High above the old city of Berne, on the other side of the Aare river you will find a beautiful park called Rose Garden. The restaurant with the same name offers a magnificent view of the old city of Bern.

Over the Easter holidays the weather was great and the park was packed with people enjoying the warmth and the view.

The rose garden park is public and free. A big playground for kids is also on the grounds. At the moment spring is reflected in big garden beds of daffodils lighten up the park. In summer those beds will be full of roses.

Lugano is the biggest city of the canton of Tessin. It borders on Italy and boats a beautiful mediterranean flair. Italian is the official language spoken in this part of Switzerland.

Lugano has it’s own university and also a bigger financial center. The Italian speaking Swiss TV and radio stations are also here in Lugano. The city itself is compact and romantic and has only about 65’000 inhabitants.

The relationship with Italy hasn’t always been easy and there were numerous battles between Como and Italy often carried out in the area of Lugano. The Identity of the local people is clearly Swiss and not Italian.

The view on this picture is from the top of Monte San Salvatore reaching an altitude of 912m. Lugano lies 600m below (on the left). This peak offers a splendid view of the city and the lake Lugano with its many branches. A cable car leads directly to the top.

On our recent visit the water of the lake was at least 24°C and it was such a pleasure to go for a swim in the clean water of the lake with a panoramic view of the picturesque environment.

Geneva is a beautiful cosmopolitan city with a lot of charm. It is certainly known for its many international organisations such as the UN, the red cross, CERN, ISO and many others.

Here, in front of the UN headquarter is the famous broken chair. It is a symbol for refusal of armed violence against civilians. In the background is the UN. It has been a busy place sind 1946 with yearly around 8’000 meetings, of which 600 are bigger conferences.

Geneva is the second biggest city of Switzerland and has a population of about 1 mio including suburbs. It is also a global city with a big financial center. And Geneva is certainly known for it’s famous reformer: John Calvin!

42% of the people living here weren’t born in Geneva! The mix of people and languages spoken in this city is certainly amazing and beautiful.

This famous city lies on the shores of lake Geneva and belongs to the French speaking Canton of Vaud. Montreux is well known far beyond Switzerland and attracts many foreign visitors.

The city is famous for it’s yearly Jazz Festival. This wonderful event takes usually place in June / July and has many different groups playing in countless locations.

One highlight of the city is the promenade along the lake. It is a lively spot where people just walk along, or sit, chat and just take in the beautiful view. Along the promenade there is a display of art work that is eye catching. One sample is seen in the picture above.

Snow covered mountain peaks rising up to 2000m form the backdrop of the city. This natural protection is the reason for a climate that is exceptionally mild. Many Mediterranean plants such as pines, cypresses and palm trees grow there.

Close to Montreux lie the famous Castle of Chillon and the world heritage vineyards area of Lavaux.

Burgdorf is called the door to the Emmental. The beautiful old city is quite compact and sits on a sandstone hill in the middle of the Emmen valley. The modern city is down at the foot of the hill.

The massive castle sits at the highest point of the hill and overlooks the city and the Emmen valley. From the towers even the Jura can be see on horizon. On a clear day the view is gorgeous.

The castle is mentioned for the first time in 1080 and at that stage was owned by the dukes of Zähringen. They built the city around the castle.

Today the castle hosts three museums that are included in the price of the ticket (CHF 7.- / Person). The castle museum exhibits a lot of articles through different time periods and authentic old documents. The other two museums are much smaller. The gold museum offers some insights into how gold was washed in the Emmen river. The museum of ethnology dates back to it’s founder Schiffman who died in 1904. He had donated all his exotic articles from his travels to Japan, China and Korea to the gymnasium (high school) of the city.

The museums are open daily, April to October in the afternoons. November to March they just open Saturday 11am to 5pm.

The beer brewed in the city is also quite a treat!

The population of the city of Burgdorf is around 16’000 people. It is just a 20’ train ride from Berne.

Neuchâtel is a delightful and noble city with the charm of the french speaking culture of Switzerland. It is sitting on the shore of the lake of Neuchâtel and goes up on Jura rising behind the lake. The typical yellow stone facades stand in stark contrast to the blue sky and the blue water of the lake. Along the shore of the lake many vineyards dot the countryside and add to the beauty of the area.

Neuchâtel is the capital of the canton of Neuchâtel and has a population including the agglomeration of less than 80’000 people.

The first written record dates back to 1011 where Rudolph III, king of Burgundy (F) made the Novum Castellum (or the new castle – Neuchâtel) a gift to his wife Irmengarde. The city kept slowly growing and expanding over the next centuries. Some of  the rich nobility started building houses outside of the city walls. Part of their money also was made with the flourishing slave trade.

Before the 19th century the river Seyon often flooded parts of the city. Between 1839 and 1843 the river got canalized and on top of it the Rue du Seyon came into being. 1859 the train station was built. Also the shore of the lake got reshaped land was regained and built on.

Since 1910 Neuchâtel has its own university. It has a good college of commerce (Ecole Superiore de Neuchâtel) where also quite a few of the better off families from the Swiss German part send their kids to college for higher education in French.

Culturally Neuchâtel has quite a few things to offer: Every September after the vine harvest „la Fête des Vendanges“ is celebrated and attracts 100’000 visitors. Beginning of June a four days open air festival (pop, rock, hiphop and electro) attracts quite a crowd.

Neuchâtel is only about a 40’ car drive or train ride from Berne.

Zürich is the most dynamic city of Switzerland with quite an international feel. Which means besides the Swiss cuisine you get all sorts of great ethnic foods (Italian, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Lebanese etc).

Zürich is located in the north-central part of the country at the tip of the lake of Zürich. Including the metropolitan area the population  reaches almost 1.5 million people.

The city has a great public transport infrastructure and is well connected to the rest of the country. The airport is the busiest of Switzerland with countless international flights.

Zürich is a world leader in terms of finance. Many important financial institutions, banks and research institutions have their seat here. The university of Zürich and the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) are top for academic pursuits. In terms of art Zürich also has heaps to offer.

The famous Bahnhofstrasse (see picture above, leading away from the main train station) is rather expensive and prestigious. There are many distinguished shops offering luxury products to well off customers. However anyone is welcome to just leisurely stroll along.

From the train station (Bahnhof) it is worthwhile walking across the Bahnhof bridge over the river Limmat and then walk along the Limmat Quai. On the left you will come across the Grossmünster where in the 16th century Zwingli launched the reformation of Zürich. 300m on you will come to the shore of the lake of Zürich. When there is a clear view the mountains form a tremendous backdrop.

In terms of quality of life Zürich ranks on a list of the top 25 cities of the world.

See my blog on the Canton of Zürich.

This city is a hidden gem.

The old city of Berne is surrounded on three sides by the Aare River and thus on a peninsula. It dates back to the 12th century. The river offered a magnificent natural protection from enemies.

We start our tour at the main train station and mostly keep to the main street. After exploring the generous city square with the Bundeshaus (Houses of Parliament on the right) we go back to the main street. The next stop is the Zytglogge (the famous clock tower). The Münster is in a parallel lane on the right (that is the cathedral with stairs leading to the top with a great view of the city). Towards the end of the tour we cross an old stone bridge over the Aare River and hit Berne’s famous bear park on the right. The restaurant there is a microbrewery with the best beer in town. Street musicians add another layer of beauty to this city. Lot’s of interesting shops and restaurants have found their niche in the old city, adding colour to the laid back atmosphere. Many shopkeepers speak German, French and English.

Over the centuries Berne developed along a coherent planning concept and is now an official UNESCO World Heritage Site. It hardly needs to be mentioned that the city has a rich and diverse history.

As the capital city the Houses of Parliament and most state departments as well as the parliament of the canton of Berne are located in this city.

Berne actually is a really tiny place compared to many other capital cities of this world. It is definitely much smaller than the more dynamic Zürich, Geneva or Basel. Only about ½ million people live in Berne and the metropolitan area. During rush hour the traffic tends to jam a bit. When local people complain about those jams they have no idea what jams look like in other parts of the world. On the bicycle it takes me 30 minutes to cross it from one end to the other. Actually bikes are a great way to explore the city. There are several free bike rental stations and bike lanes throughout the city.

Since this is the capital of Switzerland all the embassies of the world are concentrated in mostly one stately neighbourhood. The city is home to a good university and many fine hospitals. It boasts a soccer and an ice hockey stadium. Berne also has an international school, a British and a French school, an International and an Anglican church, a few ethnic churches and many local churches, a synagogue, a couple of mosques and a Thai temple. Culturally Berne offers quite a few goodies too: a number of great museums, a city theatre and some other smaller theatres, a music hall, countless cinemas and even some night life too.

Berne is well connected to the rest of the country as well as internationally. It has a small international airport connecting it to quite a few destinations in Europe. The fast non-stop train ride to Zürich takes 58 minutes and on to the Zürich airport another 15 minutes. From Berne to Thun the train takes 20 minutes to Interlaken 50 minutes to Lucerne 90 minutes and to Geneva 105 minutes. Public transport within the city and around the country is very convenient and efficient but not cheap.

The quality of life here is one of the world’s highest. It is indeed a very peaceful place. There is hardly any air or water pollution. The green hills around the city invite for hikes out in nature. In summer heaps of local people enjoy swimming in the Aare River.

The locals of Berne are easy going and friendly. I love living here. Come and check us out!