parking in bern

i got up insanely early on saturday so i walked around zurich before meeting up with my fellow daytrippers at noon. alas, i confirmed that outrageously-cheap-in-the-states h&m is about-normally-priced in switzerland. finally got some francs! then spent a good 45 minutes exploring every aisle of a grocery store. my family beer does not seem to have penetrated mainstream zurich yet; i'll have to start pushing it with the locals. and i was disappointed in not finding my favorite kind of milka in the chocolate aisle. where will i get my BUTTERKEKS! BUTTERKEKS! ?

so anyway, four of us drove to bern, the capital. we had absolutely no plans so most of our time was spent aimlessly walking around, getting food, then getting drinks. not the most exciting trip, but there were a few redeeming factors. it's a medieval city, so it's very cute. fast river, unique city layout. and the parking lots are very safe:

the other funny thing about the parking lot in bern was that there were all these spaces marked "reserved for women". our german driver (female) claims that these spaces are wider than normal. take that as you will.

we took the scenic route home via thun, interlaken, and luzern. translation: we drove through a lot of incredible lake and mountain scenery. wow! can't wait to spend some quality time with the alps.