Wrapping Up 10 Years of Experiences

“Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true” ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Paul Klee Museum of Art in Bern.

Folded snow--Paul Klee would approve.

Bern in the sun.

The Parliament building.

Overlooking the city on the last night of 2010. 

We spent our last day of 2010 in Bern, Switzerland. We started the day by going to Paul Klee Museum of art. Our ticket also got us into the main art museum as well in the old town.  Both places had some modern art work on the 7 deadly sins that were interesting to say the least. After that we decided to walk around old town again. The sun finally came out after what felt like months of overcast. The city was beautiful in the sunlight. We hiked down the hilly slope toward the river to get a closer look. We read that during the summer people can jump in and ride the current for quite a ways. The water was clear and the views looking up at the city were pretty. We strolled along the river and just enjoyed another nice day in Europe.

After that we explored a few shops that were not closed for New Year's Eve. It began to grow darker and we decided to look for a restaurant since they would be closing early. We found an italian place, again. They let us in but said we only had 1 hour to eat. I know that sounds like plenty to our American friends. However, meals usually take about 2 hours or more in Europe. People here like to enjoy their meals and prolong the experience. We ordered a pizza and some tiramisu to celebrate the occasion. 

Afterwards we headed out into the night to take in the last evening in 2010. We went to the main church of Berne, the Münster.  We looked at it and some other sights as well. We just walked around and talked about the last 10 years. I realized that 10 years ago I was taking World History in high school. There is no way I could have known that I would be in Switzerland 10 years later celebrating New Years. Not only that, but I would teach the subject for 3 years as well. We thought about all of the changes in the world and in our lives for those 10 yrs. We talked about the crazy politics and wars that took place. We listed all our experiences like weird exes and goofy college moments. We realized that we had visited 13 countries in that time. Of which 11 were in 2010. As we talked we walked up a bluff and looked out over the city. It was beautiful and made us continue to think. We listed our 10 favorite things of the last ten years. Of course, meeting each other was #1. I mentioned my niece and nephew being born, my parents retiring, and of course teaching. Dana mentioned her step father, college, and our dog. Our working in and exploring Europe made the list as well.  We truly felt that we have been very blessed with our experiences and were looking forward to the future. We then heard the bells ring around the city as the new year began. It made us excited for the future and proud of our personal triumphs of the past.

We later Skyped with our families since we were so far ahead in time. We joked that we were "calling from the future." It was nice to talk to them. They have been very supportive and it means the world to us. So with that 2011 began! --by Ben.