On my travels - Bremen and Kiel canal

I had no idea what to expect when we visited Bremen. We'd taken a cruise, sailing through the Kiel Canal and Bremen was the first stop. Bremen is on the river Wesser. While many larger ships dock at Bremerhaven, we were able to sail into the port. The city centre was just a few minutes tram car ride away.

 We arrived first at the Marktplatz. Here you can visit the Ratshaus the Ratskeller or just have a coffee and watch the world go by.

Bremen is an enchanting Hanseatic city, with a long history. The architecture flows from the 10th century, through medieval and Germany's 1930s and 1940s to modern day.It's like walking through a living museum

The gilded entrance to Bottcherstrasse.

The Glockenspiel House

Bottcherstrasse (in medieval times was the street of the barrel makers) was transformed in the late 1920s. This became an inspired mixture of Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings. The Glockenspiel House has a carillon of Meissen porcelain bells.

Schnoor

Walking towards the harbour area, we came across Schnoor. This is well preserved lanes of fisherman's houses and now includes artisan shops and art galleries. It's narrow lanes, old buildings and cobbled lanes reminded us of the Shambles in York.

A visit to Bremen has to include at least a photo of the statue of the Town Musicians.

The Town Musicians

This portrays a donkey, dog, cat and a rooster of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

After leaving Bremen we were to sail through the Kiel canal and on to the intriguing and surprisingly lovely city of Warnemunde.  More of that later.