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Along the Aar

After the first few days along the “Trans Swiss Trail”, we continued the journey, this time starting from Bern.

This stage took us from the Federal City to Worb. We were anticipating a monotonous stretch along the Aar, but to our surprise, this section is pleasant.

From Bern central station, we first descended to the banks of the Aar using the small Marzili funicular. It does not shorten the day much, but it is fun to take this funicular, which is right in the city, next to the Federal Palace.

From there, all you must do is cross the Aar at the Marzili baths, and you set off to go up the river for a long section. At the beginning, the path is very urban, with paved sidewalks. This is the case up to Dählhölzli, the zoological garden of Bern. After passing this point, the route continues a dirt track, and it does not take long to reach a small nature reserve below Elfenau. This place is apparently popular for bird watchers.

Further on, you pass by a ferry that one can take to go to the other side near the mouth of the Gürbe. This river is the one that descends from the Gurnigelpass and therefore flows through the Gürbetal, nicknamed the cabbage valley. Near the Bodenacker, one passes close to a monument with a dozen names and a date: March 3, 1986. Driven by curiosity, I later did some research. It is a memorial to the victims of the tragic crash of the Cessna 425 (HB-LLS).

Throughout the Aar we had in mind the song of a music band from Bern: “Stiller Has” with its title “Aare” (for fans of songs in “Bärndütsch”).

After having passed by the Muri swimming pool and by the front of the Auguetbrügg bridge, one begins the climb to leave the Aar valley. After the climb one crosses the motorway up to Oberland and I cannot help but think that as of today they would have chosen a very different route. The impact of this highway, both in terms of the landscape and in terms of nuisance, is enormous.

It did not take long to reach Allmendingen bei Bern. In this village, we were surprised by a rather unusual bus shelter. This one is made of wood and the sign is blue, like the signs in train stations in the old days (which were larger than today). The explanation comes from the fact that when the Allmendingen stopover closed in 1982, on the Bern-Thun line, this stop was dismantled from the side of the tracks and built again in the middle of the village.

After crossing two railway lines (the one leading to Thun and the one leading to the Emmental), one comes to the village of Rüfenacht. It was very strange for us to see this place from a different angle than from the car, since we often passed by in the past.

At the bend of the Wislewald, it does not take long to see the small village of Worb, well known for its castle.

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