Downtown Bern is outstanding, blocks of arcaded shopping streets, with a beautiful 16th century clock tower in the middle of the main street. Around the city we saw many very nice houses and apartment buildings, and the countryside and the Bernese Alps (mountains), within 50 miles of the city, are exceptional. After several visits, we think Bern would be our favorite city to live in Europe.

The city name, Bern, means bear in German, so we went to see the famous bear pits, where the bears sit up and beg for food. The day we were there, they especially liked to eat carrots.