Friday, July 23
Got my credit card back and headed out to Bern. Turned the wrong way out of the train station and wandered around a residential area until I got my bearings. Finally got back to the train station and this time went the right way toward the downtown area. Ran out of time sightseeing as I had to get back for my game. Arrived in town 10 minutes before the round and went straight to the playing site. I was paired against a higher rated opponent and I had White. He equalized the position and was content with a draw. That’s right – I now have 1 win, 1 loss and three draws. I’m a real exiting player, let me tell you. By the way, Alexander Morozovich and Eva Repkova lead their respective sections, each with 3.5 out of the first 5.
Once again, my game ended so early, I considered heading out on the train again. Saturday is an off day (no games) so I was planning a longer trip into Geneva. But I decided that due to the longer train ride to Geneva (1 hr 40 min) and the fact that I had nowhere to stay if I wanted to spend the night that I wasn’t gaining that much by leaving early. I did go up in another funiculaire to the village of Erlach to take some more pictures. I sought out a French restaurant to have dinner. Despite the fact that the city is split between French and German, the restaurants are mostly Italian with quite a few Chinese places. I went into the old part of town where I saw the church rook building and found a small café. It was a typical French restaurant. The portions were small and it was overpriced. It was nice looking and tasted very good though (also typical of French cuisine). My feet are now sore from all the walking I’ve done. My right Achilles tendon is particularly sore.
View from the walkway behind the parliament building
