A tale of four Swiss cities (Part Three)

So after a fantastic time in warm Zurich I boarded the train and began my journey to the Swiss capital.

 

 On my way there the weather began to deteriorate and by the time I arrived it was raining quite heavily but I had just enough time to snap a picture on my way to my accommodation!

The price of Swiss hotels finally beat me in Bern and I had to do some couchsurfing! I stayed with Helmer who was originally from Turkey and lived in a residential area of the city. Helmer, being a football coach, but also a taxi driver, had some interesting stories to tell me about the capital and its surrounding area and overall it was a great experience.

The following day I went to the train station and met up with a student who lives in the city called Yannick who was kind enough to show me around Bern. It was really interesting to hear about some of the history of the city and also some of the politics which he was able to tell me about as his father worked for the regional government. The first place we headed to was the cathedral and we walked what seemed to be hundreds of steps to the stop (quite an exhausting trek!) but the views were worth it, apparently on a clear day they are even better with the snow-capped mountain in the background.

On the river bank in the distance on the bottom picture above you can see a first glimpse of the bear enclosure, quite a unique feature of the city. Apparently bears have been kept in various enclosures in the city for hundreds of years and the bear stands as the symbol of the city appearing on its official flag. The current enclosure is the biggest and most recently renovated and the bears kept there are even able to swim in a small amount of the River Aare. We gradually walked through the beautiful and quiet streets to the riverside to take a look at the 'bear pit' as it's known, here it was also possible to get a great view of Bern in the background.

Before heading to the train station Yannick kindly made a great dinner at his small apartment, free accommodation and free food - both very welcome in Switzerland! The apartment was in a lovely location right in the centre on one of Bern's main streets and was a great last place to hang out before my last train journey in the country.

My next and final destination in Switzerland was Geneva and the train ride on the way there from Bern offered up some spectacular scenery as you can see below. This train journey was also significant because it crossed over from the German speaking to French speaking part of the country. The border town is 'Fribourg/Freiburg' as it states on the station name to show the two languages now fully coming into play. Very quickly everyone on the train was suddenly speaking French! 

A tale of four Swiss cities (Part Two)

In my infinite wisdom I made the last minute decision to go from Basel to Zurich instead of heading south as I originally planned. I was mightily impressed by the journey overall, starting with the price of the train ticket which was around £10, very much in line, if not better, than rates you would find in the UK and surprising having heard about the scare stories of Swiss train prices. Secondly, I was mightily impressed by the train I travelled on for this journey which is less than an hour, the train was very fast and very comfortable, overall it was a great first introduction to rail travel in Switzerland.

I arrived in Zurich at around 2pm and it was a beautiful day in this beautiful city. The days before in Basel, whilst warm, had largely been cloudy but today I had the sun to match and everyone including myself was out making the most of it.

Zurich's main station really brings you straight into the heart of the city and it wasn't long before I got some great views and pictures of the many picturesque buildings and bridges.

After a while the Linmat (the river running through Zurich) gives way to the mighty Lake Zurich which you just get a glimpse of here from the final bridge but it actually stretches to over twenty miles in length.

Just near to the last bridge I found a great little area with benches right by the water. I sat here with a drink for a good hour thoroughly enjoying the warm sun and wonderful view of Zurich.

I would have loved to stay in the centre of Zurich but sadly being Switzerland and me not being rich I was destined for a stay in the suburbs of the city! I headed to the main station for the short ride to Kloten Balsberg which is near to the airport and where my hotel was located. OK it wasn't a boutique hotel overlooking the lake but it was a fairly pleasant residential area and more than adequate for me. Below are some pictures from my short train journey there...

In the morning I headed back into Zurich and made the spontaneous decision to take the train up to a very small place overlooking the city called Uetliberg. It cost around 8CHF for a return journey on the aptly named 'Uetliberg Bahn,' and it proved to be a great decision as the views were stunning on the ascent and upon arrival. It was a very quaint little place which just had a hotel, restaurant, train station and a TV tower which unsurprisingly can be spotted for quite a distance. There was what I guessed to be an equal mixture of tourists and locals enjoying the many trails that winded through the woodland. I didn't have much time to explore further as I had another train to catch down in Zurich but I managed to do one (very steep!) trail and capture some great views of the city, it's always great to see somewhere from high up!

I had a train for my next destination at 4pm but there was time for a spot of lunch and a view more great views of the city. I didn't think any city could come as close as Porto did the previous week to being so photogenic but this place pushed it very close indeed...

A tale of four Swiss cities (Part One)

Straight after arriving back from Porto I headed straight to Switzerland for a week of city hopping. I had only been to the country briefly before so this was a great chance to give me a better understanding of this diverse place.

My travels didn't get off to the best start as I overslept on the morning of my flight! I have never got ready so quick in my life as I rushed to the airport and to the gate. Normally I wait around a bit before the gate is open and ready for boarding but not this time! But I finally got on my way...

I arrived in Basel at around 10am and understandably was a bit tired but ready to explore the city. This is quite a unique airport as you get the choose of exiting into three countries, I chose Switzerland of course and headed straight for the bus. It took just ten minutes to get to the city centre and although there is very little sign of it the bus actually crosses the border from France to Switzerland.

I got off the bus at Basel main train station and was happy to meet up with Roman, who lives in the city and was going to show me around some of its sights. It was cloudy but also surprisingly warm (note how my coat disappears!) and a great day for looking around as it was also quiet. It was fantastic to look around the picturesque, winding streets and take in the views over the Rhine river with very few tourists and not many people around in general. After my hectic morning it wasn't surprising that I hit the deck early afternoon! Overall, after a hectic start it was a nice day exploring my first taste of German speaking Switzerland.

I enjoyed a relaxing morning the following day before I headed to the main station to catch my train to Zurich. Before I leave Basel I want to share a couple of interesting things I saw whilst wandering around the city. The first thing I want to share is this incredibly long German word you can see below - I was reliably informed that it translates into something resembling 'all year Christmas shop' but of course we all know that! The other thing I wanted to share was a cool and colourful bit of street art which featured some of the greats of music from times gone by. I'm not sure who was responsible for it but it was certainly impressive.