One of the more intriguing aspects of central Bern is that the streets are laid out for walking in the street as well as on the sidewalks. The sidewalks are covered, with one or more steps down to the street. The streets are cobblestone, and have wide areas where merchants used to sell their wares. Now these areas merely provide a safe place for tourists to wander around and take pictures without getting run over.

Along the edges of the sidewalks, facing the street, there are cellar doors. In centuries past, these were used as wine cellars or general storage, but now they house restaurants, bars, and all manner of stores. For example…

There’s a theater.

And a tango studio.

And a wat phoo.

And a bar that serves absinthe.

And the Einstein Kaffee und Rauchsalon, below the aforementioned Einstein Cafe.

This Flammen-Bar is beneath the Paraguayan embassy.

The Hardware Store, mentioned in the previous post, is the perfect fit for a cellar environment.

As you approach the river, the street drops off faster than the sidewalk, the cellar doors become regular doors, and the cellars become the ground floor.