After the last entry, Dad and I went for a walk around Vienna.  We walked up our street, to the water, and then around the walking area behind Hofburg.  We snacked a little bit, and mostly just watched people, but one thing we did was go inside the Stephansdom, the large cathedral in that area.  It was having a special show, the cdolumns in the cathedral were all lit in blue, and there were white panels all over the cathedral, especially forming a trianglur figure over the high alter.  On the panels between the nave and the aisles were projected pictures of people's faces.  I asked what it was, and the guy said that they were taking pictures of people out on the street, and projecting them onto the white screens.  The screens on the high alter was an angel, with the other screens as its wings.  The point was that everyone could be someone's angel.  I will post pictures, it was beautiful.

Thursday we got up and went to the baker's across the street.  We bought bread for our trip and a chocolate filled crossiant.  Then off to the train station and Bern.  In Bern, we are meeting up with Werner and his family.  Werner was a forgein exchange student that stayed with my family when my dad was young.  We visited him the first time I went to Europe, and he offered to host us this time too.  Werner has two kids, who are about me and my brother's age. 

So Werner picked us up from the train station and brought us to his house.  We had a great dinner, salad and penne pasta with pesto made from the basil in his garden.  Yasmine joined us, but Miro was working. 

In the morning, we had breakfast with Werner and Miro, and then we headed into the city.  We took the long way, along the river.  Werner is a great tour guide, he pointed out all the important sites along the way, including the Münster (the cathedral in Bern), the Zytglogge (an astronomical clock, very similar to the one we saw in Prague), and the bear pits.  Bern was named after the bears, as the founder of Bern said he would name the town after the first animal he killed there, and on the banks of the river he killed a bear.  The bear pits weren't as bad as I thought they would be, they had a lot of trees and were pretty big.  Yasmine and Miro switched, about halfway through our tour, Miro leaving and Yasmine joining us.  We walked the streets a bit and then went to the Kornhaus for lunch- can you guess what it used to be?  A granary, and it is now converted into a beautiful resturant. 

After that, Dad and I found ATMs for cash, bought chocolates to take home, and then I stopped at the train station to buy my next ticket.  Dad and Yasmine went back to Werner's, while Werner and I went to Kunstmuseum, where there was a special exhibit on Ferdinand Holder.  Lots and lots of paintings, mostly landscapes.We went back to Werner's, and got ready to go out for dinner.  We took the train to Thum (which is a lake Holder painted a lot), and did a dinner cruise along the lake.  The boat was beautiful, and it was actually a passenger ferry too.  It stuck close to the shore around the lake, constantly stopping to let people on or off.  Dad and I both had fantastic lamb for dinner, and then we just enjoyed the boat ride. It was a sidewheeler, and the engine was out for everyone to look at - it was a marvel.  I took video, I'll try to post it.

Back in Bern, Dad and Werner dropped me off at a bar called Propeller, where I sat for a while.  I saw a couple of weird drinks, one was where a glass with a shot of absinthe (which is legal here) has a slotted spoon placed over it, with a sugar cube on it (at least I think it was sugar).  Then water was poured over it, and the sugar cube dissolved into the drink.  Then it was set on fire.  I only think it was water, because it was in a big pitcher that they didn't finish - I don't think people would leave alcohol on the bar, as expensive as it is.  Anyway, Miro found me, and we went out onto the streets to the 'lookout point' in Miro's words.  Also in Miro's words - Bern is a city in soccer fever.  The European Soccer Championship is in Basel, Switzerland this weekend, and it is crazy.  We have seen fans everywhere, especially on the train coming in.  Everything is decorated for Euro 2008, as they call it.  So Werner and Miro explained that the games are very expensive, and most tickets are given to companies, while very few are sold to the public (for about 300 dollars).  But, in each city is a party, with concerts and a large screen broadcasting the game.  So Miro and I went to the lookout point, which was the entrance to the concert, where you could see the stage without going in.  Yasmine found us there, and her and I went to a bar called Nordsüd, for a few drinks, and then to a bar called Cuba, which was kind of a club.  Lots of salsa dancing, etc.  We met up with some of Yasmine's friends, and I think I spent the rest of the night talking more in Spanish then in English (Yasmine speaks English, French, German, Spanish, and Swiss-German).  We went to Yasmine's place for a snack, and then Yasmine took me home.

This morning Dad and Werner left for a hiking trip, and an overnight stay in a lodge somewhere, so I am here by myself, but Yasmine is acting as my guide.  She is on her way over to take me into town, so I should be going.  Auf Widersehen!