by Sheila O'Connor

ow, it’s like something out of Hansel and Gretel!” exclaims the young girl beside me as she looks around at the cobbled streets, fairy-tale clocks, and multitude of colorful arcades bursting with shoppers, diners, and those, like me, just out to sightsee. She’s clearly wide-eyed with delight, just looking at everything.

This is the beautiful medieval city of Bern, the capital of Switzerland. And it’s an explorer’s paradise.

Bern was originally founded by a German duke in 1191. When it came to finding a name for it, however, he was at a loss. He decided to leave it to chance, organized a hunting party and decreed the first animal killed would lend its name to this new city. That animal was a bear (Bern). Today, the symbol of the bear is everywhere — including on the city’s flag.

Of course you shouldn’t miss the real bears in the Bear Pit (Baerengraben). The antics of the bears are quite amusing, and you’ll notice the bears playing to the crowd. You wonder, just who is studying whom!

One of the capital’s most famous buildings is the Zytglogge, or clock tower. This dates back to 1210 and is one of the oldest and largest working clocks in the world. The tower was once used as a prison, but only for women, and only for those caught having love affairs — with priests, no less. The priests, as a punishment for their sins, were castrated.

… views that even Hansel and Gretel would give up their gingerbread for.

But the Clock Tower is only one of the historic buildings you’ll see in the Old Town. The buildings have been beautifully preserved in this fairy-tale setting, and the city has been designated a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage sight.

Thanks to almost five miles of ornate covered arches, Bern can boast that it has one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe. The arches keep shoppers and diners dry, and have a romantic feeling to them.

Another Bern claim to fame is that it was home to Albert Einstein in his early years. Local lore has it that the genius never wore socks. He worried about getting holes in them, knowing he wouldn’t be able to repair them himself! So, he decided no socks were better than holey socks.

The trip by bus or train into Bern is well worth it for the scenic views you’ll get on the way. Scenic views that even Hansel and Gretel would give up their gingerbread for.

Bern: www.myswitzerland.com.

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