Trip to Bremen

Bremen is a beautiful city just north of Vechta. I flew into Bremen when I first arrived here. Casey, Christoffer, and I took a day trip! The weather was perfect, and the city was incredible. It was just like all the pictures I had seen of the old European city with ancient churches, buildings, and streets. We went into St. Peitri's Church. It was huge! There were little rooms off of little rooms, the woodworking on the ceiling, walls and staircases was so intricate. There was grave stones inside the church. There were also several organs. Some where high on the walls behind the different alters and some where free standings. Everything was so old but beautifully preserved!

We also saw the Statue of Rolland. He is a the protector of the people of Bremen. If ever there is war again he will come to their rescue. We also saw the famous statue of the four animals from the fairtale, "The Musicians of Bremen." These four animals were a donkey, a cat, a dog and a rooster. They sought a better life for themselves and ended up singing their way through on into Bremen. It is said that it is lucky to rub the feet of the donkey on the statue. There have been so many people that have rubbed the statue that the dark coating of the metal has been rubbed off over the years and has left the donkey's feet gold!!

We walked around for a while and did some shopping. Of course there were some chain stores, but there were many more independently owned shops and boutiques. We had a lovely afternoon lunch on an old pirate ship that was transformed into a pancake house. There is a river that runs through the middle of Bremen. The restaurant floated in the river and several of the shops were right along side the river. It was just a beautiful day filled with lots of interesting culture. I think the pictures do it more justice than my writing!