Bremen

Reunited with the Thomas sisters and my first time meeting Mama Thomas! What a welcome to Germany as Mama Thomas prepared dosas and pork curry for breakfast - globalization at its best!





After napping and waiting for Tresa to come home from her part-time job, we headed out for Bremen city center. Here’s a picture of Mary Ann peering out from the “passive house”, that is very environmentally conscious.



We took the tram into the city center and immediately had sausages at Mama Thomas’ favorite place. We paired with coffees and an excellent potato salad.



Tresa then decided to order some kustenbraten - a roast pork and leberkäse - similar to bologna at a nearby shop. These were meat sandwiches!



After all the meats, we walked around the square:





We saw the city musicians statue which represent the famous Grimm’s Fairytale about the donkey, dog, cat, and rooster who go off to Bremen. Here we took a selfie:



Then we visited the famous knight statue, protector of the city, called the Roland:



We then crossed the Weser river and met Tresa’s friend who was out for a stroll with her baby. Here you can see the famous ship in the Beck’s beer commercials, the Alexander von Humboldt:



On our way to the Beck’s brewery, we saw them pumping malt from a barge:



We then went on tour of the brewery. Here’s a selfie:



Some kegs as we were not allowed to take photos inside:



After the tour, we enjoyed a tasting of the various types of Beck’s beers:





We then ordered a taxi so we could return home quickly. Tresa’s in-laws who live next door had prepared dinner for us. This included beef rolls, fresh potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and a bean salad. For dessert, we had ice cream and peach sauce - what a delicious home-cooked meal!



Here’s a dinner selfie:



A picture with Tresa’s daughters, Mary Ann’s nieces - Larissa and Nina:



As a gift, I had brought a German version of “The Little Prince” and an English version of  “The Giving Tree”. “The Giving Tree” is a popular children’s book and I couldn’t find a reliable German version on Amazon. So I read it in English while Tresa translated, but two pages from the end, Larissa started crying because it was too sad. Although sad, it’s such a happy book and a beloved American children’s story.

After dinner, the Thomas sisters, Roland’s sister, and I went out for drinks. Eventually Roland joined us after his parent teachers meeting at the school which Tresa skipped out on. We eventually headed home after Mary Ann sneakily paid for our drinks! What a local day in Bremen! Thank you Tresa for inviting me and so I can meet the rest of your beautiful family!