Bremen (Bremen)

Member Name: Daisy

Product:	Bremen
Date:	16/07/00 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: interesting old town area and not too far to travel

Disadvantages: not enough to entertain you for a whole week

Bremen is a town of contrasts. I was there a few years ago on a training course with work for two weeks. On the outskirts there is a heavily industrialized area that is not particularly attractive. However the centre and especially the old town is full of character. My husband joined me for a weekend while I was in Bremen and we had a wonderful time just walking around the town and we also travelled to Bremerhaven by train where there is a large maritime museum. The old sector of Bremen can be deceiving - some of it is not as old as you might think. A lot of Bremen was destroyed in the war and some of the old town has been reconstructed since. This has been done so well that it was not something that I was aware of until I returned to the UK and was reading a travel guide on the town! Bremen is full of restaurants with a whole range of cuisine and prices. My personal advice would be to avoid the German style places since they seem to specialize in food soaked in grease! Although we tried to practice our ‘O’ level German it was refreshing to know that English menus were available in some of the restaurants that we visited. (some waiters/waitresses seemed put out if you did not at least attempt some German speech). The Rathaus (townhall) in the main square of the town is very impressive and you can actually dine the restaurant inside. If you’re into bargains there is an interesting car boot type fleamarket on the banks of the river on a Sunday. Prices are reasonable but if you’re looking for a beer then don’t expect to get your full pint! My husband was most taken aback at the German style of pouring a beer – complete with half a pint of frothy head!! Also, we were caught out by the strange opening hours for the shops in Bremen (common to most of Germany I’ve since learned). As I mentioned before, my husband flew out to join me for the weekend - when we finally rolled out of bed on the Saturday to go and look for food to ha
ve for a picnic in the local park that afternoon, we were surprised to find most of the shops closing – closing time on a Saturday is 12 to 1 p.m. and no shops are open on Sundays. My advice would be to do your research before visiting anywhere in Germany so as not to be caught out by anything similar. The thing I enjoyed most was sitting in the main square on a warm summers evening enjoying a drink alfresco and people watching along with the relaxed attitude of the locals.

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