DAY 55: BERN

"YOU can probably see the city in half a day. It isn't very big," the hotel receptionist told us on arrival.

But rather than a put-down of her home, she meant that Bern's CBD was very compact.

And size doesn't matter to the Swiss capital. Small is very good ... sehr gut ...  tres bon.

The city also seems very comfortable in its own shoes - even though some of the world may confuse much larger Zurich or beautiful Geneva (of Geneva Convention fame) as the capital.

Certainly, we covered most of the tourist sights marked on our city map in our first walk on arrival - from the Zytglogge (town clock similar to Prague's Astronomical Clock) to the Parliament Buildings and Berner Munster.

But a short stroll late in the afternoon turned into a three-hour circuit that uncovered many of the locals' drinking holes and favourite restaurant haunts a little further out from the bustling city centre and Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From our central Hotel Continental, we walked down through Old Town and over the Nydeggbrucke (bridge) to the Bear Pit (Barengraben) - a symbol of Bern (a black bear is on its coat of arms), where Bjork (Mama Bear), Finn (Papa Bear) and Ursina (Baby Bear) live. 

While I'm not a fan of animals in captivity, bears have been kept in the city since 1513. The latest, expansive BarenPark on several terraced levels opened in 2009 to comply with new legal requirements and to go some way to answering some complaints. It is linked to the former smaller enclosure by a tunnel, allowing the bears to use both spaces.

Next on our independent walking tour, we took the uphill cobblestoned path to the Rose Garden (Rosengarten) section of the Botanical Gardens beside the Aar River.

In the lawned area, families and friends were playing a Swiss version of skittles, couples were having a romantic picnic, while most people were simply enjoying the panorama over the river, Old Town with the Bern Munster and Christ Church and taking in the spectrum of colours in the roses in bloom.

The beer garden and restaurant were buzzing with what looked like a large business function.

Back down at water level, an inventive surfer was riding the "waves" of the quick-flowing river using a waterskier's handle attached to a stretchable rope.

The cool, green botanical gardens were attracting the usual joggers and cyclists but further on, underneath one of the massive arches of the Kirchenfeldbrucke, Thursday night after-work drinks and candlelight dinners were well under way by the rushing waters of the weir under Old Town.

Back up and over the bridge, past the casino diners and back into the city, we found ourselves having one of the best-value and flavoursome meals of the trip at Spaghetti Factory with plenty of grind-yourself parmesan cheese and olive oil at the ready, washed down by a local Swiss Calanda beer and Italian chardonnay.

It wasn't a traditional meal but it helped create a fond farewell to Switzerland.

Lesson of the day:  There is much more to a city than its listed tourist attractions. Bern boasts quirky fountains, hangs flags everywhere, has erected colourful statues (including one of a giant eating children!) in places and squares, allows you to uncover bars, boutiques and businesses underground through open basement doors from the pavement, and its residents decorate windows with flower boxes and delicate curtains that are simply delightful.