I visited Bremen last Friday for the first time.  While walking around the city I thought about all the things I could write about and bring back to you here.  What I found interesting or obscure or just plain of note.  Yet now that I write this article I really don’t know what to put down.  I think seeing the sites somewhere is a visual component and I know my limitations.  No matter how descriptive of Bremen I am, my words could not do justice to what I experienced.  That goes from almost any city I have visited in Germany.

But, I will give it a try anyway.

We spent a little time walking around the downtown and Schnoor areas of Bremen.  Not enough time to delve deeply into the sights, but enough to get a feel for the city.  Most of our energy was spent exploring the shops in the Schnoor, but there were many other sites I would like to visit again.

Dom St Petri (Cathedral of St Peter)

The Dom is an immense structure situated just off the main city square.  We walked inside and wandered around the isles for a little bit.  Cathedrals are like finger prints.  Every major city has one and (in central Europe) they are all build basically in the same fashion.  Yet, each has their own characteristics and features which make them unique and interesting.  If I had time I would love to travel around documenting every Dom in Germany.  I am sure there is already a book dictated to that, but the experience would be well worth the effort.

Scaffolding covered much of the outside.  I wasn’t sure if they were renovating the facade or just advertising some upcoming event.  Most of the inside also was a construction zone.  One entire side isle contained stacks of wooden pallets while the other contained dozens of large colorful blocks in shades of blue, pink, and yellow.  I wish I had taken a picture inside, but sometimes people don’t appreciate it when you snap photographs inside.  I need to meet some German photographers and ask what and when it is ok to snap pictures.  If I had taken some shots it would be easier to describe the immense size of the interior.  I have been into the Cologne Dom and St. Petri seems almost as big and much more colorful.

After we got home I read that the Dom is over 1200 years old.  That means in 810 a building existed where the church stands now.  I find that amazing, that civilization can settle down in one spot for so long and build something which symbolizes those people.  I often wish I had a portal into the past so I could see exactly what places looked like over time.  See how they have changed and what has grown up and fallen down around places.

Note: If you are interested in Cathedrals I suggest reading Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth and the sequel World Without End.  Even if you aren’t interested in Cathedrals I suggest picking up the books.  You will not regret it.

Schnoor

The Schnoor area of Bremen is a collection of houses and shops connected by small twisting lanes.  We walked around the streets for a while wandering into the various shops and down the meandering paths.  At first I thought we would become lost since the streets turn into twisting walking paths rather quickly.  Fortunately everything seemed connected together and getting around turned into a fun adventure.  With a surprise around the next corner.  The Schnoor mostly consisted of small souvenirs shops.  We went from chocolate shop to African accessories to shops selling only pretty stones.  We also found a shops dedicated to tin signs and other such items to Christmas and another to wooden figures like nutcrackers and snowman.

This is a typical theme with me, but what I found most interesting was what I  believed is a house dated to 738. Standing beside it was another building with 1402 written over the door.  That seems like a long time for something to be standing there.  Yet if the age of the Dom is any indication it doesn’t seem impossible.  Perhaps someday when I speak more German I can actually ask building owners about this.  History is such an amazing teacher.

Town Musicians of Bremen

When Anni and I went to Chicago she found this podcast that was an audio tour for the city.  It used landmarks to help orientate the listener before walking them around an area.  One of their starting locations was at the bronze bull in front of the Chicago Cultural Center.  We both had this visit that the bronze bull was huge.  Or at least visible from the street as you drove past.  It turned out the statue was smaller that a real cow.  I had the same feeling about the Town Musicians of Bremen statue.  I was expecting this huge bronze monument that would stand out for anyone who passed near by.  We walked all around the city square several times without noticing it.  It wasn’t until we were getting read to leave that we realized we had completely missed it.  I’m told it is one of the cities most famous landmarks.  The Town Musicians of Bremen is based upon a folktale recorded by the Brothers Grimm.