back to bern!

the next day i woke up early and went on a canyoning trip with some guys from arizona. canyoning, for those of you who may not know, is basically hiking down the inside of canyons by walking, climbing, jumping (my favorite), rappeling, and swimming. very fun!
when i got back, i grabbed my pack and caught an afternoon train to bern, only an hour away. when i got there, i found my hostel and headed out. i planned to go to Neuchatel the next day, which left me only the night in bern. i walked towards the rose garden to check it out, but when i got to the bottom of the hill leading up to the entrance, i was exhausted. i started up the hill, got half way, and literally turned around! i couldnt make it, i was so exhausted! very unlike me - i must really need sleep. so i changed my plan: get a glass of wine in town, go back to the hostel to make dinner, read, and fall asleep. and that was about all my poor body could handle that night, unfortunately.

the next day i checked out, locked up my pack at the train station, and caught a train to neuchatel. the reason i was going to neuchatel was because on the train from paris to bern we had passed through it, and my mother decided right then that neuchatel was a magical, wonderful place. she talked about it through the rest of her time in europe, and sent e-mails about the swiss utopia, encouraging me to go there. i figured i could spend a day there to make her happy and get a look for myself...
well neuchatel was a small, but lovely city. i went up to the cathedral and took a tour of the castle (a functioning castle that seems modern, despite its age). then it was raining so i ducked into a small local cafe for lunch. when it cleared up i headed down to the huge lake and took a long stroll.
and then it was time to be heading back to bern - i had to board a 12-hour night train to amsterdam to meet dave and hannah!