Bern, Switzerland

September 23, 2025

We came to Switzerland primarily for Bern. Won had been stationed in the capital city as a U.S. Marine embassy guard in the early 2000s (way before we met), and I had never been. I was curious to visit the place he called home 2 decades ago, thinking that I’d get a knowledgable tour of the famous medieval clock tower, historic Renaissance fountains, and the Gothic cathedral. It turns out that youth is really wasted on the young, because he spent his 2 years in Bern traversing the most direct route from the U.S. embassy to Pickwick’s pub, an expat bar in the Old Town. Hah! We together explored Bern with fresh eyes.

We left Mürren and the Alps in the rain and fog, and retraced our steps by gondola to Lauterbrunnen and by train to Interlaken, then train on to Bern. Switzerland has a well-deserved reputation for being an expensive travel destination, yet I found it surprisingly reasonable. At least for dinner in a sit-down restaurant, the bill was comparable with what I would spend in Wenatchee, after tax and tip and all. It was actually refreshing to pay exactly what is listed on the menu. And the quality of the ingredients! I had a chicken fried noodle dish at an Asian restaurant that used the kind of clean-tasting meat that back home I would have to go out of my way to find and pay premium prices for. Even the street side döner kebab served up the freshest vegetables and tidiest presentation.

We made it a daily routine to stop by the local Coop (grocery store) for fruit, cheese, and fresh bread (the pistachio croissants were a hit). I learned to weigh my own produce and get a sticker that is then scanned at checkout, which makes me wonder why the heck we don’t do this in the USA. It’d be so much more efficient. And I discovered the multi-colored “picnic eggs” - boiled eggs sold in a pack of 4. They’re pretty, peel easily, cooked to a Goldilocks doneness, deep yellow yolked, and really delicious. Won usually hates eggs, but these he devoured with relish.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland, built on a hilly peninsula surrounded by a looping bend of the river Aare. The surrounding Swiss plateau has been settled since before recorded history, long before the Romans came and encountered the Helvetii, a Gaulish tribe whose name still represents Switzerland: Confoederatio Helvetica, the Swiss Confederation (if you ever wondered like I did why the international designation for Switzerland is CH). The official language is German, though most residents speak Swiss German. I can tell this local dialect sounds different but couldn’t tell you why. Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1353, which is I suppose when its modern history begins. It boggles my mind how old things in Europe are.

In the early 2000s, the U.S embassy was a nondescript building on the other side of the Aare from the Old Town (it has since moved to more posh accommodations). Won was able to navigate to the old embassy by memory, one familiar landmark at a time. If you’ve made the trek often enough when drunk, I guess you never forget the way. It was a nostalgic trip, even if the destination is now a common apartment building. We spent time on the footbridge behind the old Embassy, where the turquoise waters of the Aare flow. That evening, we had a chance to meet up with Won’s friend from his embassy days. It was delightful and educational to hear her perspective on being a Vietnamese Swiss European, and also to interact with her kids (9 and 5) who conversed fluidly and articulately between Swiss German, High German, and English.

An entire morning was spent following Rick Steve’s walking tour, which hit up the major sites: the Zytglogge (Time Bell), a defensive tower with a medieval clock whose mechanical whimsy features a rooster flapping its wings and crowing, bears rotating in a circle, a jester, Chronos the Greek personification of time, and a bell-striker - every hour since 1530. The Renaissance public fountains that dot the Old Town, each adorned with a 16th century allegorical statue and fresh geraniums, still used by local commuters, tourists, and pups for a fresh drink of water. The Bärengraben, an enclosure housing brown bears, the symbol of Bern. Einsteinhaus, where Albert Einstein lived in 1903-1905 when he worked at the Swiss Patent Office and published the annus mirabilis papers. The Federal Palace which houses the national parliament, and the Rosengarten (Rose Garden). The afternoon was spent lounging in our room at the Hotel Savoy, resting sore ankles, with an open window listening to a street performer on an accordion.

I fell in love with this city. It is ancient yet meticulously well-preserved, vibrant and edgy yet tidy, historic yet modern, cosmopolitan yet traditional. Let's not wait 20 years to return.