Next the boss (wife) and I boarded a train to the capitol city of Switzerland – Bern. Another beautiful place to visit in my second homeland. Home of the “Barengraben” and “BarenPark” (Bear Pit) located along the river in “Old Town”.
The Aare river sort of loops around the city – and Bern is on a sort of peninsula with “Old Town” located along the banks of the river at the tip of that land area.
The Bear is represented on the city of Bern’s coat of arms and is the symbol for the entire canton of Bern. Therefore visiting this 
site of the Bear Park is of particular interest to tourists.
Since it was already October – in an unseasonably warm fall – it was nice to be able to see the bears wandering around their compound. Normally, they would either be in hibernation or not as visible as they were during our visit.
The stroll to “Old Town” is another fantastic view as you wander down from the heights of the newer section of the capitol city. With shops and flowers everywhere this is a very worthwhile trek. I have to warn you the walk back up will wear you out.
Bern is the home of the Parliament and serves as the lead city in Switzerland. Tracing its origins back to the 12th and 13th centuries the city itself is the fifth largest in the country
with a population of about 142,000 people (For perspective – Allentown, Pennsylvania is a little less than 120,000).
It is a mostly German speaking region – but for those of us English speaking only visitors – most everyone is going to speak English. It still amazes me the command of various languages that many people in Switzerland have.
Several of my friends speak three and four languages and slip between them to allow a person like me to follow the conversations that are going on around me.
Every time I think that we have found the perfect spot in Switzerland you step into another beautiful view of this very picturesque land. I guess I am beginning 
to realize that you cannot go wrong – the entire region is just a slideshow of incredible sights.
It still amazes me a simple invitation by the Swiss national team thru my friends Giorgio Volpi and Christian Krattiger kicked off this amazing journey for me.
I always knew that football was a major part of my life – but it has literally led me around the world.
Next we will hit another great city – the town of Friborg!