Views of Bremen

Taking photos on the trip to Bremen was kind of a challenge. It was a bright and sunny day but the sun was at a difficult angle making long and deep shadows. Things would have photographed better on a grey day and I'm sure to have plenty of those later on in northern Germany. At the top is a photograph of the central square. Lots of people and streetcars add to a great atmosphere here. Off to the left of the top photo a couple small and narrow streets lead down to the river where boats would sail to the ocean and other cities during Hanseatic times. In the nineteenth century the river began to silt up and the harbor was moved down river and the city of Bremerhaven was founded.

In the middle photo is the Rathaus or city hall of Bremen. During the cold war, Bremen was American territory in the midst of the British occupation zone. The US needed a port for its activities and chose Bremen. Our tour guide, Jurgen, noted that although he is often opposed to President Bush's foreign policies, Bremen was very pleased to have been part of the American occupation since the Americans had money to spend and were very generous. He noted that a lot of American private money went into recontruction of central Bremen.

At the bottom is Jurgen pointing to mosaics on the wall of the crypt on one of the old churches in Bremen, a city that was important during the middle ages as the seat of a bishop..