August in Bern in April

Yesterday, Friday, I had my first no camera/no pictures day in a long while. I would make up for it today in Bern.

Friday was a full American football day for me as the final Kicking Game depth chart and Play Call sheet for Sunday's game in Lausanne were at the top of my morning list.

After finishing that chore, I went on my daily walk into Thur to buy a few supplies only to find out two things.

First, Helvetica has great insulation that keeps my penthouse flat quite cool.

Secondly, IT WAS HOT OUTSIDE!!! 

One of the interesting things that I saw in both Sicily and Sweden, I observed again in Thun. That is that for many people this first warming trend of the year means nothing. While I was cursing the fact that I was wearing sweatpants, many of my Swiss brethren were still wearing their coats and scarves, oblivious to the warmth. It was definitely Spring at last.

Friday night was our usual combined Senior team and U-19 team practices. We had a decent turnout and the players worked very hard on all phases of the Kicking Game as well as reviewing our Offensive and Defensive game plans.

Our Senior practices have been a bit low in numbers the past two weeks due in large part to six Tiger players currently serving their annual Swiss Army Reserve duty time. All but one will be available for Sunday's game in Lausanne, thank goodness!  

Our opponents on Sunday are the 2-0 LUCAF Owls. LUCAF is an acronym for Lausanne University Club American Football.

Let's take a look at LUCAF's long march to their 2-0 record.

Week #1 LUCAF beats Fribourg (0-4) 13-0

Week #2 LUCAF wins 50-0 over Luzern (2-3)

Week #3 BYE

Week #4 BYE

Week #5 BYE

Week #6 Sunday, April 29, at home against Thun (1-1)

Three straight BYE weeks???

As for your Thun Tigers, here are our results to date.

Week #1 BYE

Week #2 We lost 37-20 to Basel (4-0)

Week #3 BYE

Week #4 We beat Luzern (2-3) 6-0

Week #5 BYE

Week #6 Sunday, April 29, at LUCAF (2-0)

Oh, the joys of being a EuroBall schedule maker.

Saturday was going to be another scorcher so I decided to head to Bern for the day where their museums are both wonderful and air conditioned!

The temperature in the Swiss capital reached every bit of 30ºC/86ºF! It was shorts, shirt and tennis shoes for me. Most of the Swiss followed suit while taking it one step further by opting for flip-flops.

Good fashion sense if you ask me.

Finding shade was my #1 priority 

Now inside these park gates, I was much cooler/ Bern has an upper and a lower part that runs along the Aare River's path. I headed for the river via . . .

The Drahtseilbahn Funicular 

 A pleasant flower shop

The Aare River flowing beneath

the Kirchenfeldbrüke bridge 

The Bundeshaus

Home of the Swiss Parliament 

It was very hot and a bit humid to boot, where would the locals go to beat the heat?

Some layed out in the Sun

or kicked a soccer ball in the shade

Others opted to eat or drink at a riverside café 

A canoe ride would be nice 

Some just sat and wet their feet in the

Aare River by the Bear Park (BärenPark)

As for me, a walk on a shady lane by the

Aare River was just fine

The end of my walk put me right smack dab at the BärenPark, a place that U-19 player John Güntensperger had warned me about months ago.

His words kept flashing across my mind, "No matter what, DON'T JUMP THE FENCE INTO THE BEAR'S SPACE!!!"

The Bear Park has four bears living in two large, but separated, hillside spaces.

Papa Bear lives alone

Mama Bear and one of her two cubs . . . 

The other cub was swimming on this hot day 

Smart cub!

Mama Bear and her swimming cub

It looked refreshing and I almost forgot John's warning.

Almost. 

Back to the shady lane

One old rock face for sure.

Now she is a bit less weather beaten

Hey, is that guy using a HAMMER?

Very powerful sculpture in front of the

Bern's Historical Museum 

The Bern Historical Museum also houses

the Albert Einstein Museum 

This was the place I wanted to be mostly for the Einstein Museum.

And partly for the AC.

Every museum should have a

working Guillotine to greet you

Nice mural at the Museum's entrance

Good pick by Time magazine

They are still hurting over their "Man-of the-Year" pick for 1938.

Adolf Hitler.

Einstein's U.S. Citizenship Papers 

I enjoyed seeing the exhibits about Einsteins life and his works. As you may recall, he lived in Bern working as a Patent Clerk. It was here that he experienced his "Wonder Year" in 1905 when he published many of the revolutionary ideas that made him famous.

A young boy, a lion and a woman with

a wardrobe malfunction 

Helvetia holding the Swiss Constitution 

Why the long face? 

Intense Face 

Hey, is that guy using a HAMMER?

Maybe I could do that with my beard  

St. Andrew the Apostle

Always a crowd pleaser.

St. James the Apostle

Santiago himself including the clam shell on the brim of his cap.

The Tortures of Hell

The Bern Canton Crest

New look Thun Tiger football helmet 

We will premiere them to the public tomorrow.

One-on-None 

Nice field and track located underneath the Kirchenfeldbrücke Bridge.

Flying flags on a glorious day

Hey, is that snake using a HAMMER?

Hey, is that snake using a HAMMER?

Everybody in Bern agrees, the

2012 Baltimore Orioles are a joke 

Reading is FUNdamental

This was my first Robert Crais book, I liked it very much.

Let me be the first to say it, if Joe Pike, Jack Reacher and Raylan Givens got together, they could clean up the mean streets of Thun in about six action packed hours.

Maybe six minutes, it is pretty quiet here.

Sunday

Game Day

HAMMER TIME TIGERS!!!