A little more about New Bern that we learned in the morning:
We decided to stay the night in a place on the map called 'New Bern' - and there was a coupon in the Roomsaver book - so we keyed the address in on the GPS. Driving in to town, we spotted a big sign: 'Welcome to New Bern - home of Pepsi-Cola' - what??? we said....
New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then briefly as the state capital. It is the county seat of Craven County. Originally a Swiss settlement, the city is named after the capital of Switzerland, Bern and has a similar flag. The Swiss connection (just as the Dutch in New Amsterdam, and German immigrants in Pennsylvania Dutch) with England was established by Marian exiles and marriages of the Royal House of Stuart, important people in the history of the Calvinism. New Bern is commonly known as the birthplace of Pepsi Cola.
We found the pharmacy where Brad mixed up a concoction to assist with stomach pains - hence the 'pepsi' part of the name (peptic ulcer) and the historical sign is outside the Pepsi-Cola gift shop. The second photo is of a Swiss Bear - these bears are EVERYWHERE around New Bern, on the side of streets - all decorated differently but in bright, sometimes funny, colours! Dave's favourite was the 'High Vis(ibility) Bear' outside the safety clothing shop! (Driving past too fast to get a photo.... :-(
Well well well - I didn't know that pepsi got it's name from peptic ulsers....I guess it kinda makes sense!!
ReplyDeleteI thought so too! Can you believe it? We were so surprised!
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