I’m sure all of you host visitors now and then, whether they are close friends staying in your homes for a week or acquaintances passing through for a day or two. Have you developed favorite places to take them? We certainly have. The first outing is always a tour of Bern’s Old Town, which inevitablyContinue reading “Beauty Spots near Bern”
Category Archives: History
A New Swiss Battleground
August 1 is Switzerland’s equivalent of the Fourth of July. Americans commemorate freeing themselves from British rule. The Swiss celebrate Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, the three original Swiss cantons, fighting off conquest by the Habsburgs. This year, August 1 marked the day Trump informed Switzerland that he would impose a 39% tariff on Swiss exportsContinue reading “A New Swiss Battleground”
Thank You, Edward Jenner
In early February, I went to my doctor’s office for the first of two vaccinations against shingles—I’ll get the second one on April 16. I didn’t have to see the doctor for this; I made an appointment with her lab technician. Two weeks ago, I had a COVID-19 vaccination at the drugstore a few blocksContinue reading “Thank You, Edward Jenner”
SPLINTERED JUSTICE
I had more trouble finding a title for this fourth Linder and Donatelli mystery than for the others. Because the novel starts with an attempted murder in Bern’s largest Gothic church, the Berner Münster, I always thought of it as “the Münster book” and got stuck on that name. My research for this new bookContinue reading “SPLINTERED JUSTICE”
An 834-Year Wait
On the first day of January, Bern’s newly elected mayor stepped into her job. Her name is Marieke Kruit, and she is the first woman to be in charge of the city since the last Duke of Zähringer founded it in 1191, one hundred years before the Swiss Confederation came into being. Our new mayorContinue reading “An 834-Year Wait”
In Praise of Arles
Arles is a town of just over 50,000 people in the French region of Provence that brings history to life in a spectacular way. Visitors can stroll down its narrow streets to tour its Roman theaters and medieval church of Saint-Trophime and then spend a few hours at the Vincent van Gogh Foundation. After lunchContinue reading “In Praise of Arles”
The Small Miracle of Switzerland’s Federal Council
These days, when I feel brave enough to contemplate the state of the world, I worry about the integrity (and, in some cases, the sanity) of many national leaders. Even democracies, supposedly built with checks and balances, don’t seem to be able to stop their heads of state from making truly disastrous decisions. That’s whyContinue reading “The Small Miracle of Switzerland’s Federal Council”
School’s Out!
Memory is unreliable—we all know that—but my childhood summer vacations seemed endless. I remember getting out of school at the end of June and not returning until the beginning of September: three months of pure fun. And, I now realize, three months of stress for parents who had to figure out what to do withContinue reading “School’s Out!”
Living Next Door to Bern’s Bears
I was recently invited to join a tour of Bern’s bear park, and I learned so much about the city’s bears that I thought I’d share some of it with you. It’s a story with a happy ending for the bears but also a reminder of how cruel supposedly civilized people can be to animals. InContinue reading “Living Next Door to Bern’s Bears”
A Gripping Take on “The Troubles”
Like over fifty million American adults, I have Irish ancestors, although I have to go back to my great-great-grandfather and -grandmother to find anyone actually born on Irish soil. I was also an adult during most of The Troubles, the years from 1968 until 1998 when Northern Ireland was a battleground between the (essentially Protestant)Continue reading “A Gripping Take on “The Troubles””
Kim Hays 