Wir gehen nach Bremen!

One of the most mentioned German cities during my high school German days was Bremen, a harbor city in the northern part of the country. Last month, I finally got the chance to see the city for myself. During most of my time there, I kept hearing the phrase "Wir gehen nach Bremen!" (We're going to Bremen!) repeated in the voice of one of my high school valedictorians - he played the donkey in the Grimm brothers' story "Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten" (The Bremen City Musicians), which documents the antics of musically-inclined animals. Although my friends, E and S, and I did not run into any musical animals, we saw plenty of statues and merchandise highlighting the city's relationship with the story.

Since E and S have traveled to Bonn so many times (and they are coming again this weekend for my birthday party!), I prioritized a trip up north to see them and have some good girl time and tourist time. In addition to wandering through the streets of Bremen, mostly in the rain and snow, because the sun doesn't exist in Bremen, we also visited several nice restaurants, took a tour of Beck's brewery, danced the night away at an awesome discothek, and hosted a Mexican food evening with some locals. Enjoy the photos!

Friday night we had dinner at the Ratskeller, or the basement of the town hall. We had our own little booth, and the food was delicious!

S and E at Ratskeller!

Somehow this dessert was a type of lasagna? More exactly, it was a thinly sliced piece of fruitcake with chocolate mousse on top - yum!

Friday night/Saturday morning we spent at Modernes, an awesome disco in Bremen Neustadt.  I loved the atmosphere - the space is an old theater, renovated to accommodate lots of dancing people! We were there for 90's night, which was hilarious! We all jumped around like crazy people to songs by BSB and N'Sync, Spears and Spice Girls!

Me and the Bremer Stadtmusikanten!

City protector Roland and myself! We were both freezing!

Part of the city center, old-style architecture!

The Bremen Rathaus and part of one of the churches on the square.

Another take on the Bremer Stadtmusikanten.

E and I sporting our safety vests for the Beck's tour.

The beer tasting - the real reason many people go on the tour!

They gave us three beers to try, so things got pretty silly pretty fast-like!

Sunday night we had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. We sat on pillows in sand! And we ate with our hands! The food was tasty too!

Last photo from my Bremen adventure!