Sometimes I forget that I'm in Europe. Yeah, I know...utterly ridiculous. But when things get busy and the days start to blur, sometimes you just forget where you are. The town I live in is fairly small and has a quaint European feel to it but the newness of it has worn off a little. Now that the summer days are over and life has settled a bit, my travel has been less frequent.
Due to immigration processes in conjunction with a certain possible upcoming event on the horizon (*wink*), I had to take the train, on Wednesday, to go to the Canadian consulate in the city of Bern, Switzerland (which, incidentally, is the country's capital).
I have to say that some of my favorite moments in Europe have been the times where I've been able to just wander around, take in whichever sights and discover new places along the way. There were a couple extra hours before my consulate appointment and afterwards to go explore and I was extremely happy that I was smart enough to bring my camera to capture the beauty of winter here in Switzerland.
Welcome to Bern.
I enjoyed the city of Bern very much so, but it was the quieter places that moved me the most.
Warning: I'm going to inundate you with pictures of winter serenity.
Needless to say, it's snowed a lot the last couple of days.
As I was walking underneath the bridge, there were some punk teenagers throwing snowballs at me from up above. Luckily, I'm quick like a ninja and dodged them all. :)
After walking around, the cold starts to get to you. I noticed this cozy looking cafe and decided a hot chocolate was in order. It most certainly hit the spot.
I had no idea, until I took this picture, that Albert Einstein lived here in Bern for 7 years. It was here that he wrote some of his most significant papers on scientific topics like the Special Theory of Relativity and the Light Quantum Hypothesis. My curiosity was piqued and I wanted to go inside and get a glance of his life, but for some reason, it was closed!
When I saw this place, I laughed out loud and then had to take a picture.
Bern is a wonderful place to visit and the winter season just made it all the more magical. There was that moment of renewed excitement where, once again, I pinched myself and said "I'm in Europe."
And Europe is where I'll be.