Donde Esta La Biblioteca? Otra Vez

We kissed Italy goodbye and jumped on a train to Bern, Switzerland. Our Swiss friends from the Tuscan wine tasting, Laura and Nathalie, had invited us to stay with them and we happily obliged. Bern was an unexpected side trip that turned out to be a real highlight. [Please keep in mind that this whole European adventure just gets more awesome at every turn and it’s impossible to say one experience is better than another: like any parent would say of their children, they are all amazing in their own special ways (and we can never reveal which is our secret favorite.)]

The trip started out strong with a train ride up into the Alps and through some killer scenery reminiscent of the Norwegian fjord fiasco. From then on it was nothing but exciting new places, amazing new friends, and incredible fun.

When Laura said that she lived with four other guys near the university, we naturally assumed we would be crashing on the floor of a cramped, untidy, and bleak apartment. Imagine our surprise when we walked only blocks from the main street and entered a gargantuan flat that easily doubled the size of any European housing situation we’ve ever seen. All five bedrooms were gigantic. The kitchen and living room were fit for a king. The icing on the cake was the stellar graffiti covering the walls. I couldn’t understand how five kids with standard college means could not only afford such a luxurious apartment, but also afford to destroy every flat surface with spray paint! Obviously, there was a catch.

The catch was that the house had a one-time-only 8-month lease and a faintly funky smell. A man lived in the flat for 50 years before recently moving to a retirement home. Apparently he was a big smoker and somewhat of a pig, so the family offered up the apartment for cheap to anyone willing to clean up the place and live for a while before it gets gutted. Laura’s 4 roommates did a good job cleaning and now enjoy the freedom to paint doors, cabinets, and walls as they please. It’s every college kid’s dream.

Switzerland was a big change from Italy. In Switzerland there are rules and, even more bizarre, people who enforce those rules. On the first night, Laura took us to eat at the restaurant where both her and Nathalie work. It was nearby, so we set out to walk when a bus happened to stop that we could ride. We rushed and jumped on. I knew we needed tickets, but Lauren and I had just spent a month in a country where getting struck by lightning was more likely than having to present a valid ticket for a bus ride. In less than a kilometer a man in uniform started working his way down the bus checking tickets. Lauren and I casually played dumb tourists while Laura spat out some sort of excuse in Swiss-German. The whole bus turned and watched like they were about to see us get thrown out the window. There was an exchange and the dude seemed like a nice guy, but Laura was really flustered. Apparently he told us to get off at the next stop (which was our stop anyways) and buy two tickets, so we did. As we walked away Laura let out a nervous laugh of relief and explained what had happened. Her smooth talking and some rare compassion from the ticket controller managed to save us from a €120 fine.

After that brush with the law, we had a gourmet meal at the Kornhaus and then hit the town for a taste of the Swiss nightlife. Their favorite bar is an old P.E. Gymnasium turned hip lounge that was unfortunately closed for a private party. Obviously there is a Mexican bar in Bern, Switzerland though, and it was their back up hotspot. Proof that Switzerland is extremely expensive (and very far from Mexico) came in the form of my $7 Tecate. A lot of Laura and Nathalie’s friends have spent time in Central/South America and our mutual love for Latin America dominated conversation.

Bern turned out to be a lively town with a cool bar scene. There were also a lot of cows, a little mountain to hike up and down, outstanding chocolate, some bears, and a bunch of really friendly people everywhere. Our hosts treated us to a huge veggie-modified Swiss meal that seemed to go on forever. These mountain people know how to stock up on the calories.

Bern was another one of those places we cringed at having to leave. When we eventually did, we left behind great people and very good times. Before departing for Corsica I put the finishing touches on my contribution to the house – a giant Texas on Laura’s wall to remind her which part of the USA is the coolest.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 2:42 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.