Seemanns-Club Bern
Sailor Nostalgia
Seemanns-Club is one of the oddest watering holes in town. Imagine an old school harbour pub, the walls plastered with wooden stearing wheels, fishing nets, plastic crabs and photos of the good old days of nautical life. The wine is cheap, the beer is plenty, the beards of the club members are long, it’s loud, it’s crowded, it’s beautiful.
Seemanns-Club is that place - but not located in Hamburg or Genova - but in a basement in the old city of Bern, 300 kilometers away from the sea.
The bar is only open on Friday nights and kinda hard to find. Look for a door with an anchor on it. If it's unlocked, step inside. I tend to be there early, after 8pm the bar will be packed.
The Club was founded in 1962. Its members are former sailors that spent at least one year on the oceans of the world. Until today Switzerland has the largest ocean fleet of any country without a sea coast worldwide. Founded to secure basic supply in WW2 nowadays the fleet is more of a financial construct with swiss ships sailing under the flags of Bahamas, Liberia etc.
Still: The old days are full of stories to be told, even if the number of sailors gets smaller each year. Sweet nostalgia in the middle of the continent.
Pro tip: Give the barman a tip an he will ring a bell. Do not EVER ring it yourself - or pay a round for everyone.
About this spot
Gerechtigkeitsgasse 15
- Friday evenings
CHF
no-price
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