Part Nine: Marseille, Bern!

Hello friendly blog followers! Hope everything is going alright for you all out there. I must say, it certainly is for me here. I write you from my last night in Bern where I've had a great time. Prior to arriving here, I had a very brief stay in Marseille. It has been a great past three days and I've got lots to share. So here we go!

Friday morning, I awoke far too early for the time I went to bed and dragged myself out into the street on my way to the train station. I really need to plan ahead a little more and pack/organize my stuff before the morning I leave. You'd think I figured this out by now but nope. Maybe I will try it tonight. Anyway, as I mentioned in my previous post, Alex, a fellow American solo traveler, and I headed out together which was nice. It was also reassuring to have the possibility of someone to wake me up if I overslept.

O.k., wait, slight side note. I know I mentioned that my watch was giving me trouble and I was worried about what to do about alarms. Well, my watch has actually half broken but, strangely, now keeps the correct time. I just can't change the time or set an alarm. But, I discovered why Apple continues to rule the world. My iPod has an alarm in it! Did anyone know this? Have I been living under a rock? All I have to do is set the alarm, turn the iPod off, and it turns itself back on at the correct time ringing away. I thought I would have to wear headphones but I don't. Somehow it produces its own sound. I guess there is a little speaker int here somewhere. Amazing! I love it!

Back to travel. So I made my way to the Estacio de Franc in Barcelona which was actually a really pretty station. I have beaten my travel anxiety to an extent and now I am able to show up at a more reasonable time before the train leaves. The good part to that is that the train i there already and there is no sitting around waiting for it which gives less time to worry about missing it. I think it is working out. Now just get the packing down. I'll have come full circle.

In order to get to Marseille, I had to change in Montpellier. On the way, I was treated to some great sights. I particularly enjoyed when we popped out along the coast of the Mediterranean which was fantastic. There were little hills to one side and then towns sloping down towards the water. It was all very beautiful. On the train, I did a little writing and a little eating and soon enough I was in Montpellier.

When I got off the train, I headed straight to try and make my reservation for the next train. There, the lady informed me that the train was full for pass users. Now, I understand that they don't want to let too many pass users on but come on. I can not imagine that there were a ton of people all headed to Marseille with EuRail passes. The French trains are the only ones I've had this problem with. Luckily, the woman was lovely and way more helpful than the awful, angry person I'd encountered in the Paris trainstation. She gave me a great tip I hadn't heard from anyone or even in any of the EuRail information or blogs or anything.

I am not sure if this is for all trains or just some, but she told me that I could either wait two and a half hours for the local train or I could find the conductor when the train came in and ask if I could be permitted to buy a reservation on the train. I had no idea this was possible. I really did not want to wait any longer. I only had one afternoon/night in Marseille and there were some things I wanted to see. So the train rolled in and I rushed up and down to find the conductor. I have no idea what either of us said to each other but somehow we understood and he pushed me toward the train. There, I was able to buy a handwritten ticket. I wish I had heard of this policy earlier. Then, I asked him where to sit and he said anywhere. Well, I did not so much ask as wave my hand around the car to which he responded with a similar hand wave. Ah, the most basic and natural of languages. I took full advantage of this and sat myself down in first class.

I've always thought the idea of first class was pretty silly. I mean, it is twice the price and goes to the same place. But, it was pretty darn good. The seat was super comfortable and reclined electronically. It also had outlets built in and stuff. Not bad. Not bad at all. After quite a nice little ride, I arrived in Marseille to another amazing train station. The first direction on the list from the hostel was "walk down the famous stairs." I had no idea what that mean't until I went outside and saw the massive set of stairs down to the street. Apparently, they are famous. They are certainly big.

I set my stuff down in the hostel and raced out. I had one major goal and dusk was vastly approaching so I needed to get there. I wanted to make it up to the Notre Dame de la Garde and was determined to let nothing stand in my way. I walked along the streets which were quite interesting. Marseille is sort of a weird little city. Maybe I say this because I wasn't really there long enough to get a feel for it, but I can't quite explain it.

Anyway, parts of it were really beautiful and there were some really nice fountains and old buildings. The Notre Dame de la Garde is a huge basilica built in the 1860s I believe that sits high up on a hill in the city. The walk up the hill was a bit tiring but not too bad and I was at the top in no time. Let me just say, it was quite the place and the entire thing was beautiful. The fact that I got up to the top as the sun was beginning to go down only added to the splendor.

The scene was really amazing. For about 45 minutes I watched the sun change from a light orange to a bright pinkish red and settle down below the horizon over the mediterranean. I could see all of the city and a good bit of the Sea. Right in front of the setting sun were the Frioul islands made famous in the Count of Monte Cristo. As I was watching, an old man beckoned me in French. When I said I didn't understand he stood up next to me, but his arm on my shoulder, and began to point out things in the water. I am not sure exactly what he said, as he was still speaking French, but somehow I managed to understand a lot of it. It was really fun and after he felt he had sufficiently educated me, the sun disappeared below the horizon and he set off down the hill.

I lingered a bit, still taking in the sights, and then set on down. The trip to Marseille was worth it just for that. Somehow, in the nearly month and a half I've been gone I have yet to watch a proper sunset. I'm glad it fit in and it was a nice way to spend a brief evening in Marseille. I made my own way down the hill and set off towards the port. It was a getting dark but all the old buildings were lit up. There are a bunch of old forts and churches around the port and a ton of really cool boats so I just wandered a bit. I grabbed some dinner and then headed off to sleep away the rest of the night.

I awoke the next morning to set out for my next destination, Bern. The day before, I had attempted to make a reservation but again was denied. Luckily, I had another nice person at the ticket window who mapped out a set of tranfers for me, none of which I had to make reservations for. I had to go to Lyon, then transfer and go to Geneva, then transfer again and finally end in Bern. This didn't really bother me and of courseI didn't mind saving the money. All and all it was not that bad.

In Lyon I grabbed a delicious sandwich, did a little reading, and then got myself on the next train. Mostly, the train ride was beautiful. I did fall asleep for part of only to be woken up by the conductor asking for my ticket. All around me was a beautiful mountain valley. From there it was all lakes and mountains into Geneva where I made a quick transfer and kept going. This was my favorite part of the train trip. We rounded Laussane just at sunset, in time to see the pink sky all above the lake. Two beautiful sunrises in two days; I was lucky.

I must admit, I was a little reluctant to leave the warmth of Spain for cold and snow, but the beauty of Switzerland far outweighs any cold I could imagine. Plus, it really isn't all that cold right now. The trip into Bern was nice and easy. I got to sit on the top of a two level train which was pretty cool. Atleast, I think so. I had an easy walk down to the hostel which is right in the old part of town. It was dark so I couldn't see everything but I knew right away that the city was going to be gorgeous.

My stomach was calling me and after I checked in to the hostel I went out to find myself some food. I ended up eating in these really cool place. It had a fun, young feeling but still had old style banquet tables and served up traditional Swiss fare. I sat at the bar where I met sort of a weird guy who I talked to a bit. I couldn't quite understand him and he made me feel weird because he kept chuckling at me even when I wasn't doing anything. Oh well, he wasn't there very long so no big deal.

I had myself a great beer and ordered some food. Again, I was a little reluctant to leave the Spanish food for the Swiss which I wasn't sure I'd be thrilled with. I can now say that I was sufficiently thrilled. I had a really simple dish but it was delicious. I had veal sausage (sorry animal lovers) with a really good onion gravy and a potato rosti. The rosti was crispy and delicous and the sauce was amazing. The sausage, also, held its own on the plate. It was so simple but so delicious and really warmed me up and helped me get used to the cold a bit.

After dinner, I decided I needed to walk off a bit of the weight sitting in my stomach (the portion was huge!) and I wanted to see what the city was like a bit. In my usual fashion, I headed to the nearest source of water. I took a walk down to the river and went along for a bit before turning in for the night. I was getting the sense that I was going to like this place.

Today, I awoke to what else but snow coming down. This wasn't just a little flurry, but actual snow. Granted, it wasn't a blizzard but I guess I'd call it "significant" snowfall. I broke out my warm clothes for the first time in a while and set out into the snow. I do have to say that I missed having boots. The snow was quite wet and soon enough my shoes and socks were as well. But, oh well. It was pretty and really fit the city and the Swiss vibe well. I walked along the river some more until I got to the bear pits. The name Bern comes from bear supposedly because the founder of the city slayed a bear or something. Anyway, because of this they have taken it upon themselves to get some real live bears in the city. They are kept in the bear pits along one part of the river. I didn't see the bear but the whole thing made me a little sad. The pit wasn't very big and didn't look like a fun place for a bear to be.

I didn't dwell on it too long and kept on walking. The city is really beautiful. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of a more refined, conjoined version of Prague. The pace of the city was slow and quiet. There were barely any cars around. Since it was Sunday, a lot of things were cold and it felt like a sleepy little city in the snow. It was very peaceful and I was content to just wander in the snow. The cobbled streets were beautiful and the patterns of the buldings, particulary the roofs were fun to look at. For a capitol city, it was strangely quiet and slow paced but I liked it.

I was feeling a little hungry so I found a cafe where I got a delicious hot chocolate and some pastry and just sad and read the newspaper for a while. That is something I never do at home and I really enjoyed it. Not to America, get more cafes that are not Starbucks. Actually, a funny thing, in the little guide to Bern they included Starbucks under cafes and it says, "the place where locals go for American style coffee - in both size and taste." I couldn't help that the two adjectives that fit were big and gross. One good thing is that I did walk past the Starbucks and it had the fewest people of any I have seen so far. That was nice.

After I had soaked up the ever depressing world news, I went back to my hostel to try off and change my socks and stuff. I relaxed for a bit and soon enough the snow had stopped and the fog had lifted a little bit. The visibility hadn't been so great so I wanted to take the opportunity to get a little better view of the place and to get some good photos. I walked along the opposite side of the city as I had in the morning until I had reached the bear pit again. This time, there was a bear who just sort of moped around in a circle and that only made me more said. I walked up a tall hill to a park where I could see the entire old city and the view was great. The way the fog and gray sort of suited Prague, it did the same for Bern. I really found a lot fo similarities in the two places.

More walking was all I had planned and I went up to the clocktower which was pretty cool and walked past a giant, beautiful cathedral. The figures above the door were amazing and were painted which is rare compared to all the places I have seen. A fun thing about Bern is that it has a bunch of statues, much like the ones on the cathedral, scattered all over the city atop little fountains. It is fun to just be wandering and have them pop up all over the place. The only weird interaction I had here on my wanders was with a policeman who starred right at me as I walked by him and seemed to burp right in my direction. I don't know if it was intentional or not but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

Dinner time was calling so I headed back for another sock change and then set out to get some food. I found another little traditional Swiss restaurant and braced my stomach for some rich food. This time I ordered up some Hornli, a dish much like goulash. Well not the Czech goulash but the pasta kind. It was basically seasoned ground beef on top of macaroni noodles. Sounds simple and boring but it was really good. They served it with a bowl of homemade applesauce which I can definately say was the best applesauce I have ever had in my life. It had good spice, a great texture, and wasn't too sweet. Really blew those little lunch box sized Motts cups out of the water. I had a nice leisurely dinner and washed it down with a great local beer. I finished the meal with a semolina pudding that was great. It was served with some berries and a berry sauce and I really enjoyed it all. A perfect ending to the dinner.

A little more walking had me feeling ready to make this post and head off to bed. So that is where you find me now. To be honest, I am really having a great time here in Switzerland. It is a little on the expensive side but it is amazingly beautiful and the food is great. The pace of this city was perfect and nice and restful. I think I was still trying to get some energy back from Barcelona and this was the perfect place to do it. Tomorrow I head off to Zurich where I will spend most of the day and stay for the night before going off to Innsbruck. I'm looking forward to it all and can't wait to see some more sights and satisfy my culinary curiousity.

Hope everyone is doing well. More soon!