Hello friends. I wanted to share my recent winter trip to Bremen with you. I started my journey in the historic square, then wandered through the fairytale-like Schnoor streets and walked all the way to the riverside. I had an epic shawarma, got lost in chocolate-scented shops, was a bit disappointed with the beer, but getting lost among the colorful houses was worth everything.
The trip starts at the Main Square, home to one of Bremen’s most important cathedrals. There's a special manhole cover here - when you throw in a coin, you hear the sound of one of the Bremen Town Musicians: the rooster, donkey, dog or cat.
Right next to the square is the famous Bremen Town Musicians statue. It's a very popular tourist spot - everyone takes photos here. But just standing near it isn’t enough, to make a wish come true, you have to hold both of the donkey's front legs with both of your hands. I also got to learn more about the Town Musicians here. You know the famous Grimm Brothers tale… A donkey, dog, cat and rooster run away from their owners and set off to become musicians in Bremen. On the way, they find a cottage, but it’s occupied by thieves. They stack on top of each other and make such a loud noise that the thieves run away in fear. They never actually reach Bremen but start living together in that cottage. It’s a fun story that talks about friendship, solidarity and freedom. The tale is present everywhere in Bremen, especially at this iconic statue.
You can get a shawarma here for just 5.50 euros. It’s both cheap and delicious. In Germany, doner is usually served in bread cut open and filled with meat and sauce. But this place serves the real deal. They also offer unlimited tea in the same shop. Normally, tea at a doner place would cost 1-2 euros, but here it’s free and you can drink as much as you like. I paid 5.50 euros for the shawarma, tea was unlimited. I haven’t seen prices this good anywhere in Germany in the last 3 years. These days, shawarma is at least 7 euros everywhere.
Here’s what happened to me at that place: I only had 9 euros in coins, but my order cost 11 euros. I handed over what I had and they said, No worries, bring the rest later. So I went looking for an ATM. Here’s how the banking system works in Germany: if you withdraw money from an ATM that doesn’t belong to your bank, you’re charged a 5 eurosfee. Luckily, I found one from my own bank and brought them the missing 2 euros.
This place is on the main central street, in a lane leading to the square. The staff was super friendly. They only take cash, though. In some places, you’ll see signs saying no card payments under 5 euros, because every card transaction comes with a bank fee. I paid 11 euros here, which is enough for card use, but they didn’t even have a card machine. Still, it didn’t affect their kindness or service quality at all. I wholeheartedly recommend this place. This is basically a heartfelt, unpaid advertisement.
Right next to the square, there’s a big chocolate shop called Hachez. Their chocolates are sold all over Germany. The shop is huge and smells amazing. Their chocolate is really good, better than Milka. Prices are high: one bar is around 3.50 to 3.60 euros. But it’s not as tasty as the Lindt brand.
Just past the square is the entrance to the Schnoor district. This is Bremen’s historic and fairytale-like neighborhood. Every hour, panoramic scenes are shown at the top of a building here. People gather to watch and take pictures.
The streets inside the Schnoor district are also beautiful. There are colorful houses and even the narrowest street in Bremen. I don’t know about the rest of Germany, but it’s definitely one of the narrowest in Bremen. The district is called Schnoor for a reason. Everything here is cute and charming. I couldn’t resist and bought a bag for 5.50 euros. They even gave me a discount. People are very warm and strike up conversations easily. This place is like a toy town.
The original Becks beer brewery is located here too. It says Becks Schnoor outside. But to be honest, I didn’t like the beer they served. I had high expectations and thought it would be something special, but unfortunately, it wasn’t. On top of that, I could only sit at a bar stool even though there were empty tables. The excuse was: This is a restaurant, you can only drink beer at the bar. I had never heard anything so absurd. I’ve had glühwein or beer at many restaurants in Brandenburg before. Those were also proper restaurants and no one ever said anything like that. Plus, those places were pretty classy and expensive. They’re only about 100 meters away from here. So this area is very central and touristy.
By the way, right next to that beer spot is a very narrow passageway leading to an even narrower street. When I stretched my arms out, the walls were nearly palm-width apart! It’s one of the narrowest streets in Germany. Thankfully, I’m slim, otherwise I might’ve gotten stuck. This alley is the narrowest passage of the Schnoor district. And it loops back around to the same beer spot.
Generally, German cities can be divided into two types: fairytale-like and worldly. The worldly ones are cities like Hamburg, Berlin, Hannover and Düsseldorf. The fairytale-like ones are places like Bremen, Lüneburg and Quedlinburg, cities with narrow alleys and old wooden houses. These charming places are perfect for tourists; everything is photogenic and magical. But living in them is a different story… You might feel disconnected from real life. Then, when you return to more modern cities (full of glass and concrete), you feel like you’ve come back to the real world.
Here’s what the Schnoor district map looks like. Bremen’s symbol, the key, is everywhere, even printed on Becks bottles.
The Bremen caramels made in Schnoor are also famous. They make very tasty sweets here. A few years ago, we celebrated Christmas in Bremen and bought these candies. They were amazing.
There’s a traditional sailor’s greeting written here too. People still greet this way: Moin, Ahoi or the classic Hallo, Guten Tag.
This is the Bremen riverside on the Weser River. There was a ship at the shore and inside it, there was a beer restaurant. When I saw it, I immediately thought of Bremen’s deep-rooted maritime past. For centuries, this place has been the beating heart of trade as a port city. The ships swaying on the calm river whispered the old soul of the city. As the saying goes, a city’s true character is revealed in its harbor - and that’s definitely true for Bremen. Even among modern buildings, feeling that salty breeze of history was a real joy.
Also, the Becks beer factory itself is located right here, on the banks of the Weser River.
There’s a statue here dedicated to the Moin greeting. In Northern Germany (like Hamburg, Bremen and sometimes even Hannover), this greeting is very common.
And yes, people still toss coins into that famous manhole cover and the voices of the Bremen Town Musicians echo through the square. Bremen really is magical, very special and a city every tourist should visit. Even for just a few days, you feel like you’re part of a fairytale here.
