April 7, 2005. Today we traveled northwest into the Jura Mountains to the valley of Traverse. We were on a mission to find a bottle of Absinthe for our son Scottie. Absinthe was banned in Switzerland for over 80 years and the ban was only lifted a few months ago. With a considerable amount of detective work we discovered the home of one of the major former bootleg distillers. For many years he was making bootleg bottles of Absinthe in his cellar. Absinthe was banned because it was claimed to cause brain damage. The owner not only sold us two bottle of Absinthe but also two spoons which are used in the Absinthe drinking ceremony. The Absinthe is cut with water and then sugar is added with the spoon.

From the valley of Traverse we traveled south to Bern, which is the capital of Switzerland. Bern reminded me more of a large provincial town than the capital of an important European country. It is located on a thumb of land bordered on three sides of the Aare River. The city joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and the buildings trace back to medieval times.

We spent several hours walking up and down Spitalgasse. This street is bordered on each side by six story buildings with shops on the ground floor. There is a covered arcade on each side of the street to protect pedestrians from the inclement weather. Fortunately Nancy was not in a shopping mode so our bank account survived the afternoon.

Lunch was taken in a Swiss restaurant and I enjoyed bratwurst and rosti potatoes. Nancy had a cheese, sour cream and garlic skillet. We walked off our big lunch by going to the end of the Spitalgasse to see the Bern bears. These five live bears are housed in a sunken pit and have been the symbol of Berne since the middle ages. On our way back to Biel we toured the Swiss parliament buildings and Embassy Row.

Dinner tonight was a Swiss meal cooked by Rosalind. She melted half a round of Swiss cheese on the stove and then scraped the melted cheese onto a plate. To this she added onion, pepper, chile, paprika and garlic. You then eat it together with baked potatoes and pickled onions.

With full stomachs we ended another fabulous day with cognac in front of the fire.

Stay tuned for Day 5 in my “Around the World in 30 Days” saga.

Alan Salmon
eClub One