Bern Switzerland Temple

Temple #73

6/2/17

Bern Switzerland Temple 

     Our trip around Europe had been fantastic, but our next country on our list was where we were most excited about and became one of our favorite countries. 

     We flew to Zurich, rented a car, then drove straight to the temple. The temple was just outside of Bern in the country. It was a perfect day full of sunshine and warmth. We took our pictures, walked around the temple and just admired the beauty of it all. We were early for the session at the temple and so we laid a blanket on the freshly cut grass and took a relaxing nap.

     After our much needed nap we went into the temple. The Bern temple was the first temple built in Europe and was the ninth temple construct and so it was somewhat older and had the older feeling to it. The temple was simple in design and decoration on the inside and outside. It was the first temple to have the video in the session and so was laid out for the film instead of a live session. 

     The session was in Italian because of a large Italian group had come from Italy for a few days to go to the temple. Because of this the temple housing was full, but I'll mention that later. 

     We were filled with the spirit the entire time and especially when we went into the Celestial room. It was a more unique Celestial room to where there was a second floor balcony that led to sealing rooms. It was gorgeous and amazing! We had been waiting and dreaming of going to the Bern Switzerland temple for quite a while and couldn't believe that we were there. Ivy's ancestors on her dad's side were originally from Switzerland from the Bern Canton, and so for Ivy especially it was neat to go to where her family originated from. 

     After the temple we drove to the City of Bern which sits on a turquoise-blue river bend. It was a very fairytale-like town with cobblestone streets and old homes and a church in the center. 

     We then drove north through rolling hills and green fields to a small town where we were staying. We tried to get temple housing but it was all full as I said and so we were given the names and email of a local LDS family who could house us for the night. We emailed them, David and Eveline, and they let us stay just like a bed and breakfast. We got a nice little room to sleep in, and they fed us the most delicious breakfast of homemade bread, Swiss cheeses and some fruit. 

     The next day we drove to Montreux, a pretty town by a large lake that had palm trees (they were imported of course). We then drove around Switzerland for the next few days. One of our favorite places was Interlaken, a picturesque town between two glacier-blue lakes where we went to church and hiked. 

     We also got to meet with a friend of ours, Tolis, who we met through my mom’s work. He and his wife took us out to lunch and we spent a few hours talking. We said goodbye and continued our tour around Switzerland. We didn't want to spend another night in our car so we went back to David and Evelines and enjoyed another comfortable night and delicious breakfast with them. 

     Our last day there we drove by the temple again because it was so beautiful and we didn't know when we would see it again. We then went to Zwischenflüh, a small town of maybe twenty people, where Ivy's ancestors were from. We drove around the mountain village and even found a small cemetery where there were a few Kunz’s buried, which is Ivy's maiden name. It was neat to see where Ivy's dad's family came from, her great great great grandpa. 

     After visiting Zwischenflüh we drove through the mountains and to Zurich where we turned in our car and waited for our bus to take us to Paris. 

     Switzerland was one of our favorite countries ever. The people were incredibly kind, the mountains were massive and breathtaking, and the rivers, lakes and valleys were beautiful. We slept in our car for a few nights, hiked a couple miles every day, got a few traffic tickets, but we loved the entire experience, all of Switzerland, and especially the temple!