Day 17: Bremen

This morning, we said goodbye to Hamburg. We really enjoyed our time in Hamburg and were a little bit sad to go. Yet, we were excited for our next adventure, which was only 1 hour away on the train ... Bremen. We checked into our hotel in Bremen and relaxed for a few minutes before we headed out to explore the town.
 Depsite being the smallest city that we have visited, Bremen has some amazing historical buildings. The Rathaus (town hall), built in 1405-1410, with its facade redone in the 17th century created a beautiful backdrop to the Marktplatz (market square).

Directly in front of the Rathaus was the famous statue of Roland, also from the 1400s, and recognizing his support of and protection of fair trade regulations for centuries.

 St. Peter's cathedral was built in the 13th century and forms part of the outline of the Marktplatz. The inside of the church was just as impressive as the outside, with colorful mosaics on the walls and high stone arches.

 









We walked down some incredibly narrow old alleys, among them the Böttcherstraße. The old building facades along with
the signs for the shops truly gave one the feeling of life as it was centuries earlier in Bremen.



We strolled through the area known as the Schnoor quarter - a section of the town where most of the buildings and houses remain as they were originally built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Unlike modern cities with square blocks, the original alleys and pathways created a winding rabbit warren of shops and restaurants.

After a quick view of the Weser river, we made our final stop at the Bremer Stadtmusikanten statue (the Bremen Town Musicians). (Johnny re-read the story of the Bremen Town Musicians in the gift shop of St. Peter's and informed us that the four animals in the story never actually made it to Bremen.)

We had dinner at a great restaurant in the pedestrian area, where we were able to try some Bremen specialties - the Spiegelei and the Schweinfiletmedaillen. It was a delicious meal in a restaurant filled with local culture.