It’s summer in Europe. The snow that covered the Swiss Alps is now melting, forming irresistible rivers, especially in Bern, Switzerland’s administrative capital, where the Aare’s currents transform into an open-air water park.
At first glance, the eyes take a while to adjust, but that’s right: greenish waters flow, bringing bathers, who enter the river not for a peaceful bath, but for a float downstream.
They carry waterproof bags (“dry sacks”, the “must” of the Swiss summer, for sale everywhere) and float down on their backs chatting with friends, lying on colorful buoys or even in small inflatable rafts. .
One of Bern’s most popular summer spots is Marzili Park, where crowds flock to sunbathe on the lawns and enjoy the traditional pools with trampoline, restrooms and cafes.
The park is on the banks of the Aare River, whose bank turns into a parade of people in bathing suits going up the two kilometers to Camping Eichholz: here the floating begins, which ends precisely in Marzili.
“Only go in if you’re a good swimmer. And stay more towards the middle of the river, not close to the shore”, warns guide Patrick Bolzli, who offers free tours of the city in exchange for tips (you can schedule an appointment at freewalkingtoursbern.ch). /).
Bolzli says that the river flows at two meters per second, and that stories of accidents are not uncommon. Earlier this summer, the son of an Indonesian politician drowned, and his body was not found until two weeks later.
The day after the reporter’s visit, another person drowned.
The Aare is a tributary of the Rhine and the longest river (295 km) entirely within Switzerland, hugging the medieval center of Bern, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The capital of 144,000 is halfway between its more famous sisters, Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city and whose Limmat River is also a popular summer destination for its gentle current (visit the Panama bar for the best view of bathers if they decide to enjoy it without getting wet).
“In Bern, we have a different pace than Zurich. They would say we are the slowest people in Switzerland, and we have no problem with that,” jokes Bolzli.
While locals cool off in the icy waters of the Aare, sometimes jumping off the Schönausteg pedestrian bridge, visitors are often distracted by bears, the city’s symbol.
The animal is everywhere in Bern, be it on your flag, in the dozens of water sources —best place to stock up and save in one of the most expensive countries in the world—, and even hidden in the mountain logo of Toblerone chocolate, made exclusively there.
In fact, there are only three bears in the capital: Björk, Finn and their daughter Ursina, which can be visited in the Bärengraben, a concrete well built in 1857. Since 2009, the 630 square meter well has brought passages to a 6,000 meter park. squares, part of the municipal zoo.
When its staff go out to hide food for the bears in the park, the trio are taken to the well, where they can gaze at it without having to pay a zoo ticket.
Bern’s passion for bears goes back a long way. One of the legends says that its founder, Duke Berchtold 5th, decided on the name of the city (“bären” is bear in German) after going hunting and coming across the animal in the 12th century.
Four centuries later, the locals already had the custom of displaying bears, the first one captured as spoils of war.
When the Bärengraben well came into being in the 19th century, more than ten bears lived there, a tradition that has reached the gates of the 21st century. In 2013, the government finally gave in to criticism and began renovations to connect it to Bären Park.
