Ten things I learned in Bern and Küsnacht…

Featured photo is of the train as we left Bern…

Now that I’ve finished writing my exhaustive and detailed blow by blow of our trip to Switzerland, it’s time to write my usual ten things I learned post. I like to make these posts for those who just want a quick summary of our trips. They’re also kind of fun to write, and a nice way to sum up our travels. So, here goes…

10. If there is a heat wave threatening, reconsider traveling by train!

We got home last Saturday by the grace of God! A week ago, temperatures were north of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, our train was only about 12 or 13 minutes delayed. Other travelers were not as lucky. We’ve heard stories of people in East Germany and outside of Paris who were stranded for hours. Extreme heat affects train travel, and can turn your ride home into a nightmare. It turned out fine for us this time, but it could have been a real disaster. It’s best to leave in the coolness of the morning hours, if you must travel by train when it’s very hot.

9. Bern has an astronomical clock that was influenced by Prague’s astronomical clock!

Bern’s astronomical clock, located on the Zytglogge, is a centerpiece in the city. Prague’s clock, Orloj, is a bit older, as it dates from 1410. However, the clock in Bern has a mechanical system that still functions as it did in 1530.

8. You can easily go swimming in Swiss lakes and rivers!

Switzerland is very friendly to those who like taking a dip. We visited Lake Zürich and the Aare River, and we noticed both bodies of water hosted eager swimmers who sought to cool off from the blazing sun. I waded into the Aare River, wishing I had a swimsuit on. When we went to Lake Zürich, I enjoyed the lake every day! There are some areas that are privately owned and offer facilities, but I also noticed plenty of public areas, especially at the lake! You don’t have to pay at the public areas, but there also aren’t any facilities like changing rooms or lockers.

7. Tina Turner was a big fan of Rico’s cosi, and was a regular patron there, when she was still alive.

Bill and I dined at Rico’s cosi when we visited Küsnacht. The next day, I heard a woman covering Tina Turner, and remembered that Tina lived in Küsnacht for years. I ran across an article in People Magazine, and the owner of Rico’s was quoted. He said she was a friend, lived about 100 yards from the restaurant, and used to dine there all the time!

6. This cool Parmesan grinder is apparently only available in Switzerland… bummer. 🙁

*I hope to buy one on a future trip to Die Schweiz.*

5. Bern has a special relationship with bears. They even have cute little almond flavored cakes shaped like them!

*This one was a parting gift from our hotel, when we checked out.*

4. The Sonne Seehotel is NOT air conditioned. In fact, air conditioning is very rare in Switzerland.

This is actually not something I necessarily learned on this trip. I knew air conditioning was rare there before we went to Switzerland. However, air conditioning is especially uncommon in Switzerland, even though it is not outright banned. You can read about why by clicking this link to an article about the politics of air conditioning in Switzerland. Personally, I think they are soon going to have to change their ways. The hot weather is getting more severe every summer. Fortunately, the lakes and rivers are nice and cold.

3. I really like fregola sarda. I also like Risoni.

When we visited Zimmermania for my birthday, I chose a fish dish that offered fregola sarda as a side. I didn’t know what fregola sarda was until two weeks ago. I now know it’s a type of semolina pasta from Sardinia. It looks like large, pearl-like couscous, although I enjoyed it a lot more than couscous. The pasta has a nutty flavor that marries well with fish!

I also tried Risoni with my perlhühn dish at the Pavilion Restaurant at the Sonne Seehotel. Risoni is the Italian name for orzo pasta. It looks like grains of rice. In the United States, the pasta is called “orzo”, but in Italy, it’s called Risoni, which means barley.

I’m going to have to see if I can buy some of both of these pastas. I really loved them… especially the fregola sarda.

*The little round balls are fregola sarda.*

2. Sometimes less expensive restaurants offer much better dining experiences…

Dining at moderately priced Falken, and then dining at expensive Rico’s cosi, makes me realize that one doesn’t have to spend a lot of money for great service and good food. While Falken isn’t a cheap restaurant at all, we’ve been there twice and, both times, left there very satisfied. And it was significantly cheaper than Rico’s cosi, which is much vaunted, and priced accordingly. I didn’t necessarily learn this truism just on this trip… but it was definitely driven home by our different experiences at these two restaurants.

And finally, 1. It pays to double check a city’s event schedule when you decide to visit.

In Bern, there was a city party going on over the weekend of my birthday. I love a good party, but the city fest kept us awake at night. If I had known that event was going on, I think I would have chosen to go somewhere else and saved Bern for a different time.

Of course, this isn’t the first time something like that has happened to us. In 2019, Bill and I decided to go to Inverness, Scotland to meet a cruise. We stopped in Edinburgh, on the way… completely unaware that we booked during their annual Fringe celebration. The city was a total madhouse. The Fringe made our hotel very expensive and uncomfortable. I would definitely not want to do that again, even though the Fringe was interesting. Moral of the story– ALWAYS check to see what’s “on” in a city you’re visiting. I like a good party as much as anyone does, but I also like to sleep at night.

So that about does it for our latest visit to Switzerland. I will be writing another post later about last night’s wine stand!

adventure, Annoyances, C.G. Jung

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part thirteen)

We finally reached Saturday, our day of leaving Die Schweiz. It was slated to be a very hot day, so we were somewhat worried about how we were going to make the journey back to Germany. My German friend had sent a warning from Deutsche Bahn about the heat, and how it would affect train travel.

I researched what it would cost to fly to Frankfurt last minute. Although we could have done it, it would have been very expensive. Renting a car was only slightly less pricey. Since there were no warnings on the DB app on our morning of departure, we decided to go ahead with our plans.

Before our last breakfast, we packed our bags. Then we went down to the restaurant for our last breakfast feast at the Sonne Seehotel in Küsnacht.

The wait staff invited us to sit on the actual deck of the restaurant, but I demurred. The chairs outside were the kind that were grooved, and I knew that because I was wearing shorts, the grooves would end up pressed into the backs of my thighs. 😏

Bill had already moved my big bag down the half flight of steps leading into our hotel room. I was grateful for that, since I worried about maneuvering the suitcase down without either falling down, or somehow damaging the steps, which appeared to be made of thick glass.

*One last look at the unique ceiling in room 410.*

We went down to the reception and paid the city taxes, since we had already prepaid for the room. I booked the room back in March, when we were staying in Paris, France. The bill came to 3,936 euros, which is a lot of money for six nights. But, for that, we got a very large room with a view of Lake Zürich in Switzerland, huge breakfasts every day, and easy access to the lake. And we booked it so long ago that the pain of the expense is forgotten. Switzerland is just plain EXPENSIVE.

The receptionist bid us farewell and gave us a small jar of jam from the hotel. I’m sure we’ll be back to the Sonne Seehotel at some point in the near future. It’s comfortable and convenient. I just hope next time we’re there, we can go when it’s a little cooler.

On our way out of the hotel, I took a photo…

*I think I’ve seen this car before. Küsnacht is starting to become familiar… almost like a second home. It’s how I felt about Ribeauville, France, when we were still going there frequently.*

Bill and I pulled our suitcases through a tunnel and up a gentle hill to get to the railway station, which is just a five minute walk from the hotel. We took the regional train to the Zürich Hauptbahnhof, which was the starting point for our ICE train. Our train began in Zürich and would eventually end in Hamburg, Germany, many hours later, and long after we got off at the Frankfurt Airport station.

*Waiting to depart… We spotted a bunch of people dressed traditionally, as if they were from another era of Switzerland’s past.*

For our ride back to Germany, Bill booked us at a four top table. He did so, anticipating that at some point, the direction of the train would change, and he wanted me to be able to face forward. He’s so considerate and kind to me.

The first segment of the trip back was fairly quiet. An elderly couple sat at the two top across from us, and they were pleasant.

But then we got to Basel, Switzerland, and a group of young folks got into our car and proceeded to have a little party, complete with wine. They were oblivious to the rest of us in the car, who weren’t necessarily wanting to listen to them carry on, or deal with them coming from one car to the next. But what can you do? Fortunately, they got off in Freiburg, and there was blessed quiet again. I got the sense that maybe they were going to a sports event.

A tiny lady was seated with us not long after the Freiburg stop. She sat next to me. Then, a couple of stops later, a large German man with an affection for chili and beer sat next to Bill. He seemed put out that there wasn’t room to stow his suitcase in the luggage rack. But, because he was a large, tall guy, he had no trouble lifting his back to the overhead rack. I was actually kind of amazed watching him so easily lift the bag.

After about four hours, we reached the Frankfurt Airport, only about thirteen minutes delayed. It was a good thing we took the train, in spite of the rowdy group in the car with us. I am really becoming an old fogey!

We stopped by the restrooms before making our way to the taxi stand. The restroom where I went was small, so there was a line. I was amused because the woman in front of me rolled her eyes when a MAN came out of there. 😁 She actually backed up and double checked the sign before getting in line.

The taxi ride back to Breckenheim was pretty uneventful, except for when the cabbie almost hit another car on the way out. Unfortunately, the house was extremely hot, thanks to the triple digit temperatures (Fahrenheit). I set about opening windows, turning on the air conditioning and putting out water for the dogs.

On the way home from Switzerland, I had read about the local fire brigade turning the Dorfplatz into a cooling station. They brought their fire truck to the square, so people could enjoy being soaked. I was sorry to miss that event, since we were still on the train when it happened. But we got to see the fire brigade anyway, because later in the evening, the neighbor’s across from us started a fire in their garden.

I wrote about the neighbor’s fire in my regular blog, so you can read about that situation here, if you want… Fortunately, no one was hurt, and it appeared that property damage was minimal. But we did get a show of about twelve firefighters, a drone, and a couple of trucks in our narrow cul-de-sac.

*There are a few more photos in my blog post about this…*

All in all, I’d say our trip to Switzerland, where I became older, and Bill became wiser, was mostly a success. I would have liked to have seen and done a few more things, but it wasn’t a bad thing to just vegetate by Lake Zürich, do some reading, people watch, and swim in the water. I finally got to see Bern, which was a treat. We need to go back and do that city properly. It’s really beautiful… especially the “lazy river” like Aare.

I would also like to have a look at the town of Olten, which we passed through on our way to Zürich. It looked like a very nice place to spend a few days. I’ll have to research it. Actually, thanks to this most recent trip, I’ve been getting a lot of ads for places to explore in Switzerland. I never thought that would be a place I’d get to know, but it appears that fate has led us there…

If anything, I want to go back and buy one of those cool round Parmesan cheese graters… Apparently, they are only available in Switzerland.

*These things are pretty hard to find outside of Die Schweiz…*

Anyway, that about does it for my blow by blow reporting on this trip to Switzerland. I will next be writing my usual ten things I learned post to wrap things up! As I was writing this, I listened to the peaceful album, In Breath, which we bought from the busker, Luke Gajdus, while walking through Bern. I wish we’d brought home a couple more mementoes, but if we only got to bring home one, I’m glad it was his CD. It’s very relaxing music. Here’s a sampling…

Thanks, Luke, for giving me something besides pictures to remember Bern by… and for being far less annoying than the DJs who kept us up all night! 🤣

I would pronounce this trip a success, in spite of some of the minor annoyances. We both learned new things, and we’re both now older and wiser. The trains did make the whole experience easier. And now, it’s time to think about where we’ll go next!

adventure, C.G. Jung, Celebrations

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part six)

The featured photo is just one of many majestic sunset pictures I took on this trip to Switzerland.

On Sunday morning, June 21st, we went back down to Jack’s Brasserie for breakfast. Philippe, the cool waiter, served us a hearty meal. I decided to have Belgian waffles that day, and a side of bacon. I don’t remember what Bill had… I think it might have been scrambled eggs. If it had been something interesting, I would have taken a photo!

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Philippe, picked up our luggage in our room, and headed down to the front desk to check out. As we were leaving the Schweizerhof, the receptionist gave us Bern Bears, little cakes that taste like almond and vanilla, which I guess is a thing in Bern.

The bears came in handy during the week, because I don’t like eating in restaurants alone. The breakfasts at the newly renovated restaurant the Sonne Seehotel were so huge that I really didn’t need to eat lunch. But small snacks were handy for tiding me over until dinner.

Then, Bill and I headed the short way to the Bern train station. We didn’t know it when we arrived in the rain on Friday, but the train station is literally just across the street from the hotel. We had read it was that close, but came out of the wrong side of the station to see it for ourselves.

We had first class tickets for a brief journey from Bern to Zürich Hauptbahnhof. I think it took about an hour. The train was a bit older than the Deutsche Bahn train we took on the way down to Switzerland and back to Germany. I amused myself by taking pictures, especially of the really chill Labrador Retriever in the front row. And I also took a few other photos, reminding me of how pretty Switzerland is.

We arrived in Zürich at a little after 1:00 PM. Then we got on a regional train that would take us to Küsnacht. I think that train ride lasted maybe twenty minutes or so. It was pretty painless.

The Romantik Sonne Seehotel is also VERY close to the train station, although maybe not as close as the Schweizerhof is. To get to it, you have to walk down a hill and under a bridge, once you get off the train platform. Thankfully, there was an elevator there. I don’t even think the Bern station had an elevator for our platform. We had to walk up a ramp.

The lady who checked us in at the Sonne Hotel informed us that our room, which turned out to be 410, was not ready for us when we arrived. Since it was lunch time, we decided to try out the hotel’s brand new restaurant, Pavilion. We were told it just opened last week. As of this week, they were just starting to serve breakfast. It was interesting to see how the service evolved over the course of the week.

The gentleman who served us lunch bore a striking resemblance to Prince William, Britain’s Prince of Wales. We later found out that he’s from Mannheim, though, and he’s likely a bit younger than William is. We decided to go all out for lunch and then, maybe, have some snacks at dinner time if we were hungry.

Below are some photos from that delightful first meal. I had a wonderful starter called “Scampi” (shrimp, lobster, roe, avocado, and a delightful sauce, surrounded by endive. Bill had melon and prosciutto. For our main courses, I went for the Perlhühn (Guinea fowl), while Bill had “crispy fish”— hake. Naturally, there was also Swiss wine, sparkling water, and fresh bread.

*The “Scampi” was absolutely delightful!*

For dessert, I decided to stick with the cooling theme. I had a scoop of lemon sorbet with champagne, candied lemons, and verbena. Bill had a blackberry tart with sour cream ice cream. I really enjoyed the sorbet, on such a HOT day! But it wasn’t even the hottest day of the week.

When we were finished with lunch (about 300 Swiss Francs! 🫪), we went up to our room. I booked and prepaid for a junior suite, which is the class of room we stayed in last fall. This time, we got the room above the one we were in last time.

It was a very “cool” room… but it was also a very hot room. Like most buildings in Switzerland, the Sonne Hotel does not have air conditioning, and rudimentary science knowledge will remind you that heat rises. The room also doesn’t have the large windows that room 310 has. They did provide a fan, though, and the views were still awesome, in spite of the heat.

The stairs you see above lead into the room. The other suites are also located halfway between floors. To get to room 310 or 210, you have to up or go down half a flight of stairs. To get to the bedroom part of 410, you have to navigate these stylish glass steps. Thankfully, neither of us fell down the steps, although I did hit my head on the ceiling/floor as I was going down one time. Obviously, that room would not be a good choice for anyone with mobility issues.

This room has a closet, a mini bar, a desk, TV, phone, and high ceilings that remind you that the hotel is OLD. We were in the top of the tower that overlooks the lake. The bathroom is open, but it has a stall for the toilet and an enclosed, walk in shower, as well as a bath tub. The bed was comfortable, except for the heat.

Lunch and travel left us tired and needing to digest. We laid down on the bed, and soon I fell asleep. I woke myself up snoring a couple of times! But I was probably out for an hour or two before lunch was properly dealt with by my digestive system.

After I woke up from my nap, we immediately decided to strip down and put on our bathing suits. After being in Bern and longing to swim in the river, I was more than ready to brave the lake. It was awesome! The water was cold, but not freezing. The only difficulty we had was entering the lake without slipping on the rocks or stepping on something sharp. I soon got good at that… I think the direct lakeside access is one of the things I loved most about the Sonne Seehotel.

I think Bill found the water chillier than I did. He complained of “shrinkage”… 🤣 He only managed one swim, but I spent many hours by the lake. For that reason, the rest of this series will probably be briefer, because sitting by the lake, swimming, reading, and writing, was pretty much all I did all week!

Oh… and I did a lot of eating and drinking… We did stop by the hotel’s newly renovated Biergarten, too. We enjoyed some fries and beer, along with guitar music by a very talented guy who came by every night, playing for spare change. I did also get a few enchanting sunset photos.

So… that about does it for June 21st. I’ll be back tomorrow to continue this series about how I got older, and Bill got wiser, in dear old Switzerland. Watch this space!

adventure, Celebrations

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part five)

Featured photo is of the Aare River mist near the restaurant where we had lunch.

Here’s the promised second part to my birthday post, for those who are interested. I know there are at least a couple of folks reading, so I will continue onward.

After our disappointing look at the Bear Pit, which denied us any views of bears, we decided to continue our walk along the Aare River. That turned out to be a good decision. As one leaves the Bear Pit area, there’s a beautiful shady trail right next to the river. Once we walked under the trees, the temperature dropped noticeably, and there were lovely views of the river.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I totally could have gone swimming. I wished I had worn a bathing suit under my clothes, because the water was very inviting. I saw a lot of people who were enjoying the swift current while riding on tubes or little inflatable boats. Some people swam.

Below are a few artsy photos…

Bill and I chatted as we walked, and we stopped at the convenient benches along the way. We were in no hurry, and just wanted to enjoy the sights and sounds of the water, and the waterfall at the end of the trail.

As we got closer to the end of the trail, we noticed a little island in the water. There were also a couple of restaurants where I was sure cold beer awaited. But first, I wanted to put my feet in the water, so I did… and it felt so good! Luckily, I was wearing my Keen sandals, which are great for walking in rivers where there are a lot of rocks.

Not great photos of me, but I was definitely happy… I love a good swimming hole.

Below is a video that features the very refreshing water. The misty part in the video is where the restaurant was… I don’t know if it was part of the engineering or a natural feature of the river. My guess is that the misty part was manmade.

What an awesome river. I want to go back and swim in it.

After my quick walk in the river, we decided to have lunch. There appeared to be an events facility there, as well as a couple of restaurants. One was away from the river, and looked pretty traditional. The other was built on the river and had several venues to include a formal restaurant, a casual restaurant, and a self-serve Biergarten. We got a table for lunch at the Restaurant Terrasse Schwellenmätteli, and enjoyed some surprisingly good food.

*Schneider Weisse is everywhere we’ve been!*

After lunch, we decided to walk back the way we came, mainly because the other side of the river was not shady and probably would have required climbing stairs. On the shady side by the Bear Pit, there is an elevator that will take visitors to the top of the trail. I need to exercise, but these days, I have to pace myself, especially in the heat of the summer. I ended up having to duck behind a bush to pee… it wasn’t easy, because there’s a steep hill by the trail. But I could easily see I wasn’t the only one who did it. Some people left behind napkins.

I was sorry to leave the cool river, but we needed to get back to the hotel and prepare for dinner at Zimmermania, a French restaurant Bill reserved a table at on the night of my birthday. So we headed back down the main drag, and got caught behind a lot of kids who had little situational awareness… along with their equally inattentive adult minders.

*I thought Bill’s daughter might like to see Swiss pastries, Bern style.*

We enjoyed a short break in the hotel room, cooling off in the rare air conditioning which, while rather special in Switzerland, was still not quite chilly enough. Nevertheless, I pulled out a lightweight, navy blue, Merino wool dress I bought from Bergfreunde, a few years ago. I was dismayed to see a couple of tiny holes made by moths. 🙄 We have since invested in some “wasps” to eat the moths, but I’m still finding clothes that either need repair or retirement. The dress is still wearable, for now. I’ve worn it twice on this trip.

Then we walked through the crowds to Zimmermania, which was located on a quiet cobblestone street. Zimmermania is a well-regarded, but rather no frills establishment. Bill and I enjoyed the food, and probably could have been more casual. I was glad to see fish on the menu, since I was pretty tired of red meat by June 20th.

*I had delightful salmon with spinach, as well as fregola sarda, a pasta from Sardinia I am going to have to find at home! Bill had filet of sole with potatoes allumettes…*

After dinner, we walked back through the crowds reveling in the city fest. I got more photos…

In all, we walked over six miles on June 20th. I was a little tired and sore at the end of it, but delighted by the day. I definitely wish we could have enjoyed one more night in Bern. It’s a lovely city, and we didn’t see nearly enough of it. I hope we’ll have a chance to return someday… especially if there isn’t a city festival happening! Unfortunately, the noise kept me awake on the second night, too.

Oh well…

The next day, we headed to Küsnacht. I will continue with that part of the story in the next post.

adventure, Celebrations

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part four)

Featured photo is on a beautiful wooded trail in Bern, Switzerland.

Saturday, June 20th, was my 54th birthday. I woke up to a birthday greeting from Bill, and two very irreverent cards. For your amusement, I have made a very short video that offers a whiff of our love for each other…

Highbrow humor…

After he presented the above cards, we got dressed and headed down to breakfast, where we met Philippe, a very charming waiter. We enjoyed egg dishes– Eggs Royale for me and Eggs Benedict for Bill. The difference between the two is that Eggs Royale have salmon and spinach and Hollandaise Sauce, and Eggs Benedict has ham or bacon. Of course, we also had our usual coffee and juice, and we took a trip to the buffet, which offered the usual breads, fruits, cheeses, and cold cuts.

As we were finishing our breakfast, Philippe wished me a happy birthday, and then presented me with a “surprise”… a beautiful chocolate mousse cake and a card from the hotel staff! The cake was surprisingly high quality, too… we really enjoyed it over the rest of our stay at the Schweizerhof Hotel.

After breakfast, we decided to take a walk. Bern is a very attractive city, and if you walk down the main shopping drag, you can even do a lot of it covered by a shopping arcade. It was a bit crowded during our visit, but I still managed to get lots of photos…

We soon approached Bern’s famous Zytglogge, a clock tower that dates from the early 13th century. The clower tower has also served as a prison and a guard tower during its long history. It reminds me of the astronomical clock in Prague, and indeed, Bern’s astronomical clock dates from the 15th century. I got lots of pictures.

Since I’m typing this on my laptop, it’s a bit of a pain to select photos… Bear with me!

We encountered another piano busker, named Luke Gajdus. He was playing hypnotic music that was so interesting that I stood in the middle of the street and didn’t hear the oncoming bus. The buses are all electric, anyway, so it’s hard to hear them come up from behind, especially if you’re distracted. Bill had to pull me away from the vehicle’s path. And then we bought one of the busker’s CDs, called In Breath, which I look forward to uploading on my desktop computer at home.

A sample of Luke’s music. I love finding and buying music by buskers. Some of my favorite souvenirs have been CDs I’ve bought while traveling.

*He plays divinely. Apparently, he’s a music therapist and plays in cities around Europe.*

This shopping drag took us all the way to a bridge that crosses the Aare River. It’s also where the famous Bear Pit is, although we didn’t manage to spot any of the residents during our too brief time in Bern. It was probably too hot for them. I think it was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit during our visit and, as you can see, very sunny.

On the other side of the bridge, there’s a little one room “hotel” where one can book a stay. It’s called “Zollhaus”, and if you rent it, you can “sleep among the bears”. I had seen it advertised the first time I was considering a visit to Bern. Now that I’ve seen where it’s located, I’m not sure I’d want to book it. It’s right in the thick of hordes of tourists! But it is definitely in a picturesque area, and the concept is novel. There were signs nearby advertising it for rent.

Here are a few more photos of the area near the Bear Pit, which is free to visit, or you can pay for a ticket and get a tour at the Bern Zoo, where you’ll see bears and a lot of other animals.

*Lots of donors made the Bear Park a reality…*

I think I will stop at this point and write more about my birthday in a new post. I have lots and lots of pictures, plus my birthday lunch and dinner to write about. Plus, the room needs to be cleaned.

Stay tuned for part five!

Annoyances, Celebrations

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part three)

Featured photo is one I took in Bern on my birthday.

Now it’s time to get down to the business of actual travel. We decided to use trains on this trip to Switzerland. The main reason we decided on train travel is because it’s convenient, especially for our destinations.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that both of our hotels are within a few minutes’ walk from train stations. While it not feel like they’re that close when you pack as much as I do, they are actually super easy to access. Train travel means not having to deal with traffic, or expensive parking. And it also means Bill can do this…

Bill bought us first class tickets from Frankfurt Airport to Bern. Then he bought first class tickets from Bern to Küsnacht. Finally, we have first class tickets from Küsnacht to Frankfurt Airport. We took a cab to the train station from our house, and we’ll take another cab home on Saturday.

The trains going to and from Switzerland are Deutsche Bahn, while the train between Swiss destinations was SBB (Swiss Federal Railways). This is an important note, given what happened on the way to Bern. I’ll explain that down post.

On Friday, June 19th, we headed to the Frankfurt Airport train station. Our cab driver showed up in a Tesla, and we had to figure out how to open the door. We were a bit early, and I had a headache that turned out to be because I was hungry. We stopped by Burger King, where we saw a man who was the spitting image of our village’s manager. I don’t know if it was him, but it sure looked like him… or maybe his long lost twin! We also saw the cab driver in there!

Below are a few photos from on the platform… It was a hot day!

We managed to get two seats next to each other, going in the correct direction of travel. As I sat down in my first class seat, I realized how much more comfortable train travel is than most airplane travel. We had plenty of legroom, a large window, and a tray table that didn’t poke me in the beer gut.

One thing I didn’t like about our trip down to Bern was the noise in the train car. I like to sit in the quiet cars, but I guess we got one where it was okay to use one’s cellphone. A group of loud French speaking men were on their phones almost the entire four hour trip to Bern. We were also a little bit delayed, on account of something that happened before Bill and I boarded.

I noticed the air in the train was a little stinky. It smelled a little like halitosis. Maybe it was from all of the people talking so loudly. Anyway, I tried not to let it make me grumpy. The beer definitely helped.

*This is an Erdinger beer. Our ex landlady was from Erding. I like the beer a whole lot more than I liked her.*

By the time we got to Basel, Switzerland, we were about eleven minutes late. The Zoll (border patrol) guys came on, got one look at us Euro-looking Americans, and walked on by.

I think the train drivers changed, too, because I noticed a different voice on the intercom. He spoke perfect German, French, and English. And he made a point of telling everyone that we were delayed because of an incident that had occurred in GERMANY. 🤭 The way the driver said it was funny. It was like he was disgusted that we were eleven minutes delayed. I noticed that he also encouraged people with connecting trains to hurry, because the trains were waiting for them. The Swiss take punctuality VERY seriously, especially when it comes to public transportation.

I noticed after we got going in Basel, the train driver started to really haul ass. We we were going noticeably faster, and Bill and I were, at that point, riding backwards. Fortunately, we only had to do that for a short time. Bern isn’t all that far from Basel.

When we arrived in Basel, it was almost 6:00 PM. Rain was falling, and the driver had made up about five minutes of the delay. I noticed the beautiful Aare River, as the train pulled into the busy station. We got off the train and followed the crowd… and wound up exiting the station on the wrong side, which meant we had to walk the long way to the Schweizerhof Hotel.

I also didn’t know that from June 19-21, there was a Stadt Fest going on in Bern. The city was teeming with people, and there were DJs everywhere, blasting music. Although I usually enjoy a good city party, I was kind of hoping for quiet after listening to French business calls for four hours. Nevertheless, we made our way to the hotel, where we were welcomed by a lovely young lady named Lavina, who checked us in and gave us access to Room 516.

I booked a junior suite, which came with two bathrooms. They actually came in handy for Bill.

The bathtub in our suite was pretty fancy. It even had a TV mounted into the wall, and a remote control. We didn’t use it, but I was kind of impressed, nonetheless. The hotel left us bottled water and two green apples, which later came in handy in Küsnacht.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the hotel is a rare property in Switzerland with air conditioning. And unfortunately, the room had chandeliers that we couldn’t turn off, if we wanted to use the lamps. I don’t like overhead lighting, especially when it’s really bright. But we were only there for two nights, so it was no big deal. Naturally, there was also a well stocked minibar, but there was enough room in it to store the lovely chocolate mousse birthday cake I got at our first breakfast.

Below are a few shots of the “party” going on in Bern on June 19th…

Since it was evening when we arrived, we changed clothes and headed out to our first dinner reservation. It was a chain steakhouse called Williams ButchersTable. Bill picked this location before we left Germany, and I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if not for a few things.

There was a huge DJ setup outside of the restaurant, blaring music so loud we could barely hear each other.
The chairs were not very comfortable, and wouldn’t have been, even if I had a smaller ass.
The restaurant is also a “Metzgerei”, and one of the gimmicks they have is that you go to a meat counter and choose what you want. I felt uncomfortable standing behind a group of several men, picking out their cuts of meat. It was crowded and awkward, and I eventually told Bill to just pick something for me.
I had been eating leftover steak all week, prior to our arrival, and was really sick of red meat.

I know I shouldn’t complain, though. I am very fortunate that we were able to go to such a restaurant for dinner. I probably would have liked it a lot more if not for the loud music outside. I did lighten up a bit as we drank some nice Chianti Classico. And I have to admit, the steaks were good. I also had a dry baked potato, because I prefer potatoes with butter, rather than sour cream. Below are a few photos of the restaurant and food we enjoyed. Bill and I both had Swiss steaks, but his had cheese on it. He also had truffle fries instead of a baked potato. This restaurant does have vegetarian options, but you have to request them. They aren’t listed on the menu.

By the time we finished dinner, we were in a slightly better mood. The music had switched to 70s and 80s dance music, and I was enjoying watching the white people dance. Also, a lot of people were ordering bone marrow, which is apparently a popular specialty at Williams ButchersTable. I watched people holding a big bone to their lips as the wait staff poured vodka down the middle.

We ordered dessert. Bill had stracciatella tiramisu, and I had Ovo Mousse, which turned out to be mousse made from Ovaltine! I used to drink Ovaltine when I was a kid, but it was introduced to me by a former friend of mine. My mom didn’t buy it for me until I tried it at my friend’s house. I guess Ovaltine is popular in Switzerland. I did enjoy the malted dessert made with it!

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. We were both kind of tired and cranky. On the way back, I took more photos of the rowdy crowds! All kinds of people were there… including what some might call “Jesus Freaks”. Check out their signs!

*These people were holding up signs about Jesus.*

We were ready for bed, but the rest of Bern wasn’t. The windows in our room were not quite a match for the loud, pulsating music. It went on until the wee hours of the morning. I looked up the schedule of events, and I noticed that something was planned until 5:00 AM! We were told this is NOT the norm for Bern, so we’ll have to visit again on a less rowdy weekend.

Fortunately, I had Advil PM, which helped me doze off at some point… I needed to rest up for my birthday, which I will write about in the next post!

Education, Luxury

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part two)

Featured photo is of our train leaving Bern for Zürich on June 21, 2026. You can see the Aare River from the window.

How I chose our accommodations…

Last June, when Bill went to his first summer course at the Jung Institute, we stayed at the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, in a really nice self-catering one bedroom apartment in Seefeld, a bustling district in Zürich. There were a lot of things I liked about our stay last year.

The apartment was very convenient and super clean, and renting it allowed for me to do my own thing most of the time. I only had to clear out of the apartment to give the staff time to clean every other day. The lake was two blocks away, while the University of Zürich’s botanical garden was maybe three blocks away. There were also some gardens and museums nearby.

However, the Seefeld area, while very practical, was also a bit noisy. The tram stop was literally steps away from our door, and I was frequently startled by the people in the apartment above us. I think they had a child with them who was playing ball or something. There were a lot of sudden thudding noises from the ceiling that I found unnerving and annoying.

Also, the place did offer one parking spot, which we claimed, but we were blocked in the whole time. So if we’d wanted to drive somewhere, we would have had to get the staff to move their car, so we could leave the parking spot.

In October, we stayed at the Sonne Hotel in Küsnacht, which is popular with students who attend the Jung Institute, because it is within walking distance of institute. Indeed, Carl Jung himself used to like to visit the hotel and drink beer in the Biergarten. During our fall visit, the Biergarten and the main restaurant were closed for extensive renovations, but that didn’t bother us much.

We had a pleasant stay at the Sonne Hotel during the fall, so when I was planning this year’s trip in March, I looked to see what was available at the Sonne Hotel for this week. I seem to remember the only room they had was a junior suite, which was fine. We stayed in a junior suite in the fall, too. Yes, it’s quite expensive, but it offers plenty of space for a lengthy stay, and a wonderful view of the lake.

I had a harder time choosing our Bern hotel. In January 2025, we visited Basel, Switzerland for the first time. I had also been interested in visiting Bern, but I didn’t see any hotels that were particularly appealing. There was a hotel in Basel I wanted to book, and it had a Michelin 3 star restaurant that I knew Bill wanted to try. So we went to Basel, and had a good time… although now that I’ve been to Bern, I think I much prefer Bern (when there isn’t a city wide party going on, that is).

After a lot of deliberating, I ended up choosing two nights in a junior suite at the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern. As expensive as our junior suite at the Sonne Hotel is, the Schweizerhof was even pricier. However, I believe the Bern hotel is a five star establishment, while the Sonne Hotel is rated as a four star superior.

This is a good time to explain the hotel ratings system in Europe, for those who don’t know about it. Hotels are awarded stars based on the facilities they offer. The Schweizerhof has a spa, complete with a pool, steam bath, sauna and whirlpool. It also has an exercise room. We didn’t have time to try out the spa. I wish we’d had one more night in Bern, so I could have seen more of the city and checked out the spa.

The Schweizerhof is also air conditioned, which makes it a rare find in Switzerland. Air conditioning has definitely not caught on in this country!

The Sonne Hotel also has a spa area and exercise room, but it does not have a pool. However, the Sonne Hotel does have a lovely private lakeside area, where hotel guests can sunbathe and directly access Lake Zürich. The Sonne Hotel is not air conditioned.

Both hotels have full scale restaurants and bars. We did not try the Schweizerhof’s restaurant, Jack’s Brasserie, except for when we had breakfast. We opted not to eat there because the menu didn’t really appeal to us. In retrospect, maybe we should have tried it. Our breakfasts at the Schweizerhof were very good, especially given our charming waiter, an older gentleman named Philippe.

Both hotels are very convenient to train stations. The Schweizerhof is literally a two minute walk from Bern’s main station. The Sonne Hotel is maybe a five minute walk from the Küsnacht stop on the regional train. Since we took the train from Frankfurt Airport to Bern, and then from Bern to Küsnacht, that was a definite perk. On Saturday, when we head back to Germany, we will take the train from Küsnacht to Zürich’s main station, and then from Zürich to Frankfurt Airport.

Now that we’ve finished the Bern part of the trip, and are now on our second full day at the Sonne Hotel, I think I can safely say that I prefer the Sonne Hotel. It offers a stunning view of Lake Zürich, and a very laid back vibe. While our room is a bit warm because it’s summer, we do have a fan and windows that open on three sides of the room.

There’s also a great Biergarten right by the lake, and in spite of the occasional horn blasts from passing ferries, it’s a lot quieter at night than the Schweizerhof was. The noise at the Schweizerhof was probably not a normal thing, since it was caused by the city fest that was going on during our stay. Nevertheless, the pulsating music was not stopped by the windows, and I felt like I was back in college, waiting for the frat parties to end so I could fall asleep.

One other thing I prefer at the Sonne Hotel is the lighting in the room. Although a couple of the outlets in the room seem to be hardwired to only work if the main switch is turned on, we don’t have to deal with a really bright overhead light. We are in the top room on a broad tower that faces the lake. So the ceiling in our room at the Sonne is very high. See the above photo.

*There were two of these in our room at the Schweizerhof. They were pretty to look at, but very BRIGHT and harsh!*

Our room at the Schweizerhof had two big chandeliers, which gave off very bright light. It was impossible to just use the lamps in the room. Neither Bill nor I like overhead lighting. We find it too harsh, and we have trouble relaxing when the lighting in a room is too bright.

But when we asked the front desk staff about turning off the chandeliers and simply using the lamps, they didn’t know if it could be done. A technician later confirmed that the chandeliers were programmed to be on, if the lights were turned on. For two nights, it wasn’t a big deal, but I do think for 600 Swiss Francs a night, guests should be able to turn off the overhead lights and just use the lamps if they like.

The light situation and the loud noise (even though it was beyond the hotel staff’s control) would cause me to rate the Schweizerhof lower than I might have. However, Philippe in the restaurant made up for some of my annoyance about the lights and the noise. He was extremely charming, professional, and just plain cool. He even brought out a delicious chocolate mousse cake and a card for my birthday, which Bill and I enjoyed over several sessions!

I know this treatment is probably the standard at the hotel. I think they only knew it was my birthday because when we checked in, the receptionist asked what brought us to Bern and I said we were celebrating my birthday. It was the truth. But they made a note of it and surprised me with this…

So… I probably would consider booking the Schweizerhof again… but I think for our purposes, the Sonne Hotel is a better fit. However, I also liked the self-catering apartment we used last year, the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt, and would not hesitate to recommend it, either. I think it’s difficult to find subpar accommodations in Switzerland!

One last thing… Both hotels this year were booked through Expedia.de. Last year, I used Booking.com for the Apart-Hotel Hugenschmidt.

C.G. Jung, Celebrations, Education

Older and wiser in Die Schweiz… (part one)

I took the featured photo in Bern, Switzerland on June 20, my 54th birthday.

Several months ago, my husband Bill was accepted to the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, Switzerland. He is now in training to become a Jungian psychoanalyst.

The decision to become an analyst is one that has been a few years in the making. I remember for Christmas 2010, Bill specifically requested that I purchase a copy of The Red Book, by Jung, because he wanted to learn more about analyzing dreams.

Then, we adopted our dog, Noyzi, from Meg, a woman who was studying at the Jung Institute. Bill talked to her about her studies, and we planned our first trip to Zürich, in the summer of 2021. We visited Carl Jung’s house, right on Lake Zürich. Bill later told Meg about a dream he had about rescuing dogs, which she used in her final paper. Meg will be graduating from the Jung Institute next week. We also adopted our other dog, Charlie, from Meg.

Then, later in 2021, Bill started seeing Max, an American Jungian analyst living in Berlin, online. Max was nearing the end of his training, and he helped Bill learn more about himself. Bill, in turn, provided Max with some material for one of his lectures. He and Bill had a great rapport. Bill eventually decided he was interested in learning how to be an analyst, himself.

Last summer, Bill and I visited Zürich, so Bill could take the summer intensive course. This is a program that helps prospective students determine whether or not they want to study at the Jung Institute, and gives matriculated students a chance to pick up some credit hours.

Last year, Bill had a very positive experience there, while I watched life go by as I sat by Lake Zürich. A few months after our 2025 visit, he applied to become a student at the Jung Institute. After six interviews, a few of which he did in person in Switzerland, he was accepted.

It is now June again, and, once again, time for the summer intensive course, as well as the summer block. Bill has to do some courses in person, so we needed to visit Küsnacht again. The courses happened to be going on in time for my 54th birthday, so this year, we decided to plan our usual birthday trip for Switzerland.

We started with two nights in Switzerland’s capital city of Bern. Neither Bill nor I had ever been there before, so we were curious about it. Then, we moved on to Küsnacht, where I managed to book six nights in a junior suite at the Sonne Hotel. We also stayed at this hotel last fall, although we had a different room.

The Sonne Hotel’s restaurant has undergone a massive renovation project. It wasn’t open when we were here in the fall, but as of right now, it’s newly reopened to the public. In fact, this morning, Bill and I were the first to have breakfast in the newly renovated restaurant. We had lunch there yesterday, and the waiter told us it had only just reopened days prior.

I expect this series about our combined birthday/Jung Institute trip will be full of fresh stories. Every trip, even to places we haven’t been before, generates new memories and experiences. Last summer, we stayed in a self-catering apartment in the Seefeld district of Zürich. It was a very nice and convenient place to stay, but it didn’t offer views like this one…

*Of course, there’s a price to be paid for such a stunning view…*

I feel like many events have conspired to lead us to where we are today. It’s almost as if fate prescribed it. I didn’t know about Meg’s time at the Jung Institute when we met. I was just looking for a new dog. Well… I got two new dogs, and a lot more… So did Bill!

Anyway, since I’m basically killing time while Bill goes to class, I think I’ll begin my series now, instead of waiting until we go home to Germany. So, if you’re interested, watch this space for fresh, honest to God, travel posts about our trip to Switzerland! So far, it’s been a real blast!

adventure, short breaks

Bernese Birthday…

Featured photo is of the little chocolate mousse cake I was presented at breakfast this morning!

We are here in Bern, Switzerland until tomorrow. We happened to get here just in time for the Bern Stadt Fest (city fest), which is a city wide party. Last night, there were huge sound systems and DJs in the streets, blaring pulsating music until the wee hours of the morning. My German friend tells me that Bern is otherwise pretty “sleepy.”

It made me a little grumpy last night, because after the four hour train ride, I was ready for quiet. But now that I’ve had some time to rest, I’m kind of delighted that there’s a city wide party going on today. It’s my birthday, after all!

I think we’ll take a long walk today and see what’s in Bern. Then tomorrow, we’ll head to somewhat quieter Küsnacht for six more nights.

I’ll try to lighten up… in more ways than one!

German lifestyle, Health, Hessen

Sickness from Spain, and a sudden death in our kitchen…

Featured photo is a screenshot of the ad for the fridge I bought in September 2014, when we first moved back to Germany. At the time, we didn’t have much money, but we needed a fridge of our own, because our house only had a really shitty dorm sized fridge in it. Now that we live in Wiesbaden, that fridge is coming in handy, as the one that came with the kitchen has finally died on us… Meanwhile, Bill and I are both sick.

Bill got back from Spain a week ago. He brought with him a vile respiratory virus, which he has now shared with me. I’m assuming we have the same sickness, anyway, because I haven’t been around anyone else who would have been able to pass it to me.

I have noticed that Bill and I have different symptoms. His are more like a sinus infection. Mine is just annoying crud in my lungs that makes me cough and gives me a sore throat and scratchy voice. He probably picked up the virus on the plane, although he might have gotten it at the conference, which had about 300 people from different countries in attendance.

This is one of the drawbacks of Bill’s job. He travels a lot, and he goes to different countries, where he mingles with all sorts of people. Then, he brings home viruses to me, and I get sick, even though I rarely interact with people in person anymore. It’s a real drag, because I always seem to get these things on weekends and holidays.

I remember when Bill worked in Stuttgart, he often went to African countries. More than once, he brought back really nasty sicknesses that he passed on to me. This virus that I have now doesn’t seem quite as gross as some of the African ones I’ve experienced, but it’s never fun to be sick… especially in the summer!

Last night, I felt so icky that we decided to skip the wine stand. I do enjoy going to the wine stands, but I don’t want to spread this yucky illness to my neighbors– especially the elderly ones who tend to go to the wine stands.

Also, we’re not all that popular, so I didn’t want to feel physically bad, while ignoring the side eyes from the folks who are tired of Americans in Germany. 😏 I’m being slightly facetious, of course. Most people in this neighborhood are nice, and we’ve been here long enough that they know we aren’t troublemakers. But I can tell that some would like it if we left. As it is, we will also miss the next wine stand, because it’s happening while we will be traveling.

Luckily, our landlord is not among those who hope to see us go. In fact, he’s really been great.

Here is a case in point. Last night, we had a mishap with the landlord’s refrigerator. After dinner, I went to put the butter back in the fridge, and the light went out. A few seconds later, I realized that the damn thing had just died. I told Bill he needed to go tell the landlord, because we definitely need a working refrigerator!

Bill was reluctant to bother the landlord, since it was a Friday night. I insisted that he should let him know, because the sooner he knows, the sooner the problem can be fixed.

So Bill went over to tell the landlord. He spoke in broken German, and apologized profusely that he was bothering him on a Friday night. The landlord and his wife (who actually owns the house, because it was built by her brother), were very kind, understanding, and welcoming. In fact, the wife, who speaks less English than her husband does, even figured out the problem first. She said, “Der Kuhlschrank ist kaput!” (or maybe she said it was “tot”).

The fridge in our current home is definitely much nicer than the dorm style fridge our former landlady had in her house. However, the fridge in this house was old when we moved here in late November 2018. It’s also installed in a cabinet, which means that it’s not as easy to replace as a freestanding fridge is.

Anyway, the landlord said he would come over today and measure the space for a new fridge. He’s been really great about replacing appliances when they break. A couple of years ago, he got us a new dishwasher and a new garage door opener. He also put in a new shower head for us, which was really a nice upgrade.

Bill moved all of our refrigerated stuff to the fridge we own. He said the ice cream had already gone soft, so I guess the death wasn’t as sudden as it had initially seemed.

It’s actually kind of a blessing that all of this is happening this weekend. Next weekend, we have to go see the eye doctor at Ramstein, so I can update my prescriptions for glasses and contacts. I definitely don’t want to be sick for that.

The weekend after that is my birthday, and we are going to Bern, Switzerland for two nights to celebrate. Then we will move onward to Küsnacht, so Bill can attend courses during the summer session at the Jung Institute.

Also, the landlord said that he and his wife have been in Munich, not for a vacation, but because she’s having hip replacement surgery. In a couple of weeks, they will be going back to Munich for a month. So… it’s fortuitous that the fridge gave up the ghost now, so it can be replaced before they go away.

Meanwhile, I am so glad I bought that spare refrigerator back in September 2014… the one the ex landlady accused us of stealing. We bought it because the existing dorm sized fridge, which she later claimed we had “dumped” on her, wasn’t going to serve our needs adequately. Fortunately, I had a photo that I took on the day we moved in, which proved it was there when we took possession of her house. I now wish I’d bought a bigger fridge. I hesitate to replace the one I bought now, because who knows how much longer we’re going to be living here…

Sigh… one of the many challenges of contracting life in Europe, especially during the Trump era. Hopefully, I’ll feel better today, and the whole weekend won’t be ruined. I actually do feel better than I did when I woke up this morning. We’ll see if it lasts.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Bern