Bremen and Hamburg: a fairy-tale town, an organ and a tunnel under the Elbe

On August 19, 2024, on our way to Hamburg, we stopped by a town that is famous thanks to a Brothers Grimm fairy tale: Bremen.

Bronze sculpture: a donkey, a dog on it, a cat on the dog, a rooster on top; the pedestal by the brick wall of the town hall, cobblestones — The Town Musicians of Bremen by the town hall

The Brothers Grimm published the fairy tale about the Town Musicians of Bremen in 1819. The funny thing is that its heroes never made it to Bremen: they chased away the robbers and stayed to live in their house.

We went into the Church of Our Lady and then looked at Bremen Cathedral; Leia studied it from her stroller.

Brick Gothic vaults and tall pointed windows with bright blue and red stained glass, below a light stone altar and a carved wooden pulpit — The Church of Our Lady and Bremen Cathedral

A cathedral with two tall towers under green spires at the end of a square, in the foreground Leia in a stroller looking at it — The Church of Our Lady and Bremen Cathedral

We wandered around Bremen and headed on to Hamburg, where we stayed for a couple of days. On the first evening we didn't go out for a walk; we decided to rest, and Leia and I swam in the pool: the hotel had one.

Big and convenient Hamburg

The next day we walked around Hamburg. The city is big, spacious and pleasant, truly European. It's convenient: it would suit even people who find it hard to walk a lot.

A tall clock tower and a long stone facade with a green roof and statues, a wide square and a street lamp in front of it — Hamburg City Hall

We went into the cathedral. Here we finally heard what an organ sounds like, and it turned out to be beautiful. And candles here are placed right in sand rather than on special stands.

The light nave of the cathedral: rows of dark wooden pews, white columns, the altar and stained glass windows in the depth — The cathedral where we heard the organ, and candles in sand

A cross of bricks on the floor, filled with sand and burning tea light candles — The cathedral where we heard the organ, and candles in sand

In general, the architecture of Germany seemed somehow austere to me.

A canal between tall red brick warehouses, at the end a pointed building with turrets on a small island and two little bridges — A canal in the Speicherstadt, the quarter of old warehouses

Also, it seems that German cathedrals differ from other European ones in their elongated, minimalist spires.

A very tall dark Gothic spire above the treetops, a street lamp and cars by the road — Another elongated German spire

One more building looked to us like a philharmonic hall, and so it is: this is the Elbphilharmonie, a concert hall that was built right on top of an old brick warehouse.

A glass building with a wavy roof set on a massive red brick base, a road and cars below — The Elbphilharmonie

Ships and a tunnel under the river

There are ships on the river, and Leia watched them.

A three-masted sailing ship with a dark green hull and a German flag at a pier on the river — Ships on the Elbe

Leia looks at the ships by the waterfront from her stroller

Under this river, the Elbe, runs an old tunnel; it was opened in 1911. The tunnel is 426 meters long and lies 24 meters deep. We walked through it with the stroller.