May 29
Murten to Bern via train

Today we did a little “iron blazing”–we took the train to Bern, skipping a little over 30km of the Trans-Swiss trail. Had we walked that stretch it would have been more of the fields we’ve been doing and, because Bennett has limited time, he would have fewer days in the alps. It also gave us more time to explore Bern, one of my favourite cities though it rained most of the day, so a dry train car was a blessing. The downtown of old Bern is the perfect city to wander in the rain because the sidewalks are all arcades (vide Walter Benjamin), but after we traversed the peninsula to the hostel we had booked (but not gotten confirmation), we discovered there were no rooms to be had in Bern because an AC/DC concert (and of course no tickets for that either). The proprietor of the hostel got on the phone and found us a fairly inexpensive B&B out by the train station, so our visit was saved, though the downpour coupled with everything being closed on Sunday, made the visit a little flat. We did stop by the Pickwick Pub to watch Swiss league soccer–Zurich vs. Lugano–with an intense and a little rough looking crowd, all wearing their AC/DC merch. Had a few English pints, a welcome relief from watery German lager, then a big vat of fondue for dinner — after all, it is Switzerland– and made an early night of it. Tomorrow we start putting in the KMs.

T. Hugh Crawford