Few months back, I started having some issues with my phone's wifi signal. I was able to live with the problem as long as I'm still able to somehow connect. then it starts to get unbearable and just a few days ago, I thought maybe updating my phone to the latest iOS10 could help. But, WRONG MOVE. Because the wifi tab turned grey and I can no longer turn on wifi on my phone. Thinking that it must be a hardware problem, I sent it in for diagnostic test. turns out, the phone is perfectly fine. So.. its corrupted content on my phone and apparently there's no way to sieve out what exactly is corrupting the wifi function?
It's an epic FML moment because it means even if I restore my phone back to factory settings, I can't restore my backup from itunes. I would have to sieve out all the content individually and put them back bit by bit. which I did. and it took me.. TWO DAYS.
And this incident finally made me transfer 7 years of photos to my laptop.
So as I was sorting out the photos, I remembered, oh yeah I have a travel blog to keep track of my travels?
This is how my travel folder looks like now:
So today.. I picked Berne, somewhere not too huge, coverable on foot. But the beauty of this city should not be undermined by its size. Common misconception, Berne is the capital of Switzerland, not Zurich! Zurich is the financial center and largest city in Switzerland.
Being smacked in the middle of Switzerland, Berne is very well connected. There's at least 2 trains connecting Zurich and Berne every hour, and the train journey range between 60-80minutes. Train tickets cost a lot cheaper when you book them online in advance. If you're at the train station looking to buy tickets for the next departure, buy them using the computer located outside the ticket office. It's cheaper than buying them off the ticket machines.
I do recommend visiting the tourism office after you arrive in Berne. It's located within the train station, and here you can get a map with recommended routes to take. don't worry about buses or trams, Berne can be easily covered on foot.
If there's one place you must visit, take a short "hike" up to Rosengarten. It's a little park up the hill that offers a gorgeous view of the old town. It's also a good place to stop by for a picnic.
Along the way to Rosengarten, you would also pass by the bear park. Unfortunately, it was under renovation when I visited :(
The old town is pretty picturesque and has a couple of churches and museums you can visit. Einstein lived in Berne when he was working for a Swiss patent office, so naturally, they made an attraction out of his house.
These are some of the views you get at the edges of the old town.
So that's pretty much of the old town for me. If you have time to spare, Thun is another pictursque town to visit and is 1 train stop away from Berne. It should take you between 20-30minutes via train. Personally, I would leave a day for Berne and combine Thun and Spiez for another day.
And one cannot leave Switzerland without Luxemburgerli!
