The Bears of Bern

It may have taken most of the day yesterday, but we made it to Bern.

Leaving Paris on the 1.20pm train to Dijon, we arrived at the hostel at around 11.30pm after a total of four train journeys and a two-hour stopover at Pontarlier, an attractive French town close to the Swiss border. Much quieter and more rural, it was a pleasant contrast to Paris, and gave us time to find somewhere to eat dinner and to enjoy a very French take on the burger. Called 'Mister Poivre', it was served between French bread with a black pepper sauce. We're still not entirely sure that the last train was covered by our Interrail pass, but thankfully no one checked so we didn't have to find out. By the time we reached the hostel, we were ready to collapse.

The hostel is very different from our run-down accommodation in Paris - it's large, clean, efficient, somehow very wholesome and, well, Swiss. We were in two minds about whether to push on to Italy today, but after all the travelling yesterday we've decided to stay an extra night. We've already wandered around some of the medieval city, and seen the bears in their new purpose-built park.