Bern

We thought we should tell you a little about Bern and Switzerland. Bern is a Canton of Switzerland, or State. There are 26 Cantons in Switzerland. Bern is also the Capitol of Switzerland. In Bern the official languages are German and French. About 70%  of Switzerland speaks a Swiss-German, 20% French and 20% Italian. You can go from one end of Switzerland to the other in about 5 hours. More then half of the country is made up of mountains. A third of the population live in 5 large cities; Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern and Lusanne. People here work about 40 hours a week, there is no minimum wage, there appears to be no tipping for services. Everyone here has to have health insurance and pay premiums. Every employed pregnant woman is entitled to a 14 week paid maternity leave, of 80% of their income or wages.

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries to live in. 3M gave an estimate of about 70% increase in cost. Hmm...Gas is about $6 gallon. Bananas over $2/lb. Eggs over $3/doz. Apples (not Honeycrisp or anything special) $4/lb. So very expensive here. Eating out is $$$$.

Bern is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983. Bern was founded in 1191.






The Aare River runs through the city.


Trams that run throughout the city.


 
In the summer it is very popular to jump in the river, float down the river with it's rapid current and swim to the side to get out. Yes, Mark did this after watching the locals having so much fun doing this. He did report that the water was pretty cool. Like May/June Minnesota lake temperature. 

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