Bern, Kramgrasse and the Zytglogge

At the heart of the old town, on the Kramgrasse (Main Street?), the Zytglogge (Clock Tower), is a symbol of Bern. It was originally constructed in the early 1200s, destroyed by fire in 1405, then rebuilt in stone with a clock that soon broke and stayed broken for 122 years. An elegant new mechanism, installed in 1530, is still complete with nearly all its original parts.

Just a short distance from the clock tower, and maybe in this photo, Kramgrasse No. 49 was rented by Albert Einstein from 1903 to 1905, while he held a position as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office.

We think Bern would be our favorite place to live in Europe. The streets are lined with arcades with excellent stores set back under the second floor, so the shopper is protected from the weather. Around the city we saw many very nice houses and apartment buildings, and lots of parks and open areas, with the Bernese Alps not too far away.

A couple of blocks to the left of the Zytglogge, in front of the Bundeshaus (Capitol Building of Switzerland), there is a market place with a couple of large game boards (squares perhaps two feet on a side) painted on the street. People stop and put down their shopping bag, and play a game of chess.