Bern, Day 1

I have reached the level of tired where I am talking to myself in an elevator for half a floor before I realize there's someone else in the elevator with me.  But it's totally worth it because, thus far, Switzerland has not skimped on the wicked crazy gorgeous. Also, it's extra Swiss. Like, the entire airport is white and red and has red crosses all over it. And everyone is quietly stylish and very, very polite.

There's something very reassuring about that.

Flew into Geneva, and then took a train to Bern. It was about a two hour train ride and it was chock a block full of scenic majesty. I've always written Geneva off as a place just for skiiers but it is so much more than that. Rolling hills dotted with Meditteranean-esque estates careening towards a glassy lake, with a few vineyards and farms for good measure. Definitely on my list of places to return to.

Geneva. See what I'm saying?

Then I got to Bern, grabbed myself a bretzel and a Coke and meandered towards my hotel. I was so tired it almost felt like an out of body experience. Like, surely it couldn't be me who was so casually wandering around a strange city, easily interacting with strangers and navigating the tram system. When did I become a person who could do things like that without a second thought?

New train station, old church.

But navigate I did and I took in as much as I could. It, like a lot of the cities I passed, seems to be a combination of to-the-minute modernity and steeped in tradition classics. There aren't a lot of buildings that are built between, say, 1800 and 1980. They're all either glossy and new or very, very old. It makes a beautiful contrast, although some of the smaller towns we passed seem to have been overtaken by Ikeas and other industrial buildings. Seriously. They looked more like a giant robot than a store. But Bern seems to strike a nice balance, although I'll let you know tomorrow after we tour the produce and cheese markets by scooter. Is there anything in the world that I like that isn't in that sentence? Seriously, if I could have Rue with me on the scooter and somehow watch the Nanny at the same time I think I might spontaneously combust with the perfection of it all.

Speaking of things I like (a lot) I promise to post pictures of the ring soon but right now there's a big, Swiss bed calling my name. Literally. I really think I need to go to sleep.