Bern and Lucerne Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

World Cup fever is everywhere - chocolate shops, and even optometists

Our visit to Bern started with a steep walk up to The Garden of Roses (Rosengarten), from which a great panoramic view of the medieval town centre was achieved at a cost. World Cup fever is reaching a high point and we watched Germany beat Uraquay at the Hotel Bern after having difficulty finding a restaurant not swamped with viewers. .

Bern is a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage listed City and the City Centre is largely medieval next morning we collected audioguides from the Tourist Office and visited all the main sites. Perhaps its most famous sight is an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. It also has an impressive 15th century Gothic cathedral, and a 15th century town hall. Thanks to 6 kilometers of arcades, the old town boasts one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe. Albert Einstein also lived in an apartment in Berne, from 1903 to 1905is still a highly regarded citizen.

Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit, just on the edge of the Old Town. The extended and renewed pit actually contains four bears, including two young, who were playing happily while we watched.

We then returned for a guided tour of the National parliament, built from 1857 to 1902, For a country the size of Victoria, and with a similar population, they have 200 politicians in the lower house and 46 in an Upper House like our senate. They also have several referendum each year But the best feature is the set of fountains in front of the Parliament. Small children were having great fun as it was a very hot day.