Mein zweiter Versuch in Bremen

This trip to Bremen wasn’t my first. I came here in 2019 and also went to Hamburg. I haven’t posted about that trip as it was ruined by someone I thought was a friend.

I’m not going to go into detail about it but I decided enough time had passed that I wanted to do the trip again – so this is that trip. A 2019 do-over.

This trip is the last one where I will have to stay at the airport overnight too. National Express have resumed coaches from Peterborough to Stansted Airport. The coach leaves at 03:05 and gets to Stansted at 04:45 – this will usually give me enough time for flights that depart from 07:00 onwards. Actually, I may have to do the last train the night before if the flight leaves pre 07:00. This flight left at 05:55 so I wouldn’t have had enough time had I got the coach.

The night was uneventful and quite boring. I was restless though. I just wanted security to open so I could go through to the departure lounge and just wait. I finally got to depart from a different gate this time round. We had to get a bus to the plane. I was just glad to be on and heading out. This was a nice and short flight. It was just under an hour so I was getting to Bremen quite early and this would give me the whole day that I landed to do some touristy stuff.

I was near the front on this flight and I had an aisle seat which meant I could just get off quicker than usual. Turned out well since I needed to relieve myself.

Bremen

Bremen Art Walk

Day 1

I finally got out of the airport by about 10. One of the things I like about Bremen is that you can get a tram from the airport to pretty much anywhere in the city. I love when cities think of this and make the airport and city accessible without having to change a thousand times to get where you want. Bravo, Bremen.
I knew I had to go to Hauptbahnhof as the hostel was close to it. I checked and the tram went to the city centre and then to the central railway station so that was a win for me.
I got off and the train station and had a quick look at the map and found where I needed to go. What I didn’t realise was the way I went was the long way around. Oh well, all in the name of steps and miles… right. It turns out had I just walked straight back after I had gotten off the tram I would have walked for about 90 seconds rather than the 7 minutes I did. I call this scouting out where to go for the rest of the trip. Ha.
I got to the hostel and said I knew I was early but was there any way they had the bed ready as I was shattered. I had finished work the evening before and didn’t really get any sleep before I left for the airport and didn’t really get any sleep at the airport. Anyway, I digress. They looked and said that the bed wasn’t free and that if I came back at 14:30 or guaranteed by fifteen o’clock (yep, they said it like this). They allowed me to leave my luggage and I then headed out for a quick walk around and then to the tram.
I found a park and one of the statues caught my eye – it was a guy that was pushing a trolley. I thought someone had put the trolley there but when I looked it was bolted to the ground. I also saw a #MOIN piece. Apparently, they use Moin in Bremen and Hamburg as a hello. I didn’t recall seeing this last time I was here and I had a little walk around and didn’t recall any of it. I thought for sure if I had been to this part of the city before I would recognise it. As I didn’t recognise it I was almost certain I hadn’t seen it back in 2019.
I hopped on the first tram that came and was looking out to see if I could see anything that caught my eye. Something did so I got off and had a look around. I then waited for the next tram and got on and just sat on that until the end of the line. This is how tired I was: I fell asleep a couple of times on the journey. I don’t think it was more than 40 minutes in total from when I got on until the end of the line. I got off and there was a train station and some fields. I didn’t recognise any of this either.
By this time, I was super tired and hungry so I decided I would head back to the hostel and it would get me there for around 14:15 so I thought by this time the bed might be ready.
On my way back I did a little more walking around and happened upon a tram and bus stop that was named after me!
I then jumped on the tram (I was too tired to walk) and headed back to the hostel to see if I could check-in. I got there around 14:00 and they said the bed still wasn’t ready. They had a look and found another bed for me and checked me in. I went and got my luggage and went to the room only to find that the bed hadn’t yet been made up. I went and let reception know and they said they’d get housekeeping on it and I could wait there for about 10 minutes. I asked for the nearest McDonald’s and went and had food. It was expensive man. €10 for a 6-nugget meal. I’m not sure if the prices were inflated because it was at the train station. I wasn’t impressed. I finished the food and went to the hostel to go to the room.
The bed still hadn’t been made up so I went back down and told reception. They were very apologetic and said that housekeeping said someone had already claimed the bed even though they shouldn’t have. They had me wait whilst they looked for another bed in another dorm. After about 10 minutes they said they were upgrading me to a private room. They didn’t have to but it was very welcome as I was super tired. They gave me the room key and I asked if it looked out over the railway and the station and they said it did and asked if it was an issue. I told them it was the perfect room and there wasn’t any problem at all. I got my luggage from the old room and went and had a nap for a couple of hours and then had a shower and headed back out.
I got the tram from the main station and decided to go to the end of the line and just look for places that I might want to go and see again. I found a couple of places so decided that on the way back to the hostel I would get off the tram and get off and have a look around. I found a place right by the river and there were some boat races going on. I didn’t hang around here too much as it was too people-y for me. I got back on the tram and went to the market square and just had a wander around there to see if anything looked familiar. A couple of things did. I found the statue for the Town Musicians of Bremen (you can read about that here). I remember seeing it back in 2019 but I must have approached it from a different route as I didn’t remember it being where it was.
I carried on walking around the square. I noticed a lot of Ukranian flags too which was cool. After I was done walking around here I went for another tram ride to see where that went and then headed back to the square to look around some more. I got some food and went to the Schnoor area and just sat there enjoying the peace and the sounds of the trams and just relaxed before heading back to the hostel.
One thing I noticed on the way back was a level crossing. I decided to walk to it to see how busy it was. It was fairly busy even at 21:00. I enjoyed just standing there watching the trains go by. I made a mental note to go back there sometime and just watch the trains go by. I loved how close the hostel was to the railway. The sounds of the trains helped me sleep.
I got back to the hostel and had a look at some of the leaflets they had and I found one that was an art and sculpture tour so I picked it up and had a look at it and decided that I wanted to do it and that since a Sunday is less busy I would just do it then. The trams are generally only every 20 minutes so it was a perfect time to do it.
I looked at some of the pictures from 2019 and it turns out some of the stuff that was unfamiliar I had seen back in 2019. I think it was a good thing that I didn’t remember as it made this trip a fresh trip.
All in all, today was a good day and I enjoyed the tram rides and being this close to the station and railway.
Total steps: 21,249
Total miles: 10.61
Below are some pics from today
Day 2

Today was the day for doing the art and sculpture tour. I will add the leaflet that shows the map and the pieces to look out for. You can also see the locations in the map above for the Bremen Art Tour. I had a bit of a lie-in and left at about 11:00. I had gotten my food the night before as the supermarkets don’t open on a Sunday in Germany. Inconvenient but I can understand why.
I found a convenience store so I could get something to drink and I was stopped by a guy canvassing for people to vote. I told him I wasn’t from Germany and we just had a chat about the elections back home and then I went on my merry way.
The art and sculpture tour had 26 pieces to look out for and it took you across the main downtown area of the city. They said it was 6km in length. I think the way I did it was a little longer as I would see something out the corner of my eye and look at that and then get back on the path of the tour. Most of the tour was unfamiliar as I knew I hadn’t done it in 2019. There were only a couple of stops that were familiar to me: the Theatreplatz area and the boats on the river.
Aside from the three or four times I deviated off the path, it took me around 5 hours to do this. I could have done it quicker had I only looked out for what was in the leaflet. It was really nice to walk around and see all sorts of different artworks and sculptures. 2019 Chris would never have done this. I am actually quite proud of how far I walk these days.
Art Walking Tour:
  Map  (665kb)
  Pieces 1 – 15  (441kb)
  Pieces 16 – 26  (478kb)
I have put the pieces from the leaflet into the gallery below.

Once I had found all the pieces, I decided to stop for a recharge for me and to recharge my phone. Once my brew was done, I headed back to the market square and decided I would walk back to the hostel but find a different way. I had an idea of where I wanted to go and just headed in that general direction. Bremen looks like a big city on the map but it really isn’t.
I dropped some stuff off at the hostel and then I wanted to go sit in the train station for a while until it was time to speak to my friend. I didn’t end up doing this. I just carried on walking through the station and came to Nelson Mandela Park and there was a cool brick elephant statue there. It was cool to see.
Once I was done here, I headed back to the hostel via McDonald’s. I then decided I wanted to go back to where I had seen one of the pieces of art because it showed it as lit up in the picture and I figured it was getting dark so it would be lit up too. It wasn’t. Grrr. Oh well! Think of the steps, fatty!
I got back and chatted with my friend for a couple of hours or so and then I went to bed.
Total steps: 21,712
Total miles: 10.31
Below are some pics from today
Day 3
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do today. I decided that I would probably just do some tram surfing and see where my feet took me. I wanted to go on the route that was on the other side of the station so I did just that. It turns out it was only 2 stops after the main station and only ran every 20 minutes. I got so confused once I was at the end though. It seemed like I was far away from the station.
I saw a lake and some gardens so I headed to that to walk around and realised once I had walked down one side of the lake, the path round to the other side was closed off. No big deal. I like walking so just walked back to the tram stop and saw that I still had 15 minutes to wait for it so I decided to head back in the direction of the station. It turns out I wasn’t a huge distance away and it was only a few minutes. I was so confused. Ha. It doesn’t take much.
I got on a tram and went in a direction I hadn’t gone before and decided to just go to the end of the line. I was starting to feel sick so needed to find a bathroom so I could be sick. Luckily at the end of the line, there was a shopping centre and I found a toilet there. Man, they charge everywhere for toilets here in Germany. Luckily they let me use it. I didn’t have any money on me so I was grateful they did.
As I was riding out to the end of the line I did see a couple of places that I thought would be good for pictures so I decided I would head back and get off where I had seen the picture spot and walk around until the next tram was due.
I got the tram and went back to the hostel to pick up some meds and then headed back out on the tram. I got the tram to the university as the hostel said there was a park area there called Universum that I should check out. It was ok, but not my thing so I then headed back and decided to get off where I had seen some cool houses and just decided that I would walk back to the area of the main train station and just see how far my legs could carry me. It was nice and warm (too warm for me like) and it was nice to just walk in it. I found a garage that had some nice cold drinks and a bathroom (I was feeling sick again). I carried on walking back towards the main station and the houses on this street were pretty cool. It turns out, my legs were able to carry me 2 miles on that walk. I found a piece of street art that I took a picture of and there was a person there. They asked me if I spoke German and if I understood what the plaque said. I said I didn’t and that I would translate it when I got back to my accommodation.
I got to the main station and jumped on another tram in a different direction. As I was doing so, I came across a square that had some statues in it. I wanted to see them so I got off at the next stop. As I did, I noticed a white tower in front of me. I had seen this from the hostel but had no idea what it was so it was good I was right there. It was the TV tower. I got the obligatory pics (see below) and then went to the square with the statues in and got some of those and had a wander around this area before heading back to the tram.
I got the tram right to the end of the line and as I was doing so I came across a Kaufland supermarket. I knew they would have cheap drinks and cheap chocolate to bring back so I stopped off and got them and then headed back on the tram to drop them off at the hostel and then go to the level crossing and see what was in that area and take some pictures and videos of the trains. I was in my element I will add too!
As I was taking them, a guy started talking to me in German and I had to tell him I didn’t understand. I chatted with him for about 20 minutes about how German efficiency really isn’t and how back home things aren’t the best either. He said that the area I was in was the left-wing, hipster area. I knew it definitely wasn’t right-wing from all the artwork on the buildings. It was cool to chat to him.
At the time he spoke to me, I had already been there for about an hour. I stayed for another 40 minutes after. When I tell you I was in my element, I really was. I loved it. I would sit down when the barriers were up and then get up ready to record as soon as they went down. There were a couple of times the drivers sounded the horn and it did make me jump. Haha. Luckily everyone was crossing the railway at the road so I had very few distractions.
I decided by 23:15 I should probably go to bed and also have my pictures and videos uploaded so I had some space to do it all again tomorrow night.
You can see the train videos from both nights below
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Total steps: 16,804
Total miles: 8.23
Below are some pics from today
Day 4
As today was my last full day here, I decided that I would try and just sweep up and see things I wanted to but didn’t yet have a chance to see.

I got myself a day ticket for the tram and decided I would go on a route I hadn’t been on before and go as far as I could. As I was doing so, I was keeping my eyes peeled for places to go back and see. Once I got off at the end of the line, I got back on and went back to one of the places I had seen and decided that I would just walk as far as my legs would take me. They took me just over a mile this time. I have realised that I miss so much if I just get the tram between places. I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t do this and I would walk between stops as I didn’t want to miss anything. It is a good way to do it as you get to see quirky stuff (like in the pic below)

One of the places I stopped at was a small church with a graveyard. I like to look at the different gravestones and how the graves are kept. This one was pretty cool and well-kept (pic below).

I headed back towards the hostel to get some money from the ATM as I had seen a shop that sold flags and I really wanted an EU one. I also wanted to see if they had any that I still hadn’t gotten. I managed the EU and US flags only. They didn’t have any others. I got them and then jumped back on the tram to go see some cool buildings and churches that I hadn’t seen yet – part of the sweep-up.

I was starting to get tired at this point so I just jumped on the tram and went to an area that had several trams terminate there and I wanted to get some tram videos too. I did exactly that and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I decided to get the tram back to the main station so I could get a tram back out the other way and go to the sticks. I was told that the Lilienthal area was pretty cool to see. It really was. I got off and did some walking back in the direction I came as there were some pretty cool shots to be had. I thoroughly enjoyed being out this way. There was the odd car. The sound of water flowing and the trams coming and going was pretty cool. I could have sat there all evening but I was getting hungry and tired and wanted to do some more train and tram spotting before I had to go to sleep.

I stopped and got myself a box of 20 nuggets and headed back to the hostel. I looked out and there were people standing where I wanted to watch the trains. I sat in the room and just watched out the window for about 40 minutes and then headed out as they had gone.

I was happily taking my pictures and videos and I heard drums being played. I don’t know what they were playing but it wasn’t anything that was pleasing to the ears.

As I was taking one video, I felt something tap my back but didn’t turn round as I was recording and they wouldn’t have been able to cross anyway because of the train. After the train had gone, it turns out it was cops going onto the railway as there were trespassers. I moved to let them on and waited for the next train.

It started to rain at this point and I was deciding whether just to head back for the night or wait it out (it wasn’t really heavy rain so it wasn’t too bad). I waited it out for another hour and then decided to go and get some tram videos before heading to bed for the night. Luckily the flight wasn’t at an early time tomorrow so I had time to sleep in should I need to.

Below are the tram videos I took on this trip
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Total steps: 18,901

Total miles: 9.24

Below are some pics from today

Today I checked out right at 11:00 and just decided to get some food and head straight to the airport. I only had like 3 hours between checking out and flying so I wasn’t too fussed about doing anything else.

The flight back was nice and short again, just over an hour. I landed and got through the border in about 20 minutes. I was just rushing past people as I don’t people very well and just wanted across the border and go sit and wait for the train. I had just under 2 hours to wait for the train so I settled into the waiting room and had food and drink.

I got back to Peterborough and home 40 minutes before my shift started. Talk about cutting it fine! I wouldn’t do it any other way though.

All in all, Bremen was a fantastic trip and I would recommend visiting!

Total steps: 86,258

Total miles: 42.25

View all of my Bremen pics here

chris | Sunday May 14th 2023 | Travel| Bremen, Europe, Germeny, Lilienthal, Train, Tram, Travel | 0 Comments

Bremen

Bremen Art Walk

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