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City Visit: To Bremen for Lunch, Germany

After a few days in Hannover, it was time for something different. After MrsWT73’s late wake up after a lengthy work dinner and evening socializing / networking, we hit the road at a leisurely noon. We checked out of the Novotel and put all the bags in the trunk of the Audi.

The Route and Getting there:

We headed north on the A7 towards Bremen. Thanks to the German GPS in the Audi, we had no issues finding our way.

Bremen is a northern German town that is most famous for the Grimm’s folk tale of 4 animals that were about to be put out to pasture. The four decide to run away and head for Bremen to make music for the rest of their lives. On their way, they decide to stay the night at a farm house where they are confronted by robbers. They make collective animal noises and scare off the robbers. They end up staying at the farm for the rest of their lives “where you’ll probably find them to this day”.

We settled into the Autobahn at a comfortable 145 – 150 km/h.

Christmas Markets in Bremen and the Alstat:

After about 90 minutes, we pulled into Bremen eventually parking downtown at a garage in the Alstat. We were immediately out of the garage into a pedestrian market.

Our first sight was our 4th Christmas market in the Alstat of Bremen. It was in the streets surrounding the square.

The Markt is Bremen’s UNESCO Work heritage protected square. The square was full of Christmas market vendors. It was well done, quaint and authentic.

We were feeling a little snacky so we had a Leibstracter pork sandwich that was barbequed over open flame.

There was a very popular statute of the Town Musicians of Bremen with the rooster on top of the cat, on top of the dog on the shoudlers of the donkey. This required the obligatory self portrait.

I took a look at Dom St Peitre, which is Bremen’s protestant church with origins in the 8thCentury. The church is in the middle of the square and has an imposing look to it thanks to it’s massive size and scale compared to the other buildings near the Markt.

From the market, we happened onto the Böttcherstrasse. The Böttcherstrasse is an alley of red brick artisanal shops. The entry has a golden Lichtbringer (bringer of light) designed by Bernhard Hoetger.

The Schlachte Waterfront:

We then wandered up towards the Schlachte, which was a waterfront walkway. Today’s visit seemed to coincide with a medieval festival turned Christmas village #5. It was a somewhat strange setting, but otherwise an entertaining diversion from the old school Christmas Market.

We took a wander through the shops and MrsWT73 settled on a Glühwein in the shape of a ski boot. The sun started to set as always, making for a more intimate setting. Even the Glühwein stalls are themed; this one had polar bears looking over top.

There were even barrel rooms for those that weren’t into the cooler outdoor temperatures.

Bremen Christmas Markets after dusk:

After the festivus at Schlachte, we headed back to the Markt area. The Christmas Market was in full swing and we took a last look at the lights before we left to head home

We walked the market past the 4 animals towards our car. Christmas markets are pretty spectacular at night. It would be hard not to be excited for Christmas after visiting a market such as this.

Bremen was an absolutely enjoyable day visit. The Christmas market made the visit even more special.

A side visit to Celle:

We hopped in the Audi and headed back towards Hannover. MrsWT73 hadn’t seen Celle thanks to her work commitments, so we took a little detour by the city on the way back so that she could see it. It was about zero degrees when we were out and about in Celle; very cold.

I had a terrific pork roast with coleslaw and baguette for dinner, as served from one of the stalls.

Conclusion:

All in, it was a terrific day of Christmas markets along with a spin along the autobahn in a beautiful car. It was an opportunity to see areas that we wouldn’t normally have traveled through in our exploration of Germany.