Welcome, June! Welcome good weather! The sun has finally graced us with his constant presence and we couldn’t be happier. Sadly, finals are coming, but at least I’ll be able to study in the garden. But that’s a problem for another day. For now, let us focus on the second part of our little weekend trip.

Bremen

Bremen was the third stop in our short route. It is a nice city in northwest Germany, known by its Old Town (Altstadt), its Marketplace, its Cathedral and its music groups, although I’ve heard those play like animals.

Bremen has the second largest port in Germany; the first one is in Hamburg.

If you don’t really remember the story of The Bremen Town Musicians, you can read it here. The tale was published, as were most of the best-known fairy tales, to the Brothers Grimm. I know they are famous mainly because of their fairy tale collection, but they also were academics, cultural researchers, lexicographers and linguists. They are basically the founders of German philology.

You may have noticed that the donkey’s legs are shinier than the rest of the statue. That’s because it is said that rubbing them brings good luck.

And so we made it to Schlachte, Bremen’s medieval harbor. It is a wonderful promenade full of pubs, bars and restaurants where we could sit for a while and enjoy Germany’s greatest invention: The Invention of the Curry Sausage.

Well, we didn’t actually order a curry sausage, but it was a sausage and it was great. Honestly, I do believe that the Bratwurst and the bread are the best things this country has given to the world.

Bremen is not a very big place. At least not the historical part of it, so after a few hours we found ourselves sitting on a bench thinking about our next move. We were still considering our options when we got a recommendation.

«Go to the Schnoor.»

And just like the musicians, we jumped into the idea without even thinking about it. Funny thing, though, the Bremen Town Musicians never made it to Bremen.

As it turned out, Schnoor is the medieval neighborhood of Bremen. It is the oldest, prettiest part of town and it still keeps that medieval style. Some if its buildings are from the 15th and 16th century. It was a tight place, but absolutely charming.

In one of its corners we found and old empty building and I could picture myself opening my beloved café there. Maybe some day, my wallet whispered.

By the end of the day, we decided we would have a coffee or an ice cream at the windmill café. The view was beautiful, the weather amazing and the service… well, we couldn’t ask too much.

If anyone’s wandering around in north Germany, Bremen’s totally worth it.