Fribourg

After a nice morning run along the river, Pam and I decided to go to nearby Fribourg for lunch. Coincidentally, my Uncle Terry spent a semester studying there when he was in college. He always talked so fondly about this experience, so I was excited to see the city for myself. Fribourg is less than 30 minutes by train from Bern. From the train station in Fribourg, we walked downhill along the pedestrian-only shopping street Rue de Lausanne into the Old Town. Fribourg was founded in 1157 along the River Sarine. Interestingly, Fribourg remained staunchly catholic throughout its history (despite the Reformation) and our guidebook says the bilingual Fribourg University remains the only Catholic university in Switzerland.

Much of Old Town is on the river’s west bank, around Cathederale de St. Nicholas and the elegant Hotel de Ville (town hall). We also saw the famous Tilleul de Morat (Morat Linden Tree) in front of the Hotel de Ville. According to our Fodor’s guide, the Tilleul de Morat marks Fribourg’s “greatest moment in history.” As the story goes, a messenger carrying news that the Swiss had defeated Charles the Bold sprinted from Murten to Fribourg (15km) in 1476 only to drop dead on arrival. “Onlookers, saddened by this tragic twist, took the linden twig from the messenger’s hat and planted it.” Ok. Couple of quick comments. First, 15km is not THAT far. Second, isn’t this story already claimed by the town of Marathon?

Anyway, it was after 2PM and all this talk of running was making us hungry. We searched long and hard for a place to eat, but apparently food is not served between 2PM and 6PM in Fribourg. All the restaurants close so the wait staff can sit around and drink coffee. Eventually, a waitress in one of the restaurants took pity on us and personally walked us to a place where she convinced the chef to open the grill so we could eat. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up.

After a delightful lunch (We had the local specialty – perch), we continued on to the Basse-Ville or Lower City, which is tucked into a bend in the river. The sights here were spectacular. Sandstone cliffs loom over the lower city. And the network of bridges overlooking the city’s medieval architecture and stone towers provided some great views. We walked over the wooden Pont de Berne, the oldest bridge in Fribourg, before heading to the Funicular for a ride back up the hill. It was a short but memorable visit.