The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-03-26
Dr.. and Mrs. A. p. NachtWey
Live in Mountains While
Physician Studies


Berne, Switzerland, where the doctor
is taking special work in a famous
surgical clinic.
"Berne Is situated about the middle
Of a great plateau between the Jura
and the Alps. Both OF these noun
tain ranges a be seer from our city,
the Alps being quite Close" DR..
NachtUey writes. land the million
dollar view includes the Majestic
Jungfrau' jutting its peak up higher
than all the rest.
Since January 1st I have been per-
manently located In Berne, the cap
ital of Switzerland. a town of 10000,
noted chiefly as a medical and edu-
cational center. It is a very ancient
city and most interesting. The houses
are mostly uniform, built Of greyish
stones upon arcadeS. The streets are
winding and most Of them are con
siderably below the level of the side
walks.
These sidewalks are a distinctive
feature Of the city and give an au-
thentic picture Of its antiquity to all
newcomers. The outward appearance
of the city Is the same as it was CEN
turtles ago. for Bcrne has preserved
its old world charm to an extraordi-
nary extent. Like all cities in this
country it is partially built on hills
and any walks you take include con-
siderable climbing.
The Bears of Berne
.Es,,aV ciann non pnySNnV1hnp y'Vyo
heard of the Bears of Berne,' SO 1t
was not surprising to find that Bruin
Is the accepted heraldic emblem of
the town and one of the most familiar
figures. The story goes that hun
dreds Of years ago some feudal lord
of the Helvetians killed a bear here
and then built himself a castle on the
spot. thus starting this present city.
"A military post was established
here in 1891, which will give you some
idea Of its age. But the bear Is
everywhere. All the store windows
are filled with candy and pastry
bears. anu toy bears, teddy bears, and
wooden carved bears. There are
statues Of bears all over the city, on
gateposts and buildings, the 18th CEN
fury fountains, and so on. Right In
the center of the city is a big bear
pit, where about 20 to 80 bears have
been kept at the public expense for
of years. It is a very popu-
lar spot, not only for children but
for adults as we'll. for these bears arc
clowns and go through the
funniest antics, teasing for carrots or
which are sold for the pleas
ure Of the people as well as the bears.
'Berne' means bear in the ancient
Swiss language.
And speaking Of languages! 1t is
marvellous the way these Swiss
speak French and German with equal
ease and many Of them speak Eng
lish and Italian as we'll. 1t certain
ly must be fine mental training and
it makes us Americans feel very in
adequate with only II language,
which we often murder at that.
II can speak some German and
speaks a little French, so VIC
manage t get along fairly well.
Berne is rather out Of the tourist
travel line of the country. so fewer
here speak English than
in the other cities. as Berne is noted
principally for its physicians and
hospital.
Die Wacht am Aare
1.-The river Aare winds its way
through the city over a rocky bed
much below the level of the streets;
and for a considerable way forming.
by its deep and craggy banks, a kind
of natural rampant. There are many
beautiful bridges spanning it. You
never need to veal a watch for in
any direction you look there is a clock
tower telling the time as 1t has for
centuries. The most famous Is tho
old 'Zytglogge.' an ancient city gate
tower with a most elaborate assembly
OF mechanical puppets. One rings
little bells, another, a huge man in
gold armor, strikes a big gold bell,
away up In the tower, with a ham
mer: old Father Time turns his hour
glass over every hour and the inev-
liable bears come out of the tower at
the bottom of the clock and march
around every hour on the hour.
"The most beautiful building in the
capital is the old Minister Cathedral,
started by the Catholic Monks In the
18th century and finished some 81
years later. It is the finest example
OF Gothic architecture in all Switzer-
land. The towering pinnacle OF the
spire fairly takes your breath with its
beauty and grace. The carvings on
the great door are most interesting.
They depict the last judgment in
painted medieval sculpture and also
are the most famous example Of this
ancient type OF art in the country.
1.-THE weather is very mild at Berne,
as 1t Is situated down in the valley.
We have snow but it seldom lasts
more than two or three days. OF
course, the snow stays up in the sur
rounding mountains and everybody
goes in for winter sports, especially
skiing. Marjorie and the small
daughter are both skiing and enjoy
Ing It, but unfortunately I have not
had time to take it up.
G0itres Are Endemic
1.-The surgical clinic In which I am
working was founded by Theodore
Kocher and now has for its chief.
Professor deQuervain, the most IA
nous European surgeon Of today.
cannot praise too highly their very
kind attitude toward me. They allow
and are anxious for me to do all the
work that I desire. Easily so per cent
OF the surgery is done on goitres
which are endemic in this country
and this clinic was the pioneer In all
goitre surgery.
I would say that goitres are as COM
mon here as large tonsils are in the
states. The hospital Is the clinic for
all charity patients In the western
half OF Switzerland and has a bed
capacity Of 1900 patients. SO we gel
an enormous amount Of material. We
average about 10 operations daily and