Did you know Bern means bear?!?

Sunday morning we all got up to take a drive around Zurich before splitting up and heading our different ways. We set out for the botanical gardens at the university and though it took a bit to figure out exactly where they were, once we got inside, it was well worth it. We spent the next couple of hours wandering through the flowers and gardens, the enclosed exhibits of poisonous plants, the tunnel of flowers with snails all along the stands holding them up. Beautiful green grass and fountains, large dome greenhouses. It was perfect for getting some great photographs and relaxing before heading to the next town. We decided to grab lunch while we were there so I picked up something that resembled and tasted like beef tips and mashed potatoes. After lunch, we took a drive along the river where you could see sailboats, scuba divers getting suited up, and people lining the grass along the water. I am just constantly amazed at how beautiful these places continue to be. We made our way into a town with a large castle, but because we had to get back, we just had to drive by.

Upon getting back into town, Jordan and I said our goodbyes to Tom and Liz and jumped on our train bound for Bern. Within about 50 minutes we were there and made the hike down to find the hostel with fingers crossed they had availability. We were able to get a room and with it only being 4 o'clock, we set out to explore the country's capitol. Bern is actually a really nice place to visit. It has beautiful buildings, all with flowers on the windowsills. It has cobblestone streets and all of the little restaurants and bistros have outside seating so you can take in the city's beauty while people watching. We managed to see all of the city's major sights as the map we had showed a walking tour which was perfect for us! The last sight on the tour is the bear cage where they actually have bears available for viewing. See, Bern means bear for those who didn't know (like me) and so they have this exhibit for tourists to see the representation. After our walk, we sat outside at one of the restaurants and shared a bottle of rose' and 2 pasta dishes. So nice being able to just sit and relax on a summer night with the breeze blowing off the river! After dinner, we made our way along the river back to the hostel to get settled for the night.

This morning we got up early to catch our train to Basel which is the connecting city to Paris. We had about an hour and a half to spare so we made a quick walking trip through the city to see what it had to offer.....not much. It seems that Basel is more of a city, city with square more modernized buildings rather than the older more picturesque buildings. We headed back to the train station to catch our 12:34 train to Paris which is where I leave you now; currently sitting on the second deck of the train headed towards France. This is the last city that Jordan and I will be seeing together as he has to get back to work and I'm headed to Norway. We will be sure to make the most of it, especially with our extra day we now have and I will update you all soon!