Rendezvous Bundesplatz Lightshow Bern
The first evening we were in Bern we were walking around the Bundespltaz, the plaza in front of the Swiss Parliament Building (note the large building at the end of the plaza in the picture below. It plays an important role in this entry). We noticed a crowd forming in front of the Parliament Building, but not close to it. We assumed they were waiting for some famous person to arrive or leave. An English speaking couple approached us and asked if we knew what was going on, as they had had noticed the crowd forming and had been waiting for awhile, but nothing seemed to be happening. We didn't know and they left. But being curious and with nothing else to do that evening, we hung around.
Which is a good thing because a few minutes latter we saw a most innovative and clever light show. Basically, images (moving, animated) are projected onto the front of the Parliament Building to a mix of classical and pop music, using the building and its outline as a canvas for very clever animations. It lasts about 20 minutes and is shown every night for most of November. It was so clever I watched it again the following evening.
This is really a crowd community experience. People just all stand together in the cold outside their parliament building and watch this, oohing and aahing together at the show and swaying to the music.
I could never get any decent pictures. Here's one from my cell phone and some still shots I downloaded. The still shots don't really capture what the show is about, but there are videos of it on YouTube (just search for Rendezvous Bundesplatz Lightshow Bern). They vary in length and quality (all taken by folks just filming it from outside in the crowd and what you see live is much brighter and more vivid than the videos). Here's a link to one with about 6 minutes of excerpts, but there are also longer ones capturing more of the show.
This is really a crowd community experience. People just all stand together in the cold outside their parliament building and watch this, oohing and aahing together at the show and swaying to the music.
I could never get any decent pictures. Here's one from my cell phone and some still shots I downloaded. The still shots don't really capture what the show is about, but there are videos of it on YouTube (just search for Rendezvous Bundesplatz Lightshow Bern). They vary in length and quality (all taken by folks just filming it from outside in the crowd and what you see live is much brighter and more vivid than the videos). Here's a link to one with about 6 minutes of excerpts, but there are also longer ones capturing more of the show.
This time of year, however, is probably fairly slow for street performers looking for tips, but a few were still out.
There were some guys out in the middle of the plaza in Bern dancing around with torches to techno music (for tips).
There was also a couple of guys with a guitar and sort of a drum playing Dobbie Brothers, and this guy below with the accordion doing more traditional music.
And another accordion in Fussen
This guy wasn't playing for tips, but singing out Green Day and old Bob Dylan tunes to an empty, but beautiful, Lake Neuchatel, just for the fun of it.
