Swiss National Day

Bern Weekend

July 30th - August 1st 1999 (Fri-Sun)

Overview:

August 1st is the Swiss National Day. We celebrate this event in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. We do a guided tour through the city and stroll through the attractive old streets. We visit the parliament building and learn more about the political system of Switzerland. People who are interested in mechanics built centuries ago have the opportunity to visit the "Zytgloggeturm" (Clock Tower).
We have a traditional "Raclette" (melted cheese on potatoes) on Saturday night. If the weather is ok, we have a barbecue near the river Aare which flows around the old city of Bern. The river has a strong current and it is big fun to swim in it!
The official program for the National Day has not been published yet, but we are sure there is lots of interesting things to watch and listen to!

Program:

Friday, July 30th
Before 8pm:	We meet in Zurich, Basel, Lausanne, ... and go to Bern by train. No dinner is provided!
21:15	Meeting in Bern
Night:	Pub crawl in the city, sleeping in the Youth Hostel
Saturday, July 31st
Morning:	Breakfast at the youth hostel, city tour. Possibility to visit the Zytglogge-Turm.
Lunch:	Picnic in a park. Bring sandwiches from home, or buy stuff in Bern.
15:00	Guided tour through the "Bundeshaus", the parliament building of Switzerland.
Night:	Raclette in the garden of the youth hostel.
Sunday, August 1st
Morning:	Breakfast at the youth hostel.
Then:	Going down to the river, river swimming, barbecue: Hanging around.
Afternoon:	Walking through the city, watching August 1st performances, ...
Evening:	Back to Zürich, Basel, Lausanne, ...

Remarks:
If you are interested to see more of the city and visit museums or other sights: You can do this. During the weekend we will set up several meeting points and -times where you can rejoin the group.

The group size to visit the Zytglogge-Turm is limited to 20. We can make several tours, but they might be on very different times during the day. Therefore don't sign up for this add-on if you are not really interested. We will all see the tower from the outside.

What you need to bring with you:

Swimming suit, towel - if you are interested in swimming in the Aare
Raincoat and/or Umbrella.
Sleeping bag is not necessairy. Bedlinen and blankets are included.
Personal accessories.
Your special train tickets (Half-price, Gleis7, ...)

Costs and Benefits:

Costs:

80 CHF for IAESTE, AIESEC and ESN people, 95 CHF for guests. We collect the money during the weekend (cash)

Included:

Lodging, Breakfast on Sat & Sun, Parliament, city tour, Dinner on Saturday, Barbecue on Sunday (excluding the meat!!).

Add-ons:

Entry fee to the Zytglogge-Turm
Wine and beer for the dinner. We sell this to the original price.

Not included, bring/buy yourself:

Your ticket to Bern and back, if you don't have Gleis 7.
Alcoholic beverages
Meat for the barbecure on Sunday. Bring vacuum-packed meat from home or better buy in Bern on Saturday.

The number of participants is limited to around 50 persons.

Participation after signing up to this event is mandatory. Because places are limited and places must be reserved in advance, we kindly ask you to cancel at least 3 days before the event if you cannot come. This gives IAESTE enough time to find another participant. If you stay away without proper cancellation we may charge you the full price for reasons of fairness.

Meeting Points, Train connections:

We recommend meetings points in Zürich, Basel, Lausanne, Luzern and Basel. The times have been chosen such you can use your Gleis 7 ticket, also from your "home town". Please come to the meeting points in time, because it is Friday night and the trains are crowded...

Place	Meeting Time	Departure	Change in	Arrival in Bern
Basel	19:45	20:04	-	21:11
Lausanne	19:45	20:05	-	21:13
Luzern	19:20	19:41	Olten, Track 9	(21:11)
Olten	20:20	20:31	-	21:11
Zürich	19:45	20:03	-	21:14
Bern	21:15	-	-	-

Questions:

The event is organized by Carlo Giorgetta and Urs Manser. If you have important questions about event, and you cannot find the answer on this info sheet, you may contact us. More and detailed information will be sent to the registered people some days before the weekend, especially concerning group train tickets.

Registration deadline: Tuesday, 27th of July, 12:00

! Register now !!

Last modified: July 21st, 1999 by Carlo Giorgetta and Urs Manser