The capital of Switzerland, Bern is actually a small town with a population of a little more than 100,000. The town is so historical that UNESCO has named the entire old town a world heritage site. It’s like Old Town Arvada, but you know, with history of a more riveting nature. (Not like the Old Town Arvada flour mill isn’t incredible.)
Since I only have one full day in Bern, I decide to take a four-hour iPod tour of the city (my blog on the tour for Soci@lByte here). The tour is incredibly well done and lets you pause the tour to take detours as you wish.
I decide to take one detour when I see people lining outside The Münster, their largest Cathedral, for what is a free military concert. I was thrilled to land there at exactly the right time. As the doors open, I rush in and grab a seat at nearly the front minus a dozen rows saved for the actual Swiss military. I live for these moments of kismet, when I just happen upon a choir singing Christmas carols or a giant Nativity scene in a courtyard.
As the drum and flag procession begins, my excitement diminishes. I realize that I’m not actually at a military concert but that I’m actually at a military graduation. And that I’m one of the few in jeans and definitely the only one in Chucks. And I’m sitting practically front row surrounded by proud picture-snapping parents and snazzily dressed Swiss military men.
The only thing more boring than listening to some pompous graduate telling you to soar high like an Eagle is listening to that same speech in German. I make it through two speeches before I make my escape, keeping my head low to avoid the stares I know I’m receiving. Glares are a universal language.
Kismet is awesome, isn’t it?