Freiburg, Bern, and Bears

Currywurst sandwich

En route home from our friends' wedding in Germany, R and I made stops in Freiburg and Bern. So I could see Germany and the German part of Switzerland. Freiburg, the southernmost German city, borders the Black Forest where I imagined "Hansel and Gretal" was set. Freiburg is charming—I loved the Munsterplatz, the farmer's market, and the "Bächle" that run through the city center. 

I love good good, I'm not a snob when it comes to eating well. I love fine dining at the best restaurants as much as the next girl, but I'm also really happy eating lovingly cooked meals at home, and more so when it's prepared by some of my favorite foodie friends. Sometimes on the street is where you find the best local food.

Take this simple currywurst sandwich at Freiburg's daily farmer's market in Munsterplatz. The pork sausage was perfectly sauced with a tomato sauce with a good dose of curry in it. Even though it seemed early for strawberries—I couldn't resist buying a quart of little strawberries for 2€. These strawberries tasted they were picked straight off the plant on a hot summer's day. I should have bought at least four more quarts.

Here's a blurb from Wikipedia about Freiburg: "The city has an unusual system of gutters (called Bächle) that run throughout its centre. These Bächle, once used to provide water to fight fires and feed livestock, are constantly flowing with water diverted from the Dreisam. These Bächle were never used for sewage, as such usage could lead to harsh penalties, even in the Middle Ages. During the summer, the running water provides natural cooling of the air, and offers a pleasant, gurgling sound. It is said that if you fall or step accidentally into a Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger, or 'Bobbele'."

Artisan selling cookie presses for spice cookies called speculaas. Very popular in Europe, you can find speculaas-flavored ice cream, and even a peanut-butter type spread that is made from ground up speculaas cookies. Sorry, I digress. Anyway I bought two small cookie presses, both made of pear wood. One is of puss-in-boots and the other is of a momma bird and her baby. Soon I'll use these to make birthday cookies for R.

Next are some pictures of our visit to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Bern has a historical old town that is beautiful—so beautiful and untouched by war that it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Bern itself is ranked among the world’s top ten cities for the best quality of life.

Here I am in Bern, sitting and enjoying strawberries R and I bought at the Freiburg market.

If you ever visit Bern, you can't miss the new "bear pit". Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit, the Bärengraben. The bears used to live in a tiny circular pit but in 2009, the city built a new bear sanctuary along the Aare river, very close to the old pathetic pit. The new sanctuary is immense compared to the old pit—it has lots of green grass and trees, for little bears to run, chase, and hide from each other. R had to practically drag me away from this place—I could have happily watched the bears tussle for hours and forgotten to see the city.