Impressions of Bremen

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A while ago my mum booked us a holiday that took us to Hamburg for two days, a place that is super close to my heart, having studied there as a student. Rather than spend both days in Hamburg, we decided to do a little day trip out to Bremen, a city we hadn’t been to before.

We didn’t have any particular goals when visiting Bremen or ‘must-sees’. Instead I bookmarked a few areas on Google maps and our plan was to wander around and just get a feel for the city. We turned up to the train station in Hamburg and the ticket machine gave us the option of the Niedersachsen Ticket that offers travel within Lower Saxony, to Bremen and Hamburg for a whole day with flexible timing on regional trains, buses, trams and underground trains. For less than EUR50, this was way more cost effective than taking the faster ICE train which was coming out at something like EUR88 for one person for a flexible return ticket. It took us slightly longer to get there but way cheaper.

Bremen seems to very much be a city of statues and one of my Google map saves was the most iconic, the Town Musicians of Bremen, a bronze statue of a donkey, dog, cat and cockerel all standing on top of each other. Based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale the animals are a symbol for Bremen and feature in many forms from more modern interpretations to stuffed toys available in the gift shops.

We took a stroll down Böttcherstraße which is a gorgeous old street lined with brick buildings, the entrance to which is marked by a large golden relief – Lichtbringer.

The street is lined with museums, shops and artwork, including a different version of the Musicians of Bremen, albeit minus the cockerel as apparently he’s had to be taken to a museum for safeguarding as he keeps getting stolen!

We ended up returning to the street later in the day to listen to the bells chiming at the top of the Glockenspiel House, something that takes place several times a day.

We also spent time exploring the Schnoor quarter, the Schnoor is Bremen’s old quarter. It’s a network of narrow medieval streets with houses and buildings dating back to the 15th century. The name apparently comes from an old word for ‘string’ because rope-makers used to work in the area. These days the little lanes are full of small shops, cafés, and galleries – it’s a lovely area just to wander in.

Our final stop of the day before heading back to get the train back to Hamburg was St Peter’s Cathedral (St. Petri Dom). Free to enter, it’s an impressive building with some beautiful stained glass.

We didn’t spend long in Bremen but long enough to get a feel for the place, grab some lunch and yet still spend a little bit of time shopping in Hamburg when we got back.