Brunch & Bears

April 11, 2010

Today was probably the most relaxing day we've had so far. It has also been one of the best. Our host, Roman had a Sunday brunch planned today with a bunch of his friends and invited us along. We got there around 10:30 and probably started eating around 11. We got done at 2. Amazing. I love the way Europeans eat. There were probably around 16 people there if not more. Everyone we met and talked to were super nice and extremely welcoming. Roman has some great friends. Again, I can't imagine this trip without CouchSurfing. Today was yet another unique and memorable experience I never would have had if it weren't for CS.

Brunch was a typical Swiss meal. And absolutely delicious. I realize that I describe everything I eat on this trip as delicious for the most part, but it all is! There was rosti (Swiss hash browns), Swiss bread, jam, sausage, bacon, a huge spread of real Swiss cheeses, yogurt and a bunch of different beverages. This may not sound like much but I went back for 3 servings and there was still food left over. It was a huge amount. The best part is that it was eaten over such a long time and great conversation that I never felt overly full, just perfectly satisfied.

They speak Swiss German here which is a specific dialect of German. It isn't quite as harsh as German. I can't understand any of it though. There are some words that have really close spelling or pronunciation as English, but the people here talk way to fast to pick up on much. When I'm reading it though I can usually pick up on a few words here and there. Anyways, throughout the meal it was funny because everyone kept switching between Swiss German and English. They all knew English really well, but could obviously speak faster in their own language so it was a lot of back and forth and people translating what others were saying. I didn't mind in the least. It was fun listening to them and trying to figure out what they were saying by their facial expressions, hand movements, others' reaction to them or picking up a familiar word or two.

Brunch got over around 2ish and we decided to go for a walk around the countryside. Some people left but a good group of us stayed for the walk. The girl's (Ruth) place we were at was out in the countryside and it was extremely picturesque. Some of the photos I took looked like they could go postcards. There were rolling hills covered in bright green grass and white roads all with cute little houses all across the landscape and to top it off the Alps were hanging out in the background. Absolutely the most gorgeous hour and half walk of my life. The whole thing seemed out of a pleasantville movie. Who really has 3 hour bunches with their friends and then goes on a Sunday stroll with the Alps as your scenery. Apparently the Swiss do. This is the first country we've been to that I could actually see myself staying at for an extended period of time. It's all so serene and beautiful. This is the type of lifestyle I would love to have for awhile.

After our walk one of the guys at the brunch offered to drive us back to the city so we wouldn't have to bus back. He dropped us at the rose gardens they have here and then walked down to Bern's major attraction the bear park. Bern got it's name because the people who founded the city killed a bear for food and Bern is close to the German word for bear. There is a way better version of the story that Roman told us but this essentially sums it up. Because the city name has to do with bears, they have a tourist draw with two adult and two baby brown bears in a small park right outside the center of the city. When we got there the mom and babies were sleeping but the dad was up and about walking around for a bit. It is always cool to see such massive animals up close, but at the same time I can't help feeling sorry for them being confined so such a small area.

By this point it was getting close to 5 and we were all getting hungry so we stopped by the grocery store Mingros to pick up ingredients for a traditional Swiss dinner called Raclette. It is a type of cheese that is melted and put over potatoes normally. You can also add other ingredients such as bacon to it and then seasoning on top. They use a funny heating thing to melt the cheese with the bacon and then they dump the cheese over a small potato. You only use one piece of cheese at a time so the cheese is always hot. It was really good. Roman's roommate, Patricia, joined us for dinner again and the four of us had another great time eating... I'm starting to realize that a huge part of this trip has to do with food, haha. Hilary and I also each grabbed three bars of chocolate at the grocery store. Roman said that the chocolate is so good here everyone just buys it from the grocery store because it is still super tasty and way cheaper - my perfect combination!

The rest of the night is going to be pretty uneventful. We are on a very small amount of sleep since I went to bed at 5 last night so we'll probably just watch a movie, message some CouchSurfers in our upcoming countries and start to pack up our stuff to move on to Interlaken tomorrow.