Bremen, Germany

We have tried hard not to plan too far ahead and keep our journey fluid. Once the Denmark part of our journey drew to a close we began thinking of the next part of our odyssey through Germany and into the Netherlands.

We were keen to visit either Hamburg or Bremen. Most people said that the two cities were similar but Hamburg had more to offer. We visited Hamburg and while it had some amazing architecture which we loved as we cycled the city and its canals; largely we found it rather soul-less.  

Having been told of the similarity between the two cities, we decided to visit Bremen anyway. After all Bremen was where Craig's first car was made. Borgward cars were made in Bremen in the 50's and 60's before going bust. Strangely the tourist guide books do not mention Borgward cars. They do mention the Bremen Rathaus (town hall) and the Brothers Grimm tale of The Bremen musicians. 

We arrived in Bremen cursing at traffic and after struggling to find a car park, made a bee line for the city square. Oddly, in the city square we found a market of Dutch vendors selling flowers, fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and liquorice.

  

Walking though the market we could not help notice a group of deaf, dumb and blind people experiencing the market. Each person had a carer with them guiding them around, helping them to experience the market.

In the centre of the town square is St Peter’s Cathedral and the Roland statue (a liberation statue that symbolises independence and market rights) built in 1404.

Also the Rathaus (town hall which also built in the early 1400’s – 1405-1410). The city has been World Heritage Listed by UNESCO for its Rathaus and Roland statue because of the age and unique architectural features exhibited on the Rathaus.  

Nearby in the Schnoor quarter there are narrow 15^th and 16^th century half-timbered houses huddled close together. Here we walked through narrow alleys of small artist studios and marvelled at not only their handy work but also the buildings they are housed in. The building facades in a particular narrow street were all early art-deco. They were beautiful.   

We stumbled upon the work place of German philosopher Friedrich Engels who together with Karl Marx in 1948 wrote the Communist Manifesto.

We headed back to the Rathaus and near it we found a statue of a rooster standing on a cat, standing on a dog, standing on a donkey. These are the Bremen Musicians (as told by Brothers Grimm). The very short version of the story is that the animals are old and about to be “discarded” by their owner. The donkey convinces the other animals to run away with him and become musicians in Bremen. Along the way they encounter young thieves with loot from a recent heist. The musician's trick the thieves out of their bounty and live happily ever after proving youth is no match for experience. 

While looking at the statue we also watched the absolute joy of a deaf, dumb and blind man experiencing the statue. His carer wrote in sign on his hand, then placed his hand on parts of the brass statue. The joy the man displayed as he recognised each animal was truly moving. We walked away humbled. What we consider challenges are nothing by comparison with this man’s daily struggle.