Bern 2010-07-22 \u2013 still
\nHuge news!!!\u00a0 I washed my clothes in a washing machine and am drying them!\u00a0 That should make them all clean and shiny again.\u00a0 I have been washing them in the tub and I don\u2019t think it has been really doing the trick\u2026
\nThe fact that the church bell woke me at 6:00 (I left the window open hoping for some air) and I got a wake-up call at 7:00 which was a wrong number, I slept fairly well in the heat.\u00a0 It felt like camping\u2026\u00a0 my hotel in Innsbruck has AC, I made sure this time!
\nAt least the windows in the hotel so one can hope for a breeze, the problem is that it would be SO easy for someone so inclined to climb from the next room hanging on to the drain pipe and climb along the ledge into my bathroom\u2026\u00a0 I have seen it in a movie so it must be true\u2026\u00a0 I lock my windows when I am not here\u2026 I like my stuff\u2026
\nThe hotel that I am in has a sister hotel across the street that has free internet, terrace, and laundry.\u00a0 The place is much nicer, but alas I am across the street with no ac.\u00a0 I plan on marching up the cathedral tower today because I cannot leave a hill un-climbed\u2026\u00a0 breakfast was typical;\u00a0 Scrambled eggs, bacon, croissants, etc.\u00a0 but the surprising part was that I gravitated toward the multivitamin juice instead of coffee or soda\u2026 and I drank a lot of it.\u00a0 I felt re-energized\/hydrated.\u00a0 I was then on the mission to climb the cathedral tower.\u00a0\u00a0 I was glad it did.\u00a0 It was a great view and I also discovered a new vista.\u00a0 It is where the river enters the city through the control gates\u2026 I thought it was cool.\u00a0 Anyway I hung out there for a while climbing the 100\u2019s of stairs and took some pictures\u2026 really I took a couple of pictures.\u00a0 By the time I got done it was just after 14:00.\u00a0 I was really hungry and decided to be an adult and sit down and have a nice lunch at this place I have been eye-balling.\u00a0 It was the Kroner\u00a0 or something.\u00a0 I sat down and ordered my beer and asked for a menu in English.\u00a0 She was sorry but the kitchen was closed!!!\u00a0 All kitchens in Switzerland close at 14:00 for several hours!!!\u00a0 Somehow I just figured this out\u2026 anyway back to Kauffmann\u2019s for deli food\u2026\u00a0 it took me two tries to find it but I did.\u00a0 This leads me to another point\u2026\u00a0 first of all my directional abilities are getting better. I read an article that even if you do not have a natural tendency you can train your mind to do change.\u00a0 We I have figured out that the key is to have a land mark that can be seen from a distance or just keep the reference in your head every time you turn.\u00a0 I know many (I think at least 3 people read this) of you are thinking well yeah, duh\u2026 but I never really thought about it that way.\u00a0 It has been working fairly well.\u00a0 I even came out on the other side of a store on the wrong block and knew fairly quickly what had happened.\u00a0 By the time I get home I won\u2019t have to use my gps to get to the grocery store!\u00a0\u00a0 What does not help is that there is a McDonalds, a Burger King, and a Coop (pronounce cop) on every corner, so those are useless land marks\u2026
\nAfter my less than satisfying lunch that I am now snacking on 4 hours later (it will be fine) I was not sure what to do.\u00a0 I was a little disappointed that I did not leave today for Zurich.\u00a0 After all it takes me about a day and a half to totally figure out a city now.\u00a0 After the second day I firmly remember what city I am in and how to get around and have seen all the top highlights\u2026\u00a0 so I referred to Frommer\u2019s\u00a0 Europe by Rail guide that I fortuitously purchased 2 days before I left.\u00a0 It has been very helpful.\u00a0 It has city maps, metro maps, and lots of good advice.\u00a0 Anyway there was a museum that I had apparently missed.\u00a0 BUT it was the museum of natural history\u2026 let me tell you all the countries in Europe have the same natural history so I was not really looking forward to it.\u00a0 It was only a 15 minute walk over one of the cool bridges and my feet have not start bleeding quite yet (more on that later), so I hoofed it across the bridged and ended up looking at a very auspicious looking building that I had spied from the cathedral.\u00a0 I was wondering what it was and now I knew. (side note, it rains a lot in Bern then clears up. Yes, it\u2019s raining).\u00a0 I walk into this museum expecting the same-old natural history thing (btw Bern is one of the only city that has not been damaged by earth quake or war so their stuff is mostly original).
\nBut what to wondering eyes should appear\u00a0 the Bern Einstein museum!\u00a0 Finally a museum that I can really get into.\u00a0 I read every single exhibit.\u00a0 I really enjoyed it and was no longer disappointed about spending the extra day (of course I could have done that yesterday too, but hey)
\nI decided that it was time to do a dry run for my \u201cadventure\u201d of travel tomorrow.\u00a0 I was pretty sure at this point where the train station was.\u00a0 The huge RAIL CITY signs helped a lot with that and I geo-located a picture when I got off the train confirmed it.\u00a0 That place is huge!!!\u00a0 It is a major European hub, it is a huge mall, and it is the center of transportation for Bern and surrounding areas\u2026\u00a0 it is big.\u00a0 I figured it all out though and I just have to catch a train to Z\u00fcrich that run every half hour in time to catch a train to Innsbruck that only run 10:00, 14:00, and 16:00.\u00a0 No reservations required so I want to get there early because I am a worry wart\u2026\u00a0 it should be just fine\u2026
\nSo now a little side note about my poor feet.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want to hear about feet stop reading now\u2026
\nMy left foot has a really good blister in the top middle.\u00a0 I had to pop it once with my nail clippers because it was spreading and doing bad things\u2026 they were the sharpest things I had.\u00a0 That helped for a while.\u00a0 I also have a fairly impressive one on the inside of my little toe, and a small one on the tip of my second toe.\u00a0 On my right foot I have a good one (read filled with blood instead of that nice clear stuff) that does not hurt too bad and a similar one on the bottom of fourth toe.\u00a0 So the first thing I did was get some gel insoles.\u00a0 Now I am gellin like a felon!\u00a0 They seem to help.\u00a0 They are Iron-man brand.\u00a0 That has to be good\u2026 anyway the pressure of these guys have to be relieved at night so they can be happy by morning.\u00a0 Now I have many little sewing kits at home that I collect from the nicer hotels\u2026 do ya think I brought one?!??! No!!!\u00a0 I was going to wait until Innsbruck where I am staying at a Hilton (I wanted ac!) and could have probably gotten a kit there, but 1) I had time and 2) how hard should it be to find a needle in a big city\u2026 it should be easier then the hay stack, no?\u00a0 well I tried the Farmcia, and then the Coop, and then Rail City all for not\u2026\u00a0 I kept asking people and at this point it became a mission\u2026\u00a0 finally this one guy, who spoke fluent English, told me that I had to go the big grocery store.\u00a0 I thought I had, I thought it was the Coop.\u00a0 Well apparently in between the Coops there is a Fumeka (totally not spelt right) just outside of the train station.\u00a0 I enter with great hopes.\u00a0 I ask the first person I see for a need and thread or a sewing kit\u2026\u00a0 I used Google translate to get the right language\u2026\u00a0 she confidently sends me upstairs where I enter the women\u2019s lingerie department.\u00a0 Now, generally I don\u2019t mind hanging around this department, but my feet hurt and I am on a mission to find a needle (nedal).\u00a0 I ask the next person I see and they point me to another section.\u00a0 The first thing I see in this section is yard, a very good sign!\u00a0 This store is like a super Wal-Mart.\u00a0 Has everything, but finding it might not be so easy\u2026 so I am now confident that I am in the right area\u2026\u00a0 the only problem with this is that I am still quite male and can\u2019t find my shoe on the end of my foot\u2026 but since there is no one here to help I boldly pursue and my persistence in my quest rewards me with a vast selection of needles.\u00a0 I am pleased with myself.\u00a0 Then I leave the store though a completely different exit and have to find my way back.\u00a0 I navigate quickly.\u00a0 Minor operation tonight before bed\u2026\u00a0 yes, I will sterilize it first\u2026 licking it and wiping it on my newly washed shorts count, right :>\u00a0 no worries.\u00a0 After that my feet should be much happier.\u00a0 Tonight is good because I will be sitting on a train most of tomorrow so they can rest up.
\nMy last mission in Bern (except to leave) is to find the Come Back Bar.\u00a0 It is in the Frommer\u2019s guide so it must be good.\u00a0 I will let you all know.\u00a0 And don\u2019t worry it closes at 12:30, not 6:00am :>\u00a0 found it\u2026 Droid does! And it is not a gay bar, just tolerant.\u00a0 I can be tolerant, and sometimes even tolerated\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bern 2010-07-22 \u2013 still Huge news!!!\u00a0 I washed my clothes in a washing machine and am drying them!\u00a0 That should make them all clean and shiny again.\u00a0 I have been washing them in the tub and I don\u2019t think it has been really doing the trick\u2026 The fact that the church bell woke me at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe-2010"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7vq9N-4x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatup.brantct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}