Dreams

ChatGPT casually told me I have better urban planning in my dreams than most cities.

And the annoying part is… it might actually be right.

Because explain to me why, in my dream version of Bern, you can casually crawl through underground bouldering tunnels that connect Adriano’s to Sporthalle Lebermatt. Like, why are we still walking on sidewalks when we could be traversing the city like slightly athletic mole people? Also funny thing is I have never been to that Sporthalle, but found it on Google Maps like the little detective I am after I had the dream. 

Also, Coop. But make it efficient and fun. No escalators. Slides. Obviously. You grab your groceries, and instead of awkwardly standing there holding your basket like a polite citizen, you just whoosh down from the food court on the third floor. Tell me that’s not an upgrade.

And then there’s this café/bar situation that fully exists in my head. Cozy, dim lighting, the kind of place where time slows down a bit. It has a restaurant terrace that opens into a forest park somewhere around Liebefeld… which, to be clear, does not exist like that in real life. Yet. I’m just saying, if it shows up in five years, I expect partial credit.

I’ve ended up in a hospital a few times too, even had a steak at the cantine and remember thinking, 27 francs? …which, honestly, felt like a bargain by Swiss standards. I’ve wandered through a university like I belonged there, walked streets I’ve never seen in waking life but somehow knew exactly how to navigate.

And then there was this building in the Altstadt, completely normal from the outside, except the top floor had an ice rink. I was up there, just skating around, then stopped by the window and looked out over the city lights.

I remember having this quiet little moment with myself, thinking, oh… this is the point. Which is funny, considering that was right in the middle of me questioning my whole relationship with Bern.

Cable cars in the city too, by the way. Not even a new idea: I’ve apparently dreamt that in two timelines: one that felt like the 60s, and one way into the future.

And the Mattenhof thing? Dreamt about houses being built there… someone told me, very shyly “…maybe you can live there.” showing me the construction site, I laughed it off in the dream, and then later found out there’s an actual expansion project happening. So now I’m side-eyeing all my dreams like: okay… what else are you quietly drafting behind my back? 

There’s also a glass terrace bar by the Aare. Very specific. Very vibey. According to my internal dream calendar, it existed in about three years. No pressure.

The funny part is, I don’t even live in Bern. But apparently… a version of me does. And she’s thriving, by the way.

She goes on community runs (who is she??), casually shops at Coop buying cheese and those tote bags with cute Swiss German phrases and a sheep illustration for emotional support. She went to a rooftop party, and I later randomly ended up on that same rooftop, only at night instead of the morning like in the dream. She has plans. She meets people. She exists in a way that feels… full.

Okay, I also did dream about a UFO flying above my head casually walking in a street I know by heart walking hand in hand with someone, whilst thinking how are you holding my hand?! and the next day my Spotify gave me UFO by Plüsch – the song, not an actual UFO. 

At some point she even rode a motorcycle. She’s also surfed. Not in Bern, obviously. Even dream-me has limits.

Honestly, it kind of feels like she already built the life I’m still thinking about. And I’m just here like… okay, cool, I’ll catch up.

What I don’t get is how some people just… don’t engage with their dreams at all.

Because once you stop fighting your subconscious, dreams stop being random chaos and start feeling like previews. Or parallel drafts. Or sometimes emotional clean-up crews that come in overnight and do the work you’ve been avoiding.

I’ve had all of it: nightmares, sleep paralysis, weird subconscious purges that leave you emotionally hungover the next day.

And I still get the occasional completely unhinged dream. But the best ones? The ones that feel more real than being awake.

Where you can smell things. Hear music. Catch pieces of conversations in languages you don’t even speak. Where everything is just slightly more vivid, slightly more alive.

And apparently… where my inner urban planner goes absolutely feral.

Because yes, I would like to live in a city with underground climbing tunnels. And cable cars instead of buses. And slides instead of escalators.

And maybe, just to keep things humble, a random penguin walking around like it pays rent there. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, honestly.

Seriously, if there are openings in city planning for Bern or in municipal stuff… hire me. I think I have some plans…