I had planned to travel with a friend to Thun as the last destination on my Swiss travel card before I left back for the UK. Purely on impulse, we stopped at Bern on the way to explore the city, which was very quiet on a Sunday. It's pretty and every inch looks historic, and it's big like Manchester but clean. We stopped to check out the parliament building (?), a view of the river from an observation deck, Einstein's house and the minster from the outside, the bridge, the old town city centre and the Zytglogge all on the way to the Bear Park. It was fascinating to just see two big brown bears hanging around in the shrubbery in the middle of a big city, though their environment had been created nicely for them by the riverbank.
Thun was even more beautiful, though the aesthetics are different. We got off at a minimal train station that had the clearest, fullest view of the snow-capped glaciers I had seen so far. We crossed the river, saw the surfers at the dam and had pizza on the riverbank while looking at the swans, ducks and big fish visible in the clean turquoise water. We climbed an exhausting number of steps up to Thun Castle, too, and more steps inside the castle, but the views were absolutely worth the effort.
I never got the chance to visit Italy, but this Swiss town felt like it came pretty close. It was a tiring journey to get there because I severely overestimated my own energy levels; I thought three and a half hours on changing trains would be just fine if I left early enough, but I did not anticipate how crowded, loud and stressful the second leg of the journey would be!
Still, upon arrival, Lugano was quiet. It was serenely empty, with just enough people about that it didn't feel like a Sunday on a Saturday, but it seemed the throngs of tourists who'd found every other pretty Swiss town on TripAdvisor had mostly missed this one. I'm actually not sure how I came across it either.
There was not a whole lot to do, but I liked it that way, because I got to sightsee and take so many pretty pictures, and had the best time ever by myself on a paddle boat on some of the bluest water I had ever seen. The coffee shops didn't have the exuberant prices of Zurich and the coffee was good. I enjoyed a croissant and a latte in outdoor seating, walked a lot of steps and covered every landmark accessible by foot, and finished off a late lunch at a poke bowl spot.
views from the train window on the way
I made a vlog with my digital camera too. It's kind of shite, but I think it has an eclectic vibe if you pretend the horrid sound quality is intentional.
