Our day started today with a walking tour of Bern. We split up into groups and set off on tours led by local guides. The first stop was the Bundeshaus (the Swiss Parliament). The oldest part of the building, the west wing, was built between 1852 and 1857. Its rich artistic decoration, whose symbolism is based on the country's history, constitutional foundations, and cultural diversity, along with the use of building materials from all parts of Switzerland, underscores the Parliament Building's character as a national monument of Switzerland in a particularly expressive way. Our tour took us along the cobblestone streets of Bern, passing the famed Bellevue Palace Hotel and to the Zytglogge, a landmark medieval clock tower built in the 13th century. When the great bell rings out every full hour, struck by a large clockwork-operated hammer, passers-by see a gilded figure in full harness moving its arm to strike it. We continued on to the Einstein House, which houses a museum a...
Guete Namittag ! After an overnight flight, we landed in Zurich at 11 a.m. local time. We were greeted at the airport by Rita from Collette, who had already taken our bags off of the luggage carousel before we arrived at baggage claim! Rita escorted us to our private motor coach and introduced us to Sergio, our driver for the duration of the trip. We said our goodbyes to Rita and headed west for the hour and half ride to Bern. We arrived at the Hotel Bern at 1:30p.m. local time where we were greeted by our tour manager Martin Kretter, who was waiting for us in the lobby. As luck would have it, our rooms were ready and we got checked in and enjoyed a few hours of downtime to rest and/or explore the lovely town of Old Bern. At 5:00p.m., Martin held a meeting with the group to review the itinerary, answer questions, and get to know us a little better. Following the meeting, we had a welcome dinner in the lovely hotel restaurant (see photos below!). Aft...