Bremen - It's a Festival

- October 14, 2022

Today was my first day exploring Bremen. What a great city! I always find it surprising to learn that a place you think of as a small town isn't! Bremen is the smallest among the 16 States of the Federal German Repulic. It has a population of 567,000 people. It is 1,200 years old.

I am staying in a wonderful area called Findorff. It was recommended by my friend, Glynis, who has stayed in the same area when she visits her daughter. It's a short walk from the train station. Taking the bus to get to the old part of Bremen is only a 10 minute ride.

I left my room at 11, walked to the train station, bought a bus ticket, ended up taking a tram which stopped right around the corner from the town square. What a wonderful surpised to find a market and the entire town square full of rides and food kiosks which is part of Bremen Freimarkt that runs from today to October 30.

Doesn't this make you want juice?

Dutch cheese

I was right in the middle of where I wanted to be. All around the market square was the town hall, the statue of the Bremen town-musicians from the fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, the Bremen cathedral, etc. Altstadt Bremen has so many buildings in the Gothic style of architecture. Every time I looked at a different spot on a building, there was something new to see. In all, I took 129 pictures today. It will be hard to just post a few. That's the theory!

Bremen cathdral

Bremen town hall

Bremer Roland was erected in 1404 on the market square in front of the town hall. It is a symbol of Bremen. Roland was a military leader and alleged nephew of Charlemagne so he stands in the market place as the emperor's representative proclaiming and guaranteeing the market rights and liberties supposedly bestowed upon the city.

Bremen town muscians

Walked a little more and, poof, I'm in the next area of town I want to see. It's called Bottcherstrasse. This pedestrianised arcade is Bremen's secret high street. I say that with tongue in cheek. Everyone who visits Bremen, knows where it is. It was a neat walk though. Cafes, art dealers, museum and a carillon made from Meissen porcelain are just a few things you see on the street. The carillon plays every hour. I arrived in front of it and the bells started ringing. Lucked out again.

The carillon has been in Bottcherstrasse since 1934. Traditional folk songs are played on 30 bells made of Meissen porcelain. A plastic hammer hits the outside of each bell.

Her tatas have been handled a few times! They have been rubbed gold!

Sculptures are seen on a lot of the walls of Bottcherstrasse. I took this not knowing he was the architecture of one of the buildings on the street.

Next area I visited is in Bremen's oldest district. It is called Schnoor. It is the oldest quarter of the city. The entire distict has small houses, shops and alleys that are so narrow I had to hunch my shoulders to pass through. It was a real gem until .................. I saw a bench. My feet were hurting so I thought I'd have a seat. I hate this bench now!

I plunk myself down and begin to let out a sigh of relief when I realize my ass might as well have sat in a tub of cold water. It was sopping wet!!! My pants were so wet that I could wring them out!!!! I didn't know I could lift off a seat that fast! I swore like a sailor. The water was freezing cold. It was cold outside so of course my ass and thighs were cold. The only saving grace is that it wasn't caught on camera and I was wearing black pants so no one could tell my pants were wet! My only goal at that point was to try not to focus on my wet ass! Oh and then I found a dry bench sat down, looked up and saw this on the wall. It was so appropriate - a sailor!

Here are a few images of the Schnoor area.

The Bremen Freimarkt (free fair) started today. It is one of the oldest funfairs in Germany. Documents show that it started in 1035. This year is its 987th birthday! More than four million visitors come into the town every year to go to the fair. It covers an area of 100,000 square meters. It's so big that it is split into two areas of town. One side is the big fair. The other in the town square is called the little fair. Well, the little fair was blocks long. It makes anything we have in Victoria look like an ant. It runs for 17 days!!!

This is called The Hangover- You only Have one Life. It is a ride that takes people up to the top of the tower and then let's them drop 85 metres!

No railings around any of the rides not even the ones that moved a hundred miles an hour. People stood around the edge of the rides waiting for their turn.

It doesn't take much to amuse me. No, really, it doesn't. I saw a kiosk that looked like a lighthouse. You could buy deep fried battered fish there. The fish was cooked on the top floor. There was a big show about the fish almost being ready to be sent to the first floor. A ship's horn sounded and a bell rang. The fish then came down a slide! I waited five minutes to see that and another five minutes to see it again! I'm going back tomorrow to get a piece of fish.

See the piece of fish at the end of the slide?

After two hours of walking and not seeing even a quarter of the fair, I decided it was time to head out. It had started to rain. It was weird to see the pace that people had been walking suddenly pick it. I found a side exit so that I didn't have to walk with the crowd. I looked up and saw the ferris wheel. I think it is as big as the London Eye.