Last Friday, we made the three hour trip to Bremen. Right away, Bremen was very different from the parts of Berlin that we had seen. All of the buildings were connected, with decorative store fronts and many, many little alleys. Many of the buildings were made of brick, which I found incredibly beautiful. Everything looked like it came straight out of a storybook. There were a lot of plants too, which made it look especially picturesque and beautiful.
Before we toured the city with our group, we were able to do some exploring of our own. We walked through some alleys full of little shops, restaurants and live music. We found a small group of brass instrumentalists and we swing danced along to them. That, in itself, was one of the most fun things things that I have done. If you had told me even two days ago that I was going to swing dance in a public place to live music, I would not have believed you.
During the group tour, we visited a crypt where bodies of people from a long, long time ago had been naturally preserved. It was super interesting to see how the bodies had not decayed as normal, and how many of the bodies still looked like people, but I do not think that I will readily go back there. Or anywhere where I can look at dead bodies. But it was cool to see once! After that, we took a boat tour, and were able to see Bremen from the water. We passed a bridge, and everyone got super excited because we could see the pin and roller supports for the trusses in the bridge, which is what we had discussed in class a few weeks before. Ah, to go on a boat tour with a bunch of engineering students!
Also on the boat tour, we passed the Kellogg’s factory n Bremen. I went to school in Battle Creek, Michigan, which is where the World Corporate Headquarters for Kellogg’s is located, so I was so excited when I saw the Kellogg’s building here.
After the boat tour, we were able to do some exploring of our own. Hannah, Isaac and I walked around some local shops. We witnessed that some Germans really, really hate small talk, and others really, really like it. We ended up in a little music shop. As we looked around, the owner came out and started asking us questions. We ended up staying for almost 45 minutes, discussing careers, family, politics and music, all in German! She was so sweet, and was very patient with our (very) rough German. That was the best part of the day, hands down. It was so cool to be able to have a real conversation with someone we didn’t know in another language.
We then went to group dinner and had some of the best Schnitzel I’ve ever had. Not that I’ve eaten much Schnitzel, but it was really good.
After dinner, we headed to the train station for what we thought would be a nice ride home. It quickly turned into a pretty chaotic evening, as the train that we were planning on taking was canceled. We were able to get on another train, but it got to the connecting station much later than the original train. When we reached the station in Hamburg, we all got off the train as a mob and sprinted to the station to our next train, which was supposed to leave exactly as our first train arrived. By a miracle, we all made it on the second train, and we all made it home safely.
This was one of my favorite days of the trip so far. I swing danced in public, saw some dead bodies, rode on a boat, saw Kellogg’s, had a conversation with a German, ate some really good food, and got some good exercise by sprinting through a busy train station. Overall, it was a pretty good day, and I am so grateful for all of the things that I have experienced so far. Keep it coming, Germany!