Switzerland: Bearing watching and chocolate
Feb 9 2010
HER brown eyes looked at the watching crowd with disinterest as her sharp teeth tore through the salmon like a hot knife through butter.
Hunger satisfied for the moment, Bjork slid into the pool and submerged her huge shaggy brown head under the water, then put on a show, splashing the water with massive paws causing hundreds of droplets to sparkle in the Swiss sun.
Bjork is a six year-old female and, with her three year-old toy boy, Finn, is the star of a bear park that has just opened in the Swiss capital Bern.
Thousands gathered to see Bern’s newest tourist attraction, but bears have been linked with the city for centuries.
According to legend, Bern’s founder killed a bear beside the River Aare where the city was being built and named the city after the animal. The brown bear is the city’s symbol and appears on its official flag.
Once plentiful in Switzerland, the animal was hunted to extinction a century ago.
But they can be seen everywhere in Bern, on buildings, fountains, statues, in souvenir shops and even in the shape of biscuits.
Only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and the main railway station, the park is a good reason to visit Bern, but not the only one.
It can be reached across the river and over the Nydegg Bridge from the Old Town with its houses and alleys that date back to the 15th Century.
Founded in 1191, most of Bern was destroyed by fire in 1405, but was rebuilt almost immediately with sandstone and many of these buildings still remain.
The entire Old Town, which is a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site, features almost four miles of covered arcades, boasting one of the longest weather-protected shopping promenades in Europe, housing cafés, shops, restaurants and galleries.
In the centre of the Old Town, the Clock Tower was the city’s first gate and is one of Bern’s most important landmarks. Visitors can watch the clockwork figures perform every hour.
