Deja Vu & Bern

Last week was great. A fortunate coincidence brought many good friends to St. Gallen whom I hadn't seen for a long time. The week was full of drinking beer and catching up on times. We all got together one night and visited Baracca and Tankstell which are two bars we used to frequent. It was deja vu and so were the hangovers. I hope it's not two years before we do this again.

Over the weekend I was in Bern for a birthday party. I had some time before and after to wander the city and take some photos (link). Most interesting were the Baerengraben bear pits just outside the old town. My Lonely Planet guidebook reads, 'Undoubtedly the bears in this 150-year old pit are well cared for, but animal lovers might not approve.' It should also be stated that the pits are no different than any zoo exhibit. The bears are used to humans and can be fed with food purchased from the nearby kiosk. We also visited the famous Berner Munster that my great-aunt photographed for a book published in 1938. In 2004 we searched here for a geocache that we couldn't find. This time we found it. The view from the tower was stunning.

It's Sunday night and I'm tired. This last week felt like a vacation and that tomorrow it's back to the old routine. This week will be interesting with live music on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. With this warm weather I may try getting out for a bike ride.