Day 9: Bern, Lausanne, & Paris

Another busy and exhausting travel day. We hit the road at 8:00 this morning, bound for the city of Lausanne on Lake Geneva. Our first stop was in the de facto Swiss capital of Bern. This was a very short stop to stretch our legs. I was a little disappointed by this. Bern is a very quiet, but very interesting city. This is where Einstein had his little breakthrough in relativity. It's also one of the best preserved late medieval towns in Europe. Bern suffered a devastating fire early in it's history. Because of this, Bern was rebuilt in stone and plaster with tile roofs. It was also equipped with fancifully decorated fountains at regular intervals throughout the city to ensure that a convenient source of water was always nearby. Although we did not get to see much of Bern, we did get to visit it's most famous current residents, the bears of Bern. The city used to keep its namesakes and mascots in a miserable little pit. Now they enjoy a bear park on riverfront property with a swimming pool.




After our quick break in Bern we moved on to the train station at Lausanne to board the TGV to Paris. Four hours later we arrived in Paris. After tiny Engelberg and little Luzer, Paris can be quite overwhelming. It seemed even more so than usual because we arrived in time for the Parisian rush hour. Paris is a city defined by its history and by its politics. This could be easily seen from our vantage point on top of the Arc de Triomphe this evening.




Modern Paris history lines up in a straight line from east to west. In the east is the Louvre, Paris' 17th-century royal palace. It is symbolic of growing power of the monarchy and the old order at that time. Just to the west of this palace turned museum is the Place de la Concorde. On this square in 1793 Louix XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded, ending the monarch and signaling the beginning of the First French Republic. Follow the straight line of the Champs Elysees west and you run into the Arc de Triomphe. This monument marks the 19th century and the Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. It is dedicated to the victories of the Grand Army of the Empire during Napoleon's rule. The 20th century is marked by the Grande Arche, a giant modern arch on the northwestern edge of town. Surrounded by skyscrapers, this arch represents the modern global economy and international cooperation.

Tomorrow, we dive into the medieval history of Paris with a visit to Notre Dame, and visit the works of the masters in the Louvre.


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