Itinerary followed during this Interrail throughout Germany, Denmark and Switzerland

Cologne - Koblenz - Copenhagen - Helsingor - Hillerod - Roskilde - Berlin - Potsdam - Rhine cruise - Freiburg - Strasbourg - Black Forest - Rhine Waterfalls - Schaffhausen - Stein am Rhein - Konstanz - Zurich - Basel - Interlaken - Luzern - Zermatt - Brig - Bern - Geneva - Heidelberg - Munich - Dachau - Fussen - Nuremberg - Rothenburg (ODT) - Wurzburg - Jungfrau and Lauterbrunnen - Brienz - Geneva

It is less than an hour far by train from Interlaken.
The so-called "federal city" is one of the smallest capitals of Europe. The legend relates that the name comes from the town's founder (1191), the Duke of Zahringen, who decided this name because he killed a bear in the place where the wall was erected. The name evolved from Bar (bear) until Bern. In fact the bear is the animal emblem of the city.
In 1353 it entered the Helvetica Confederation. During the 15th century it fought against other kingdoms and in 1528 the Reform imposed. Two centuries of peace and prosperity happened. The aristocracy possessed the power and there were many peasants' revolts (the people desired democracy) but they didn't obtain anything. In 1798 the aristocracy lost many of the rights and possessions. Napoleon invaded the city to finance the expedition to Egypt . In 1814 the aristocrats recovered part of the privileges but in 1831 the democratic people won. In 1848 Bern was designed as the Swiss capital. The industrial development has always been much slower than in other cities of the Confederation, and Bern doesn't stress in any field.
The always protestant and germanic Bern has approached the French as well, so the citizens are proud of their bilingualism.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland. Switzerland is a federal confederation formed by 26 cantons and 6 semicantons, and each of them keeps its own laws and constitution. The confederation is hoarding more and more key functions. It is admirable that despite the huge cultural, religious or linguistic diversity, the country has kept a strong unity.
Switzerland has historically been very hospitable with all sorts of people and the level of immigration is high (around a 20% of foreigners).
The country is neutral, and this is one of the most important features. In 1291 the mountaineers of several regions swore mutual help to escape from the Habsburgs' hegemony. These men from the mountains initiated a political expansion until the limits that Switzerland maintains nowadays. Everything was well until 1515, when Francisco I and the Fench artillery defeated the powerful Swiss infantry in Marignan. Since then the Swiss didn't take part in any of the big European conflicts, but many Swiss mercenaries participated on their own. Since 1515 the neutrality position started and this was officially recognised in 1815.

The river Aare envelops the old town, and it is full of interesting monuments and buildings. First we arrived in Die Front , a zone that covers from the Waisenhausplatz until the Barenplatz. It is a picturesque spot to walk and contemplate the gigantic chess games or to have some cup in a terrace. At the edge you reach the Federal Palace , with a Florentine inspiration. It houses the seat of the Government (called Federal Council), that you can visit inside at determined times, in order to know how this peculiar country runs.

We walked towards the Marktgasse , the commercial street. You pass near the Prison Tower , from 1256, that previously was a part of the walls (exactly from the third wall). It was used as a jail since the 14th century. They demolished it in 1640 and reconstructed soon after.

The commercial street leads to the other tower, the Clock Tower . It is the most ancient monument of the town, from 1220. It was a part of the second wall, so it was built almost at the origins of the city. Pay attention to the astronomic clock from 1530. It has an ingenious mechanism to reproduce the planets' movements that I recommend to see. Some figures parade 4 min. before each hour. It is very peculiar and many tourists gather to enjoy it.

Nearby the tower we saw the Ogre's fountain, built by Hans Gieng in 1545. It is a giant eating a child while with the other hand he holds the rest of the meal. Very original. I suppose that the parents bring here their children when they behave nasty.
We continued through the Kramgasse , a street full of medieval arcades with shops and ancient facades from the 18th century mainly.

We passed across 14th century fountains and the Einstein's home . The physics master lived here from 1902 to 1909, working at the patent office. In this flat he wrote the Relativity theory and the famous equation that relates Mass and Energy. Unfortunately it was closed, a big disappoint for us, who love science. This visit brings the opportunity to know the inside of a medieval house as well as how one of the genius of the history lived, since they expose all sorts of personal stuff.

We turned left to reach the town hall , from 15th century and a huge roof.
The old town is a marvel, full of historical and singular buildings that I haven't mentioned, but that compose a unique whole.
We went back to Kramgasse and walked towards the unpronounceable Gerechtigkeitsgasse or Justice's street. It is very similar to Kramgasse (indeed it is the continuation), and we enjoyed the ancient facades as well. This street is crammed with antique shops. We found the Justice's fountain, from 1543, built by Hans Gieng. We went straight until the bridge of Nydeggbrucke, that leads to the bears' pit , a tradition coming from 1513. In 1798 the French stole the city's exchequer and they stole the bears as well.

Both from the bridge or the park (the rose garden) at the top of a path that leaves from the pit, the old town seems precious , with the authentic houses at the edge of the river, with the medieval and the intense green water.
On our way back across the old town we walked to the cathedral through the district of the Matte , from the 14th century. There are very ancient arcades and restored houses that keep shops and housings.

The cathedral is from 1421, in a late Gothic style. The bell tower is the highest in Switzerland and the bell is the biggest as well. At the top the views over the old town and the Alps are fantastic.

There are several museums, as in the other Swiss cities. I emphasize the Fine Arts museum because it keeps works of the modern artist elite. The star rooms are dedicated to Paul Klee, who was born in Bern. In 1898 he left to Germany to study and in 1933 he took refuge in Bern again. He died in 1940.
You can take a cruise along the river Rhine, and they celebrate many festivals and markets. The offer is very varied, as usually across Switzerland. When you leave the town you feel some sorrow, since you think that you could spend 3 or 4 days to visit everything in calm. If you prefer to see only the city without seeing any museum, one day should fit, but I think that you will feel that you couldn't get enough of it.
This region is the true land of the Emmental, the famous and delicious typical cheese with the big holes.