| Page Views: 574 Last Visit to Bern: June, 2008 I Used To Live Here | Opera and cycling in Bern by Nemorino - last update: Apr 29, 2009 |
| Bern and the Aare River, from Großer Muristalden |
In the summer of 1961 I suddenly and unexpectedly became the beneficiary of funding* which would allow me to study for two semesters at a European university of my choice.
Since time was short, I immediately sent off letters of application to several German-language universities. The first one to reply was the University of Bern, which accepted me as a student within days of my application. |
| Einstein lived here. (So did I.) |
I later learned that this was highly un-Bernese behavior on the part of the university administration, because in the rest of Switzerland the Bernese have the reputation of being very slow in everything they say and do.
One of my fellow students taught me this riddle:
What's this?
Boom. … [long pause] …
Boom. … [long pause] …
Boom. … [long pause] …
Answer: a Bernese machine gun.
Actually I found the Bernese to be very quick, especially when they were speaking among themselves because I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. Although the official language in this part of Switzerland is High German, which I had learned in school and college in the United States, the vernacular is something entirely different called Bärndütsch (Bern German), which is a distinct variety of Schwyzerdütsch (Swiss German), which in turn is a variety of Allemanisch. So to speak.
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On my recent re-visit to Bern I saw a very lively and clever production of the opera Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) by Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868).
Dr. Bartolo was a dentist in this production (which was a new one on me). The star of the evening was the Swiss mezzo-soprano Claude Eichenberger, who studied in Bern and is now a member of the Bern opera ensemble. She played Rosina as a raucous and self-assured young woman, and she sang her first solo while waxing her legs, ripping off the waxed cloth at the high point of each verse.
This was the last performance of the season, on a warm summer evening with lots of other things going on all over town, but Bern's theatergoing public of all generations nonetheless turned out in force to cheer their local orchestra and singers.
By the way, when I was preparing for this trip I ordered opera tickets from two different Swiss cities. I sent off both orders at the same time (by internet), but it turned out that the ticket from Bern arrived several days later than the one from Geneva. Just thought I'd mention that, for whatever it's worth.
*If by any chance you would like to know how this came about, all you have to do is buy me a beer at the next VT meeting, and I'll tell you the whole story. |
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 Comments for Nemorino about Bern | | | | |
starship Sun May 3, 2009 19:40 UTC
Excellent page! Quite a unique experience living in the same place as Einstein---you are both such scholarly men!! | csordila Wed Apr 29, 2009 20:15 UTC
Bern brings me always bad memory, since West Germany beat Hungary in the World Cup Final there. But your excellent page help me to forget those memories. Thanks for your Basel visit. Best. Laszlo | jumpingnorman Thu Apr 23, 2009 06:34 UTC
Very nice review about the blue garbage bags in Switzerland --- I've never been there but I'll look out for it when I vist in Sept...very nice Bern pages, Norman :) | kyoub Fri Mar 13, 2009 14:45 UTC
A lovely small city. Interesting that you and Einstein both spent time in the same flat. I am certain that the sanitation department appreciates the concerns of the lady that suggested the blue bags.. |
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