Brussels - Bern

Had the European Judicial Networks annual meeting in Brussels in the end of January. Decided to stay for the weekend as well and spent the beginning of February in beautiful yet very wintery Bern, Switzerland. To balance things out, Brussels greeted us with a sunny + 6 kinda spring weather, when we got back.

Hopped off Flixbus at 6 in the morning, on the outskirts of Bern straight into fresh snow.

Bern is a beautiful medieval city home to around 142 000 people. It's the capital city of Switzerland, built around a crook in the Aare River. It traces its origins back to the 12th century, with lots of medieval architecture preserved in Old Town. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The medieval atmosphere with its many fountains, sandstone facades, narrow streets and historic towers is quite unique, even on a cold and foggy winters day.

The city is easily explorable on foot as Bern’s center is relatively small. Neither public transportation nor a map are really needed. We only used a bus to get to the edge of town where Flixbus dropped us off and picked us up close to some old parking grounds.

Parliament building. It had a visitation day on Saturday. We seized the day.

The Zytglogge Astronomical Clock Tower. Apparently it works exactly the same as when it was created in 1527.

The gorgeous gothic Bern Minster Cathedral.

Albert Einstein lived in Bern from 1903 to 1905 with his wife and son and developed his Theory of Relativity here. Nowadays the apartment is made a museum.

We did not visit the museum but spent time in the cosy cafeteria downstairs. The cheese platter is amazing!

Catching some lovely views of the town from Nydeggbrücke bridge.

At Einstein and his wife's favourite spot! The Rose Garden. It's an easy walk up. The path starts right from the bridge.

Happy puppies when we finally found the place we were looking for, or to be more exact, found the door to it, as we walked a good couple circles around the block looking in from the windows not understanding were is the entrance. While Switzerland is quite expensive, this cool hipster bar/concert space/communal space 'Turnhalle' had reasonably priced drinks and great atmosphere.

Atomium.

Hadn't been there yet and these blue skies were tempting us to go out and explore.

It was originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. It is located on the Heysel Plateau and is now a museum and a viewing platform, standing 102 m tall.