Tag Archives: Bremen

Bremen re-visited

Hello All

Monday 23 April 2018

After a quick breakfast,

‘Yes mum they are bread rolls … goodness can’t take her anywhere…’

– during which I managed to get locked out of the dining room (does this kind of stuff just happen to me?) and had to do an “Ooh La La” farce type run (who am I kidding, more of a trot..) round to a side door – we set off for a leisurely stroll around historic Bremen.

If you are a regular reader of this jumble of words and photos you may remember that I visited Bremen last October. It was great to share it with No 1 Daughter.

The town square now in daylight.

St Peter’s Cathedral, and that statue

Which this time I had ‘a child’ to photograph stroking the donkey’s nose.

Re-tracing my October footsteps I led No 1 Daughter to the Lilliputian streets of Schnoor. Thankfully she loved it as much as I had. Hard not to.

What I hadn’t noticed before was how many tea shops there are in Bremen. It would have been wrong not to stop for a cuppa and … hallelujah… vegan apple cake.

Delicious.

I know visiting Schnoor is like taking a step back in time but who is this dude behind me? As more folk in traditional medieval costume appeared the mystery was solved. This is the door to Schnoor Museum and these are the work clothes. Fabulous.

Schnoor was the perfect place for last stop shopping after which we headed off to the amazing Ratskeller which has been serving wine since 1405!

Situated in the undercroft of Bremen Town Hall the Ratskeller was the council wine cellar – now I have worked in local government for a number of years but have yet to locate a wine cellar under County Offices Kendal!

The Ratskeller is also a traditional tavern which also houses a restaurant. It holds huge ornate wine barrels

And the vaults stretch a distance underground.

There are also ‘cabins’ along one wall which have doors that can be closed for added privacy ….

You can just about see the cabins behind me and my soup…oh how I had missed German soups.

It was a lovely touristy way to end our day in Bremen.

Until next we meet

Moke xxx

Bremen here we come … again

Hello All

Sunday 22 April 2018

Another day of train travel. Five trains to get us from gorgeous Copenhagen to lovely Bremen… and get us there they did. Only one observation: German train stations are REALLY busy on Sunday. When I inter-railed last autumn I avoided travelling on Sundays ‘cos I thought everything would be quiet and closed…how wrong can you be?!

But with connections easily made and trains on time – we even managed to make time as our train from Fredericia to Flensburg was in early so we caught an earlier connection to Neumunster – we were in Bremen while the sun still shone and there was time for an evening stroll.

I loved that we walked to an area new to me, outside the old town in Ostertor. It was buzzing with cafes and bars and cool (how hip am I? … not at all?! Mon Deiu!) graffiti.

Close to the hotel we had a fabulous supper of tapas style sides and salad.

No 1 Daughter like me thoroughly enjoyed it. By the by those little pepper things (Pimientos de padro) were a real treat.

After a long day it was then time for bed.

Night night Bremen.

Until next we meet,

Moke xxx

Advantages of being older

Hello All

One of the most famous things about this city is the Grimm’s fairy tale of the Bremen Musicians: a donkey, a dog, a cat and a cockerel.

Don’t you love that the donkey’s nose has been rubbed shiney? I digress, back to the fairytale the gist of which is that these fellows were in danger of being starved, shot, put out on the streets or put in a soup because they were old!!!! Brutal. But by joining forces and using their combined wisdom in their quest to become Bremen musicians they had the last laugh. Not only did they become a crime fighting quadruple (?) but they also found their forever home. Aaaah I love a happy ending. I am sure there is a lesson in there. Ideas in comments please.

I think there is another story waiting to be told about the lions guarding one of the entrances to Bremen’s cathedral.

Doesn’t it look like they are having a chat? Perhaps they have just eaten the last occupants of the two empty chairs.

‘What you having for pudding Leo?’

‘Same old same old, Lowis. Sugar dusted cardinal. You?’

‘Not quite sure but you know me I’ll eat anything dipped in mead.’

Inside St. Peter’s still boasts wonderfully painted stonework and vaulted ceilings.

For the first time I was in one of these amazing devotional buildings when there was a short service. I belong to no denomination but I was pleased to see the cathedral used for it’s primary purpose and it was something special to be part of. Amazing how the Lord’s Prayer never quite leaves you. I recognised it even in German.

Bremen has to be the most beautiful city I have visited on my interrail tour of Germany. If you ever come here be sure to visit the Schnoor area. I will let the sign do the talking:

The oldest part of Bremen and the cutest! It was like walking around a film set:

Infact that is doing Schnoor an injustice. It is Lilliputian medieval heaven. Of course I stayed for lunch.

The food – like all the meals I have had in Germany – was anything but small. It was also delicious.

But not everything I find bonny hails from the Middle Ages. Böttcherstraße was designed in the 1920’s.

Ok, ok that is not stupendously new and it was designed using the original foundations but for me this is progress. In any event it is very distinguished.

Now my friends I am going to have to love you and leave you. Tomorrow I travel to Cologne and hope to meet my cousin R’i. After that I am on the ferry where as you may recall getting a signal was nigh impossible.

Normal service will be resumed when I get home.

Until next we meet,

Moke xxx

P.S. Mr T will have to be torn away from the mini-bar …. again!

P.P.S. I leave you with something suitably woolly, the Schnoor sheep.

Mx

Let’s Talk Wool

Hello All

A quick update on progress of the shawl-scarf-thingy. I thought I might hit a problem in Prenzlau and the Thingy end at Berlin Senf. But I need not have worried K-D came to the rescue with an armful of gifted wools. Which to pick?

Just to be awkward I decided to pull back the part knitted jumper and go with the black and white combo. However it remains to be crocheted in as I was too busy galavanting and then chatting to people on the trains. Never fear Thingy WILL be finished and I have continued to buy a ball of wool in each place I stop.

After the Prenzlau black and white came Lubeck orange.

Today in Bremen I found this crafty emporium Idee.

All sorts of craft goodies filled this basement store. Paper crafts, fabrics and of course wool. I loved the knitting wall paper and the sample squares. Dotted around were tables to sit and knit or crochet which was very handy for me to gather all my goodies together.

So what is the Bremen wool? Bremen the purple-mix is yours.

As to the Thingy…let’s just say it has a way to go.

But that ferry journey is V-E-R-Y long. That’s the woolly roundup.

Until next we meet,

Moke xxx

Evening stroll or should that be another evening stroll …

Hello All

Having arrived in the pretty town of Bremen an evening stroll seemed in order. I left the hotel turned right and whoa! walked straight into a medieval market.

A magical surprise. Gluhwein, wurst, gingerbread, stall holders in medieval costume. Everything you dream of in a German market. All that and a fun fair. Not bad for a Wednesday night!

It was very picturesque and I happily strolled about the stalls selling food and nik-naks. So many gorgeous things. Sadly limited by a rucksack I had to stick to ‘window shopping’. Sorry folks back home.

I took myself off to one of the many Cafes with street seating for a bustle free supper. Satisfying food and a peaceful evening ready for a busy day of sightseeing tomorrow.

A quiet spot but with enough passers-by to engage in that favourite hobby, people watching.

Early night ready for much walking tomorrow.

Gute Nacht.

Until next we meet,

Moke xxx