The view of the downtown Bern from the train station is not all that impressive.
In fact, the first time we came through late in the afternoon on an overcast day,
we decided not to visit.  We wanted to get back to Geneva in time for dinner.

The next time the train went through the town, we got off and  took the full tour and 
found the town to be as picturesque as one can imagine.  Here is Maria in the old town.

While you cannot see it in the photo, there is a walkway lined with shops on both
sides of the street.  The picture also does not reveal the amount of people there
were on the covered walkways.  The streets were relatively free of traffic.

Maria touring old town
   
Close up of the clock tower   (inside)                        Bagpiper Fountain and Prison Tower 

Bern.gif

same picture as a jpg file

Steve crossing a bridge on  the Aare River in Bern

The river really is that color and it was full of people riding the 
fast current.  The city is on two levels.  One is at river level the other
is about 8 stories above this on top of the steep banks.  The river
makes a loop around the old section of the city. [see map]

I was able to rent an electric bike in Bern and travel all around the city.  I followed the road along the river for about 15 miles, crossed a bridge and came back the other size.  I went through a recreation area where bathers were jumping in the water and floating down the river at a speed of about 10 miles
per hour.  They were moving about as fast as I could bike.  

House of Parliament, Bern, Switzerland