Bremen, Germany

Day 23:

We lucked out again (as we knock on every accessible wood surface) with the weather on the way to the train station. A light drizzle was actually quite refreshing, plus Danielle got to use her sweet moose scarf from Norway. When we made the reservation for the train a couple days ago, the man at the window recommended that we go first class. And he was right! We had wide, lumbar-supporting seats in a section with only 6 seats *read: no screaming children* A 5 hour ride to Hamburg isn't bad when you're comfortable. What we weren't expecting was the train to board a ferry to travel between Denmark and Germany. That was a pretty neat experience. We had to get off the train while crossing, which gave us a chance to get some fresh air and stretch our legs. Then from Hamburg to Bremen, we had a proper coupé that we shared with an old German couple.

Feeling pretty fancy arriving to the station, we decided to walk past the famous Park Hotel into Der Bürgerpark. It had to be over a square mile of wild grasses and oak trees, with streams and walking paths passing through. We sat on a bench there and relaxed for probably an hour before moving on to our next airbnb. Which, side note, we have LOVED using! Our host is an alternative medicine healer in a 100 year old house. We were greeted with a friendly tour and hazelnut chocolates on our pillows. We were so excited!

Since we're in a less touristy city, we figured we'd go out to the most obnoxiously traditional German restaurant. Based almost solely on the name, we ended up going to Edel Weiss. There was a pretzel tree inside, so suffice it to say we were not disappointed. Danielle got about 3 pounds of porkschnitzel on fries, mushrooms, and bacon, and Jason got white asparagus with porkschnitzel, potatoes, and hollandaise. One of, if not THE, best meal we have ever had at a restaurant. Apparently we tipped well, because our waitress said "one moment" and brought us shots of apfel schnapps after we paid. We didn't complain.

Danielle noticed a sign that said there was a bier fest in Bremen that just so happened to be from May 26-28. What a happy coincidence. After listening to an Australian band at the train station for a little bit, we wandered to the city center, following the music. Dozens of beer tents were out (including Stone Berlin!) and a German country music band was playing. We were able to try beer from a Bremen-based brewery that we really enjoyed!

It may not be at the top of the travel list for most people, but 2 days may not be enough here for us.Read more