Bremen: “home” to the Grimm brother’s “Town Musicians of Bremen”. I say “home” because the four animals never actually made it to Bremen, but you can’t stand anywhere in Bremen today without being within spitting distance of some sign, statue, or souvenir marked with the iconic organisms. We asked a cute old German couple to take our picture and she thoughtfully informed us that holding onto the ass’s feet with only one hand would actually turn each of us into one, so we should be sure to use both hands. Danke sehr, old lady. Honestly, we were probably doomed either way, because if she was lying we followed her directions explicitly, just like two tourist asses!

We visited Bremen’s Münster as well, but it has already blurred together with the hundred other churches we have seen in the past few years. Except for what’s stored in the basement….mummies! This guy, one of six beneath St. Peter’s Cathedral in Bremen, is a student who presumably died of the wounds inflicted to his arm during a brawl.

No trip to Germany’s oldest brewing town is complete without a tour of Beck’s. I can’t say that either one of us are bigger Beck’s fans now, after having tried it directly from the source, but it was fun to walk around the brewery wearing reflective orange vests!

Unbeknownst to us, Bremen was celebrating a fest-weekend while we were there! The Aldstadt was filled with a Medievalmarkt and directly across from our hotel was the Freimarkt, one of the oldest Volksfests in Germany. The best part about the north? They serve Glühwein before Advent starts! Score!

I’ll never grow tired of drinking Bier and Glühwein at fests amongst old (looking) buildings in quaint Fuβgängerzonen. The Germans do it best!