Being Tourist in your Hometown

 I might get around to filling in the blanks of the last many empty months of this blog, but I thought I'd just start to do this again. I like it, I like looking back and enjoying our little adventures a second time, but I have intimidated myself with the non-documented time.  So it is.  Or as Annie Hall would say, La-ti-da.

Weeks and weeks ago, our dear friend Ursel asked for our support since an old friend from her US high school exchange was coming, with wife, to visit Europe and especially Germany and wanted to see her - and Bremen!  Great!! We planned a lovely weekend of sightseeing and meals that featured Bremen specialties. Werner and I would be the tour guides for the city (we've done that once or ten times!) but Ursel also booked a guided tour, in English, of our lovely and World-Heritage-Site designated Town Hall (Rathaus).  

For reasons that still make no sense, the American travelers cancelled in mid-trip. But, I said, I still want to do the tour!  And so we did.  Since the Americans were not there, we certainly could have done it in German (as we filled our dance card with another local couple), but there was also a pair from Azerbaijan who could understand English better than German, so, English it was! Also, it was a much smaller group than the German tour, so we could really interact with each other. Fun. 

This is our Town Hall (Rathaus), built in the very early 16th c. and somehow spared from the bajillion of bombs that fell on Bremen during WWII.

But this tour was about the inside, not the outside. 

We started in the addition, still old at just over100 years old.  What do I notice first? The whale jaw bones hanging from the ceiling.

Bremen was a starting point for whale hunters, actually right from our little harbor here in Vegesack, so we're pretty familiar with this motif so associated with our state. 

First, we went into the reception room where the high and mighty are greeted. 

I always note the floors.  They are of course always wood, always in interesting patterns. This is the new one - 100+ years old.

Then we went into the grand hall of the Rathaus.  Werner and I have been there before, once for a concert, once for the investiture of our friend as the Chief Judge of the Civil Court. But this time we got more info and could look around more.

Hard to say what I notice first, but certainly among the first is the intricate carved wood.  This staircase, ancient oak, has more detail than I know or could describe.  Some of the figures represent the 7 virtues and are on the inner side, therefore harder to manage on the stairs. The outer side is graced with a sculpture of the devil. because of course, he leads you astray on the easier (wider) path. 

Nasty little guy!

Another floor, this one from 1515 or so. 

There are replicas of wonderful old ships hanging from the ceiling since of course Bremen's success is so closely tied to the water.

A much smaller room off the grand hall is called the Golden Room.  It was decorated much later by one of the Worpsweder artists, Heinrich Vogeler. If you are getting married and want to have your wedding photos shot there, put out about 400€ and you can have a nice memento of your wedding. It is a lovely room with all the Art Deco elements. 

After our tour (guided in English by a Swedish transplant !) we had a lovely mid-day meal with our friends. What a treat!!

Then, the ride home - on our bikes. It was such a lovely day.  I don't know when I have seen the air so clear! Everything looked so close. 

What a wonderful day!