Bern/Zurich

First of all. This is Max:

Max is Swiss-Australian. He is 6 foot 8. He plays for Switzerland in the European AFL league. He likes Rivella (a weird Swiss lactose fizzy drink). He dislikes sing-a-longs. And his idols are James Bond and Bear Grylls.

Max is Jess' friend who is currently living with his auntie in Bern, Switzerland. He was kind enough to offer us beds, chocolate and general guiding services.

We had a goooooooood time in Switzerland. Max was the best guide ever.

His aunties house is really cool - in the kitchen all the cupboards had something different painted on them.

Bern is a really cool city. All the pathways are undercover and there are these cool trap doors on the streets that lead down to underground rooms some of which are now used as shops or bars. You can see some of them open in the bottom left of the photo. They really are very cool.

The city's symbol is a bear and they used to have bears in a pit by the river, but now they have a river bank to themselves. Grizzly bears in the city.

We had a picnic in the rose garden but it started raining so we relocated. I cut my finger on a Swiss knife. Damn the Swiss and their superior knife making skills.

Our first night in Bern Max took us out and we went to an underground art gallery opening, a non-ironic Eurotrash bar, and ex-riding school now super cool drinking venue.
The riding school.

We also went to Zurich. Theres nothing much to see in Zurich. We were there for the food. Max wanted to eat a meal known as a Jumbo Jumbo. Which is essentially two bits of schnitzel with bacon and cheese in between all deep fried... gross. And a sausage thing.And rosti, which was yummy, and chocolate. Oh boy, the chocolate. So so so good. Max told us that the truffles we ate have so much cream in them they go off after two days. They were SO GOOD.

Zurich is a strange place. Its a city for the super wealthy thats for sure. All the cars are flashy and everything is generally ritzy. It seemed to attract a lot of stag and hens nights too.

Conclusion: Bern is beautiful, Zurich is a bit strange.