Army base. My camera is charged today, so I'll have pictures of family, food, and football for the next post.