Berne
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• Though more than two hours away from Lungern, we chose to visit the Swiss capital on a day that threatened showers. Berne is known for its lively market squares and the cozy, covered arcades that line many of its streets. For a rainy day, we’d have shelter, people-watching and window-shopping and, if sunny, plenty of entertainment.
  
  In front of the Parliament Building is a 26-squirt fountain, one for each canton. This photographer did not do well at catching all 26 in action but he did capture a pretty sight around the corner:

  

  

  
  Circling the building, this shot was taken of the side which faces the river:
  

  

  
  In the opposite direction, also from this bridge, is a view upriver:
  

  

  This is the same Aare River that grinds through the river gorge we had delighted in earlier near Meiringen. A favorite summer pastime of the Bernese is hiking upstream and floating down this placid stretch of river. We saw no takers this day.
  
  The fortress-like terrace in the photo above is called the Munsterplattform, named after the nearby Cathedral. From that terrace, this shot looks back at our previous vantage point:
  

  

  
  While the Cathedral’s exterior was partially hidden by scaffolding, renovation of its entrance was complete:
  

  

  We found the “Last Judgment” particularly intriguing:

  

  Seldom have we seen such animated statues:
  

  

  The interior was difficult to photograph save this ornate pipe organ above the main entrance:
  

  

  
  Strolling about town with no rain in sight, we stopped to admire the clock tower:
  

  

  This structure, dating from 1250, was part of the original wall surrounding Berne. Relatively speaking, the clock --- installed in 1530 --- is a recent addition:
  

  

  It still works. However, due to Daylight Savings Time, it is an hour behind half the year.
  
  This peculiar piece is called the Dutch Tower (or Hollanderturm):

  

  
  So the story goes: Swiss soldiers, returning from battle in the Netherlands, brought back the habit of smoking. As that was outlawed in the city for fear of fire, the smokers hid out in this tower to enjoy their forbidden habit.
  
  These days, smoking is still banned in Berne although for different reasons. Despite local jokes to the contrary, it would be especially unwelcome for smokers to hide out today in such an historic structure.
  
  The arcades which line so many of Berne’s streets have shops not only in their interior but also underneath in former cellars:
  

  

  The original use of these cellars was to store potatoes, coal or wine. They may be entered only from the street. To entice shoppers into their underground businesses, many owners have gone to great lengths to make them attractive.
  
  Historic Berne lies on a slender and sloping peninsula enveloped by a bend in the Aare River. Walking downhill from the train station, by and by, we reached the lowest part of town at river’s edge:
  

  

  

  After viewing an excellent audio-visual production called the “Berne Show”, a city bus took us quickly back up to the station.
  
  Rather than retrace our rail route of the morning, we decided to take a longer way home through the Emmental Valley. The valley is renowned for its Emmental Cheese as well as for its pastoral scenery and huge structures. With no time for exploring along the way, we merely savored the view from our train windows and recorded the scene when possible:
  

  

  

  
  A transfer in Lucerne brought us back to Lungern.