Bern, Switzerland

We started our exploring with the Parliament Building. They usually do tours but I think Parliament was in session so we couldn't see inside. Even so, the building was so impressive.

Also, does anyone know what's up with large chess boards? We saw these all over Switzerland but never got to play!

We also saw the Zytlogge, a medieval tower from the 13th century that has been a guard tower, prison, and clock tower. Every hour on the hour music rings out and the circle of bears spin in circles.

You can climb up 130 steps and see the splendor of Bern from the highest windows. The weather was somewhat overcast but it was still a pretty sight.

You can also see the inner workings of the clock.

We also spent time exploring the Albert Einstein Museum and Einstein's home from when he lived in Bern.

Einstein lived in Bern between 1903 and 1905 and developed his Theory of Relativity while living Bern.  I felt smarter just walking through the apartment!

His apartment was so tiny. It's amazing that he and Mileva lived there. I don't think they even had a kitchen in the apartment. Or was it a bathroom they were missing?

And we finished our day by walking to see the Bern bears. 

Bears hold a special importance in Bern and the Brengraben (Bear Pit) is an enclosure for bears. They used to be a literal concrete bear pit but it recently underwent an extensive renovation to become an idyllic enclosure that is more like a forest. 

The old bear pit is now used when the handlers are hiding fruits and veggies in the enclosure for the bears to go find.

The new enclosure is so much better than the concrete pit.

It even has a pond for swimming and we saw a bear enjoying the water! Watching a bear take the steps to get there was so funny. Such a dignified and well behaved bear.

The bear pit is next to the River Aar so we spent some time just walking the path by the river and taking in the town.