Today’s success? I got lost. Now, I know you’d think the success part would be I found my way back to my computer and can write in the blog again. But to get lost, you have to dare to go farther than you have before, to take unknown paths. Our neighborhood forest (search the map for Grossholz, Muri Bei Bern, Schweiz) is not terribly large, but the trees are tall, the underbrush dense, and the paths windy. Sense of direction is hard to maintain when it’s noon and shadows give no clue. It became a good long walk in the woods, and through a subdivision, along a construction zone….
The weeks are beginning to float by. We have now been in Switzerland for longer than any of our other Europe visits. This past weekend was a chore to set up, but turned out fine. First, we were going to take a train to Wurzburg to visit a friend and hear a concert during their Mozartfest. Back and forth went the emails. Research on the web for concert times and availability, for train arrangements, etc. Whoa, Nelly—did you know how far Wurzburg is from Bern? Far if you’re looking at train prices—almost $400. Add a symphony in the Residenz and you’ve got yourself a pricey weekend. Still, we’re thinking so much of what we are choosing to do here is based on the once-in-a-lifetime value, that okay, if that’s what it takes, we’ll do it.
Step in the generous German, Simon. He works with Jon and when we were first here, he drove us to a large shopping center so we could load up on groceries with the aid of his car. The car to our rescue again, this time since he and his wife would be going into Germany for a wedding that weekend, they would drive us most of the way. He also checked the train possibilities and helped us with purchasing tickets when we got to the station. So from $400 down to $85 for train tickets. And the Mozart concert? Well, late as we were in making arrangements, we didn’t luck into any tickets, BUT our friend Marisa had looked around for “what’ll I do with my visitors” and came up with a gypsy/tango trio playing for free in the midst of a forest bedecked for a wild art show!! On Sunday we topped off the weekend with a fun concert in Stuttgart put on by Simon and Michaela’s old choral group, love songs with a humorous twist, albeit mostly in German. A once-in-a-lifetime experience and free besides. Our weekend cost about as much as pizza and a movie in Bern!
Veitshochheim Fountain outside WurzburgGypsy/Tango music in the midst of a forest art show
Itinerary: On the bike, follow Swiss Regional Route 64 to Biel, stay overnight, come home by way of Sankt Peterinsel and Swiss National Route 8.
Looking for something close and easy, we chose Biel as our destination. Jon was able to put the routes into our GPS. And we decided to try a trip without the trailer, just a small pack, so no camping.
Cow Crossing on our way to Biel
Biel is downriver from Bern so the 45k ride to Biel was as expected a gentle downhill grade, through what now seems typical to us: constantly changing vista of small towns, farmland, and forests. No surprises, nothing amazing. Biel itself is mostly a modern city with bland buildings. We took a funicular to Magglingen—us and a few dozen heavily padded mountain bikers. They rode down; we walked. Looking at their trails, we understood the padding. The view from up top was amazing. The walk through the forest, delightful. Biel’s tiny bit of Oldtown, a couple blocks of medieval buildings, was unimpressive. After dinner, we strolled down by the harbor, picked up some ice cream to go with the cherries we’d gotten at a roadside stand and called it a night.
Sunday we felt quite capable of going the extra miles to see Sankt Peterinsel, a long narrow island at the southern end of the Bielersee. Apparently it’s a popular place for a stroll on a sunny Sunday morning, for we shared the path with lots of walkers, baby strollers, and other cyclists.
We knew our route back to Bern would be, on average, uphill since it was upriver. But the Swiss surprised us. The 8 is a National Route, yet there are spots where we passed through private property, carried the bike up and down stairs, and generally had a much harder time than we expected.
Bike Path Steps on our way home from Biel
We did have a fun lunch in Aarberg, a cute town with a wooden covered bridge leading to the Oldtown square. A group of Harley motorcycles rode up and parked beside our bike, then some of the riders politely asked if they could share our table as the others were all full. Jon often tells the story of carrying a sign on his van loaded with bikes “When we grow up we want to be Harleys”. So MC points to our tandem and tells this to the Harley folks, the one English speaker passing this along to the others in German. Good for a laugh all round.
Harleys alongside our tandem in Aarberg
The last stretch was through Bremgarten Forest, which should have felt idyllic, a carless road through cool green shade. But we were so exhausted, even this seemed a struggle. That’s how it is, in life or in life on a bike, you can’t always know where the tough stretches will be.
Thu. After meeting MC’s sisters and nephews in the airport, we were headed for the train, but we found ourselves by the taxi stands. We were approached to take a taxi, but of course said “No thanks, we’re taking the train.” “O, it’s only 20 Euro each, just a little more than the train and if you take the train, you still have to take a taxi from the train to your hotel and then you’ll be paying more.” “O, no we’ll walk, we’re strong and it’s not far.” “O, ha ha, I’m sure you are, but we’ll make a deal and give you a price on the return trip if you call us.” Well, it wasn’t quite that simple or straightforward, but it seemed with 6 of us, perhaps it would be easier, so we agreed.
This despite the research 3 of us had done, saying taxi rates from the airport to Rome have been set at 40 Euros flat. It was almost worth the extra just to share the thrill of riding in a car in Rome, which has been declared the most dangerous city to drive in.
On arrival at our hotel, neon signs gave us all the info we needed our first night: where to get pizza and gelato.
Fri. MC’s sister Margie was our tour guide and primary pre-researcher for Rome. She had purchased our tickets for the Vatican Museum online ahead of time so we avoided the block-long line for buying tickets and walked right in. Crowds were thick, far more than at the Louvre, so if you pass something, don’t plan on turning back to see it. Fortunately, like the Louvre, it is so dense with artwork, statuary, relics, and wall/ceiling/floor decoration that even those of us who had been there before enjoyed the visit. The Sistine Chapel was, for us, a letdown. You expect to be awed. Yes, the paintings are excellent and large–they cover the upper half of the 2-story-high walls and the entire ceiling. But this is a chapel and not awesome-sized, even compared to some of the rooms you have just walked through. Perhaps without the crowds and the guards standing on the altar to hush us and prevent pictures, it may have seemed less claustrophobic and dark. But I think there is simply too much build-up.
Vatican Hallway
St. Peter’s is free so we did have a long line to wait in, but it moved quickly. This cathedral definitely serves its purpose, assuming the builders wanted to display the power and wealth of the Catholic Church. Humongous. Tons of marble. Make sure you’ve seen it all before you step outside; the guards don’t let you back in. And don’t go on Sunday.
The line to get into St. Peter's
Castel di Angelo was something we had not heard of. Close to the Vatican, at one time an underground passage was dug between the two to provide an escape route for the pope in case anyone attacked the Vatican. Small fee, not crowded, nice views, lots of steps.
Castel di Angelo (with MC in hat, Nate in orange, Margie in backpack)
Sat. Again Margie’s research paid off, as she knew which entrance to the Forum complex would have a short line. MC rented the audio guide, but while it does provide some interesting stories, it’s hard to follow the map and orient yourself in the ruins. The book Anne had from DK Eyewitness Travel provided as much information on the Forum (and on all the other sites we visited). The Forum is a much larger, more complex, and more ruined place than we had expected. While we have information about what was here at various times, what we are left with now are a few columns, broken stones, and bits of wall, except where at some point buildings were re-cycled into churches. Do try to make your way into Santa Francesca Romana which has a lovely and peaceful interior. It was nearly empty but for us.
Santa Francesca Romana Courtyard
The Palatine Hill is another challenge for the imagination. Remnants of walls, reminders of gardens, a bit of mosaic are all that remain of the palaces of Augustus, Tiberius and Domitian. Seeing in person how the Romans constructed buildings was interesting. Walls were very thick piles of stones held by concrete (which the Romans invented). Then they were lined with thin red clay bricks which were next covered with slabs of marble.
Palatine Hill
Our Forum/Palatine ticket also included the Coliseum, so again, after lunch, we avoided the line and walked right in. While it is much in ruins, there is–as you have seen in pictures–much left and it is not hard to believe it held 75,000 people. With the floor gone, you can see the two stories below where animals and gladiators awaited their fate.
Coliseum Interior
Sun. Free day–we freely strolled the city seeing lots of free stuff. We chose a walking route which emphasized Bernini’s works, including the Fountain of the Triton and the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. We were duly awed by the Trevi Fountain, climbed down the Spanish Steps (the better direction to go), gasped at the Pantheon’s dome, lunched on black truffles in the Piazza Navona, strolled beside the Tiber, wondered at the 300,000 people who could watch the games at the Circus Maximus (now just a grass field), and ended the day with Tiramisu and Profiteroles (the latter drowned in chocolate whipped cream sauce!). A lovely end to a lovely visit.
Margie, Toby, Nate, Anne and MC by the Trevi FountainTrevi Fountain
Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza NavonaPantheon
