Canton Bern, one of the largest of Switzerland's 26 cantons, joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1353, one of the eight cantons of the formation period of 1353 to 1481. Before Switzerland became a peaceful, neutral nation, Bern invaded and conquered Aargau and Vaud in 1536 and other, smaller, territories.
With this, Bern became the largest city-state north of the Alps. By the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today canton Bern and canton Vaud.
Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 and stripped of its territories. Bern regained control of the Bernese Oberland in 1802. Through the Congress of Vienna in 1814 it gained the Bernese Jura area, making it the largest canton of the Confederacy until the secession of canton Jura in 1979. In 1848, the city of Bern was made the capital of Switzerland.
The city of Bern, with population of about 150,000, is west of the center of Switzerland and about 12 miles north of the Bernese Alps. It was originally built on a hilly peninsula formed by a U-shaped curve of the Aare river. Bern's Old Town is one of Switzerland's UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Our Turner Hall Swiss Heritage tour group enjoyed a guided tour of Bern, including visiting its landmark Bear Pit, Parliament buildings, and passing Embassy Row and Albert Einstein's residence. We debark and stroll through the streets of Old Town, and enjoy lunch at one of many fine restaurants, and, of course, purchase some souvenirs.
We board the bus and head west to the Seeland, a non-touristy area, Switzerland's vegetable-producing region. With its limited cropland, Switzerland imports much of its foodstuffs. However, its carefully managed truck farms produce an impressive variety of greens and other vegetables. We depart the bus and a farm manger explains their production and marketing practices.
We board the bus and head west through canton Fribourg to the city of Murten, where we would spend the next three nights - but maybe not. Murten (German), or Morat (French), situated between Bern and Lausanne, is a city with a majority of German speakers in the predominantly French-speaking canton of Fribourg.
The plan is to check into the hotel, stroll through the city, and retire to our usual excellent dinner. Our bus pulls into the parking lot.
Oops! Something doesn't look right. Weeds are growing in the parking lot - very un-Swiss. Whaddaya know! A busload of tourists with reservations and a three-night stay, and the joint is deserted.
Our bus driver, Urs, and Hans Bernet immediately get on the horn and contact Schneider Travel. What gives?
Schneider Travel learned that the hotel owner had died prior to our scheduled stay. His son, who was supposed to take over, got overwhelmed, shut the place down, put a "closed" sign on the door, and vanished.
But no need to panic. We trust Swiss dependability and Schneider Travel. While Urs and Hans perform their magic, the rest of us explore Murten's Old Town as originally planned. On short notice, a lakeside restaurant is able to whip up dinner for a busload of hungry tourists, and we enjoy an excellent meal with a gorgeous view of Lake Murten
We return to the bus. Even though it's September and past peak tourist season, Murten's other hotels and those in Bern are booked. No problem!
Hotel arrangements are found at a resort alongside the Schwarzee (Black Lake) an hour to the south. We enjoy the spacious and comfortable rooms, but as the resort doesn't have enough rooms for everyone, a few hardy volunteers have less comfortable digs a few miles down the road.
We awaken to a gorgeous view of the lake and mountain slopes bathed in early morning sun. A highlight of these Swiss hotels is breakfast, consisting of fresh fruits; eggs; a variety of sausages, cheese and yogurt; the world's best bread and jam; and muesli, a delicious and healthful combination of rolled oats, nuts, dried fruits and milk.
After another great breakfast we board the bus for the city of Fribourg. We enjoy a tour of the scenic city via trolley car, only the beginning of another enjoyable day.
We head for canton Vaud, the city of Montreux and the Castle of Chillon. Located on the eastern end of Lake Geneva, between Montreux and Villenie, the Castle was built to control the road to the Great St. Bernard Pass, a strategic link between the north side of the Alps and the Rhone Valley south of the Alps.
During the 16th century, the castle was used by the dukes of Savoy as a prison. Its most famous prisoner was Francois de Bonivard, a Genevois monk who was imprisoned in 1530 for defending his homeland from the dukes of Savoy. Over his six-year term, de Bonivard paced constantly in a circle, as far as his chain would allow. The rut formed by his constant pacing is still visible.
The Castle of Chillon was popularized by Lord Byron's poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon," about Francis de Bonivard.
It's raining in Montreux. A lunch of pasta and wine, with a view of Lake Geneva hits the spot. We board the bus and head back north to Canton Fribourg, the town of Broc and the Cailler Chocolate factory.
Chocolate is native to the New World. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was introduced to Europeans.
In 1819, F.L. Cailler opens the first Swiss chocolate factory. But it wasn't until later that processes were invented to remove the bitter taste of chocolate, extract the fat from cocoa beans, and make powdered cocoa and cocoa butter.
A Swiss candle maker, Daniel Peter, began experimenting with milk as an ingredient, the precursor to milk chocolate as we know it.
We enjoy an interesting tour of the Cailler factory, highlighted by tasty samples. All Swiss chocolate is superior, but Cailler is the favorite of many of us.
Next week: To Geneva, Switzerland's International City.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
With this, Bern became the largest city-state north of the Alps. By the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today canton Bern and canton Vaud.
Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 and stripped of its territories. Bern regained control of the Bernese Oberland in 1802. Through the Congress of Vienna in 1814 it gained the Bernese Jura area, making it the largest canton of the Confederacy until the secession of canton Jura in 1979. In 1848, the city of Bern was made the capital of Switzerland.
The city of Bern, with population of about 150,000, is west of the center of Switzerland and about 12 miles north of the Bernese Alps. It was originally built on a hilly peninsula formed by a U-shaped curve of the Aare river. Bern's Old Town is one of Switzerland's UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Our Turner Hall Swiss Heritage tour group enjoyed a guided tour of Bern, including visiting its landmark Bear Pit, Parliament buildings, and passing Embassy Row and Albert Einstein's residence. We debark and stroll through the streets of Old Town, and enjoy lunch at one of many fine restaurants, and, of course, purchase some souvenirs.
We board the bus and head west to the Seeland, a non-touristy area, Switzerland's vegetable-producing region. With its limited cropland, Switzerland imports much of its foodstuffs. However, its carefully managed truck farms produce an impressive variety of greens and other vegetables. We depart the bus and a farm manger explains their production and marketing practices.
We board the bus and head west through canton Fribourg to the city of Murten, where we would spend the next three nights - but maybe not. Murten (German), or Morat (French), situated between Bern and Lausanne, is a city with a majority of German speakers in the predominantly French-speaking canton of Fribourg.
The plan is to check into the hotel, stroll through the city, and retire to our usual excellent dinner. Our bus pulls into the parking lot.
Oops! Something doesn't look right. Weeds are growing in the parking lot - very un-Swiss. Whaddaya know! A busload of tourists with reservations and a three-night stay, and the joint is deserted.
Our bus driver, Urs, and Hans Bernet immediately get on the horn and contact Schneider Travel. What gives?
Schneider Travel learned that the hotel owner had died prior to our scheduled stay. His son, who was supposed to take over, got overwhelmed, shut the place down, put a "closed" sign on the door, and vanished.
But no need to panic. We trust Swiss dependability and Schneider Travel. While Urs and Hans perform their magic, the rest of us explore Murten's Old Town as originally planned. On short notice, a lakeside restaurant is able to whip up dinner for a busload of hungry tourists, and we enjoy an excellent meal with a gorgeous view of Lake Murten
We return to the bus. Even though it's September and past peak tourist season, Murten's other hotels and those in Bern are booked. No problem!
Hotel arrangements are found at a resort alongside the Schwarzee (Black Lake) an hour to the south. We enjoy the spacious and comfortable rooms, but as the resort doesn't have enough rooms for everyone, a few hardy volunteers have less comfortable digs a few miles down the road.
We awaken to a gorgeous view of the lake and mountain slopes bathed in early morning sun. A highlight of these Swiss hotels is breakfast, consisting of fresh fruits; eggs; a variety of sausages, cheese and yogurt; the world's best bread and jam; and muesli, a delicious and healthful combination of rolled oats, nuts, dried fruits and milk.
After another great breakfast we board the bus for the city of Fribourg. We enjoy a tour of the scenic city via trolley car, only the beginning of another enjoyable day.
We head for canton Vaud, the city of Montreux and the Castle of Chillon. Located on the eastern end of Lake Geneva, between Montreux and Villenie, the Castle was built to control the road to the Great St. Bernard Pass, a strategic link between the north side of the Alps and the Rhone Valley south of the Alps.
During the 16th century, the castle was used by the dukes of Savoy as a prison. Its most famous prisoner was Francois de Bonivard, a Genevois monk who was imprisoned in 1530 for defending his homeland from the dukes of Savoy. Over his six-year term, de Bonivard paced constantly in a circle, as far as his chain would allow. The rut formed by his constant pacing is still visible.
The Castle of Chillon was popularized by Lord Byron's poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon," about Francis de Bonivard.
It's raining in Montreux. A lunch of pasta and wine, with a view of Lake Geneva hits the spot. We board the bus and head back north to Canton Fribourg, the town of Broc and the Cailler Chocolate factory.
Chocolate is native to the New World. With the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was introduced to Europeans.
In 1819, F.L. Cailler opens the first Swiss chocolate factory. But it wasn't until later that processes were invented to remove the bitter taste of chocolate, extract the fat from cocoa beans, and make powdered cocoa and cocoa butter.
A Swiss candle maker, Daniel Peter, began experimenting with milk as an ingredient, the precursor to milk chocolate as we know it.
We enjoy an interesting tour of the Cailler factory, highlighted by tasty samples. All Swiss chocolate is superior, but Cailler is the favorite of many of us.
Next week: To Geneva, Switzerland's International City.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
