Rheinfall Waterfalls, Switzerland

Just over the Swiss border from us in Germany is an amazing waterfall.

It's called Rheinfall and it's located near Schaffhausen.

Okay, so it's not Niagara, but it is well worth a visit.

We heard it was billed as one of the most picturesque waterfalls in Europe, and we weren't disappointed.

Had we known there was so much to do in the area we would have opted for a weekend visit not just a day trip.

We parked near the Adventure Park.

http://www.ap-rheinfall.ch/

Mac and I would have actually liked to have done this because they say the view of Rheinfall from the tree tops is spectacular.

Photo: AP Photo/keystone/Steffen Scmidt

We also would have loved to see the falls illuminated like this at night.

Just beautiful huh....looks a bit like a glacier here.

We started our adventure at Schloessli Woerth

http://www.schloessliwoerth.ch/

Here you buy your tickets for the boat rides.

We bought the combination ticket for all three boat rides and the entrance to Castle Laufen.

  You can also relax and have a bite to eat on their terrace.

We wished we'd brought some bread to feed the fish that surrounded the boat as we waited for our first ride.

We did the round trip first and passed by the observation point at the base of Castle Laufen.

We got close enough to get a misting from the falls.

Our second boat trip took us over the river to Castle Laufen

http://www.schlosslaufen.ch/

where we checked out all the observation points.

It was fantastic.

We then rode the glass elevator up to the castle itself.

It was lovely. They had a nice restaurant and

great views from the windows.

Notice the people on the rock in the center of the falls.

We decided to have lunch here at the Park am Reinfall restaurant called

Chuchi

http://www.park-reinfall.ch/

Lunch was unremarkable here except for the excellent Riesling Soup.

I will blog a recipe for you this week.

It was wonderful!

After lunch we headed out for our last boat ride to the rock in the middle of the falls.

We held tight and patiently made our way up the stairs to the top of the rock.

Where we were rewarded

with incredible views.

One last snap before we leave the rock!

Mac gives Rheinfall two thumbs up and says to tell you,

"We didn't get wet going out to the rock, but we don't recommend it for people with toddlers."

The Bear Pit/Bern, Switzerland

When my cousin said they were taking us to eat lunch near the "Bear Pit" in Bern, my first question was,

"What is a bear pit?"

Her reply, "Where they keep bears?"

"You mean, REAL bears?" I asked.

"Yup."

What's this all about?

So Terry filled me in.

Step back with me in history to the year 1160.

It seems that the founder of Bern, Berchthold V, Duke of Zähringen, who may have been just a touch eccentric, said he'd name the city after the first animal he hunted and killed on the site of the new city.
As it happened, it was a bear.

They say the city has always had a bear depicted on it's seal and flag.

I wanted to know how long they had kept bears like this in Bern.

Historically, the first record that there were bears being kept in Bern, comes from 1441.  Someone accidently found in the city documents a notice that the town council ordered sacks of acorns to feed the bears.

The bear-pit is has been located near the Nydegg Bridge since 1857.

Polly took this photo a few years ago.

It seemed a bit sad to me to keep wild animals like this, although I suppose it's no different to a zoo.

You can't imagine how delighted I was to find that since October 2009, the bears have been moved out of the pit to a new PARK.  Here they may roam free, catch fish from the river and forage for their own food.

Here Finn (male) and Björk (female) have mated and have produced

two male offspring, Berna and Urs.

Finn has had to be separated from the cubs.  Apparently bears have no "fatherly" feelings and would eat the cubs.  I took this picture when we visited.  He was lazing around and didn't seem to mind at all.

We had lunch here at the Altes Tramdepot.

Grosser Muristalden 6

3006, Bern

This restaurant is also a microbrewery where they brew "Tram-beer" twice a week. 

It has no chemical additives.

We had a lovely view of the river from our table.  We ordered our food

and watched the rafters and swimmers who put in up-river and float down the fast moving Aare.

The food was good but the men say the  restaurant home brewed beer was better.

Terry's chicken with kumquats wins the prize for prettiest presentation.

After lunch we hopped the tram back to Terry and Rich's new home.

What a fun, lovely day we had!

Thanks for lunch guys.

Mac gives Bern two thumbs up

Rich and Mac give having family back together 4 thumbs up!

Little do they know what their two little Maine girls could get up to.

Watch out boys, we might just tear up this town!

Bern, Switzerland

It's official.  My cousin Terry and her husband have arrived to live and work in Bern, Switzerland.

Knowing you have family only a few hours away is such a comfort.

Terry and I grew up in Maine not far from each other and Rich and I attended high school together.

We drove down to welcome them to their new home and were reminded what it was like when we moved to Germany. An empty house just waiting to be filled with furniture.

Our Jaxson (tan dog) and their Mikey (white dog) learning to co-exsist

together.

We hopped a train into the "old city"

and had a wander around the market.

We stopped to hear some of the street performers.

This guy had an amazing balancing act where he rolled

the ball all over his body.

It sounds silly but, it was very good.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland.

The "old city" is a medieval city which, is surrounded on three sides by the Aare River.

Bern was founded in 1191 by Berchthold V, Duke of Zähringen.

It is also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are eleven 16th century fountains running through the center of the "old city".  They are landmarks and each of them has a special "theme" with a colorful figure mounted on top.

Here's the piper fountain.

We admired the incredible architecture throughout the city.

We stopped to have a look at the very old

astronomical clock.  It seems it was first mentioned in the city accounts of 1444 as being repainted.

We enjoyed watching the clock when it went off.

This is lovely city and well worth a visit.

So far Mac gives Bern 2 thumbs up and says to tell you,

"Mimi will blog about something unique to Bern, the 'Bear Pit'

tomorrow."