Halb und halb (half and half)

The Wanderweg, ingrained into Swiss Culture.
The wandering way.

Ok, my brain is really struggling to differentiate German and English.  Don't get me wrong I am not a natural speaker and would never claim to be fluent or even close, but because I haven't spoken German since 1994 more than a random word or two, my brain is constantly trying to translate everything...what people around me saying, and what I might want to say to our waiter, our hotel reception desk clerk, or Phil...No wonder why I am dead tired every night!  My brain is Kaputt!  So, it is half and half for me, Shelby actually asked me to STOP saying gut (sounds like goot) for everything (means good, a handy word, it turns out).

Lake Luzern, with Mt. Pilatus in the background

The Lion Monument

Believe it or not, that is not actually what I wanted to write about at this juncture of my day #19 of this travel adventure I am on.  Having Jeff and the girls here has sure re-invigorated me and being in Switzerland is the perfect way to end this odyssey.  There is really nothing so far to dislike about Switzerland.  Everywhere I look, there is something beautiful to look at.  As far as I can tell, even the motor homes parked behind the local factory in any town have one of the greatest views in the world.  We have now traveled half the country by train and it is a shame to do anything but look out the window as each place is lovely.  Israel was beautiful in many ways, too, but it lacked the neat pure beauty of Switzerland.  I am glad to end the last few days here, I feel refreshed and renewed.

This morning, we spent some time wandering around Luzern on our own and buying chocolate, of course.  We also "had" to visit the Lion Monument, which was pretty, but full of tourist groups.  We weren't in a hurry to get to Bern, we had heard that Bern only offered about a half day of interest.  I am glad we got one last look at Luzern, it wasn't as informational without Phil, but his enthusiasm sure is infectious, I love that city.  Surrounded by mountains (the Pre-Alps, as Phil told us), it is breathtaking from every angle.  I would go back in a heartbeat.

In front of the Swiss Parliament Bldg, just next to the Swiss Bank

The Bern symbol, a Bear

We arrived after about an hour train ride into Bern and felt as if we had been transported to an entirely different country.  Where Luzern is clean and open, Bern feels cosmopolitan and dirtier.  But, not Paris dirty, of course, we ARE in Switzerland, duh.  Quinn especially bristled at first as we arrived with all our bags and trudged up the street to find our hotel...she said, "People seem shifty here."  She is not a city girl, I guess.  Our hotel as well is older and feels a little like a Pension, which doesn't hold the charm for the girls that it might for someone used to some other place than a modern American hotel.  I like it, it has funny angles and we are all in the same room, it is almost like an attic.

Bern's famous clock tower

Einstein lived here

Anyway, we were happy to leave our hotel and explore Bern and subsequently fall in love with it as well.  It doesn't take long to find the Aare River and then walk along seeing the many pretty sights.  I love the walking culture of this country, it is so easy to find a path and it almost seems like the pedestrians are king here, cars stop, busses even for anyone walking across a street (it doesn't mean you don't have to look, of course, especially we must watch for the silent trams that glide through every city in Switzerland, they DON'T stop).  We walked for about four hours (the girls are such troopers) and stopped in shops here and there, saw the location of Einstein's apartment, saw the many beautiful fountains that dot this city (from which you can fill your water bottle and drink up), watched the beautiful clock do it's little thing, and even went to visit the bears for which Bern is known.

Contemplating the ever beautiful view, never tired of it at all

We finished our day with a yummy dinner at an Italian restaurant near our hotel and again, because the waiter spoke no English, I had to do my little brain translation dance and get everyone the food and drink they needed plus answer the questions the waiter asked (do you want your food at the same time?, does the one who ordered the calzone want the egg included??, etc...)  Mabye I should stay another month and I think I will not be so half and half.  Although, Jeff asked me today if I remembered what home looks like and I told him, it is wherever he is...He took that to mean I couldn't find our house if I tried.  I know I could, but I am not tired of any of this yet, it is a huge blessing to be able to do this, and I am trying to savor it all, it will probably never happen again.