A typical fairy tale town. It was lively on holiday.
Visit date: 31 October 2015, weather: cloudy
To Bremen on the fairy tale road
今回の誕生月ドイツ旅行も残すところもあと2日です。この日記のシリーズも気がつけば20回目を迎えました。私の観光が駆け足だということでもありますが、それだけヨーロッパドライブの旅の行動範囲が広いということでもあるでしょう。
Well, I came all the way to Hanover for dinner with my friend (*I really came here just for dinner and accommodation, so I didn’t do any sightseeing. The meal we had will be reported later in « Extra Part 3: German Food and Beer »). We left early in the morning. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy. How is the weather in Bremen, about an hour to the west from here? In the occasional light rain, we headed for our destination on the Autobahn, which was relatively empty in the early morning.
Bremen is one of the largest cities in Northern Germany. And its old town has been chosen as a World Heritage Site. The city’s history began as a Roman colony and developed under the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages.
This city, like many others in Germany, was severely damaged in World War II, but the Marktplatz, the center of the old town, and the Roland statue, the symbol of Bremen, were protected by the outer wall built by the citizens. This was also the reason why the city was recognized as a World Heritage Site.
A little hard to get to?
However, there are some aspects of this city that make it slightly difficult to get to and explore.
It seems to be the terminus of the Märchenweg, but to be honest, the outskirts of this town or the towns along the Märchenweg are rather plain compared to the towns along the other roads in Germany, the Romantic Road or the Old Castle Road.
It is also difficult to set up a route. If you travel by train, it’s a little bit out of the line of Hamburg, Hanover and Frankfurt, and it’s a little bit far from the city. If you want to go to Bremen by train, Hanover is a good starting point, but Hanover itself is not so touristy. In the suburbs of Hanover, there are beautiful cities like Hildesheim and Quedlinburg (both are world heritage).
By the way, the day before, I had a dinner with my friend and his wife who had traveled to Germany at about the same time, and we met again after a long time in Hanover.
I guess that’s why not many people go to Bremen for sightseeing. Because Japanese people’s vacation is very short, so the efficiency of travel is very important.
The same can be said for northern Germany in general. However, I have heard that there are many people who realize the charm of this area through living in Germany and Europe.
However, we are a car, so it is no problem as long as we stay dry a little longer. As we were traveling in the morning, we could arrive at Bremen smoothly without any traffic troubles. We found a parking space in the public parking lot in the basement of Radison (a chain hotel), which is a little far from the central square, and started sightseeing.
Beautiful Marktplatz
Bremen is a big city, but when it comes to sightseeing, the only place to see is around the Marktplatz in the old town. So, it is not so big for sightseeing.
So, Marktplatz, here we come. We walked to this place because it was a little far from the parking lot. The alley surrounded by the buildings of the old town made of red curtain was very nice. This is the color and atmosphere when you think of North Germany, especially the Hanseatic League related towns.
We visited some landmarks. First is the City Hall.
And there is a statue of the Bremen Musicians next to the Town Hall. It’s a very famous fairy tale, and many tourists came and went to take pictures.
And the Church of Our Lady. Anyway, it’s expensive.
We were also able to go inside.
By the way, the symbol of this city is the statue of Roland, which is said to be the symbol of freedom in Bremen, but I had no idea where it was.
However, when I sorted through the photos later, I found them everywhere lol.
Kimi, I didn’t know you were in this place. The square was so crowded with stalls and stuff that I didn’t notice it at all.
It looked like there was a Bundesliga game on.
I thought there was a festival because there were so many people in the square and it was so lively, but it turned out to be the Bundesliga. There is a match between Bremen and Borussia Dortmund in the afternoon.
But still, there is an overwhelming number of Dortmund supporters wearing yellow replica uniforms. Sure, Dortmund is close from here, but what do you mean that you hardly see too many green local Bremen supporters?
By the way, I got tangled up with a Dortmund supporter when I was eating burst at a stall. I chanted « Kah-gah-wah-sin-zee » and got tangled up with them.
Kagawa seems to be very popular. The number of Japanese supporters has increased a lot recently. By the way, Borussia Dortmund is one of the best clubs in Bundesliga, and I have heard that their fan club is one of the biggest in the world. I wonder if that’s why they have so many supporters even in away games.
Afterwards, we did some light shopping in the commercial district just off the square. We stayed for only about two hours, but we enjoyed the beautiful city and lively Bremen.
次は2時間以上かけてこの日の宿泊地を目指します。ここで両親たちと合流予定です。(続く)
