Auf Wiedersehen

Mary Ann and I were up at 4 am to make our respective flights. Mary Ann transfers in Amsterdam while I go through Toulouse and London. Our taxi was quick and the Bremen airport very low key. I was sad to part ways with Mary Ann as we can go long stretches without seeing each other. Lucky for me, another sister will be visiting from India in a few weeks, so we made tentative plans in NYC. I will have met 75% of the Thomas sisters at that point!

After a 2 hour flight to Toulouse, I had to go through security again and passport control. I had a sandwich and café au lait for breakfast as I waited for my flight to London.

I went through security three times today. In Bremen, they spotted my tiger balm that I didn’t think to put in my liquids ziplock and has never been picked up before on a security scan. They let me keep it. In Toulouse, I got flagged because although I separated my iPad, my Kindle was picked up. Again, I have never separated my Kindle on my last several trips. And in London, I never had a problem either way and I was concerned with the horror stories I heard about transferring in London-Heathrow and the thorough security.

I made it almost entire trip before someone just starts speaking to me in Chinese. While transferring in London, a woman started asking me questions and I told her I was Korean in Chinese. She nodded and moved on.  

My flight from London was uneventful and I watched several movies to stay awake. I made it safely home after sipping through the airport as I hadn’t checked any luggage. 

My post today is titled “Auf Wiedersehen” which means “Goodbye” in German. As I breezed through the few cities, there is still so much more to see and such an interesting culture. The German psyche is so nuanced and the history unique from any other culture. I can’t wait to come back to explore it some more - it’s not goodbye, but see you again!

Decompressing in Bremen

For breakfast, we were lucky enough to have Indian food again - some homemade idli rice cakes, chutney, and potatoes - so delicious!



Today was a lazy day of lounging about, watching tv, drinking coffee, and snacking on all sorts of food. Eventually, we headed out after the girls came home from school. They took their scooter and bikes, and we walked around Bremen's pretty parks.



We circled the neighborhood, stopped by a playground, and met Roland’s sister and father for dinner at their local favorite Italian restaurant called Rocco’s. Roland’s mom couldn’t join as she already had plans, but we dined on mussels, antipasto, pork, lamb, and pasta. We ended with coffees, tiramisu, and sambuca - a photo below:



After dinner, we sat around the living room and enjoyed some digestifs and wine as we chatted into the night. What a chill way to end the trip as I get ready for two transfers and my trek home tomorrow.

Thank you so much to the family for hosting me and I loved spending time with the Thomas sisters again! As we shared so many family stories during the Camino, it was so wonderful to spend time with everyone as well as build on more stories and references!

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!

Cologne

On a cloudy day in Cologne, I was here to see the world famous and one of the largest cathedrals in the world! Coincidentally, my hotel upgraded me to a Cathedral view room - a photo below:



As a Hilton gold member, I enjoyed an extensive hotel breakfast that also included champagne. Originally I wanted a mimosa, but the waitress brought me both orange juice and champagne. I told her she should try it sometime and she said it sounded delicious! After healthy helpings of eggs, bacon, sausage, and roasted tomatoes, I headed south of the city to one of the many Romanesque churches - this is the cloister of St. Maria im Kapitol:



I came here specifically for the famous 3 kings arch which apparently is original and the last of its kind:



Afterwards, I walked through the city and passed the destroyed Old St. Albans church which they have left open with replicas of famous statues, called “Mourning Parents”. The Germans must have really toiled throughout the years about what to repair and what to leave as the country has such a difficult war history.



Right next to the church was the Wallraf-Richartz Museum which houses medieval and modern works. I purchased a Museum Card that would get me into the various museums.



From the third floor picture window, you get a great view of the Cathedral as well as an excavation site next door:



There were many wonderful pieces - Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, and others; but the most famous painting here is the “Madonna in Rose Bower” by Stefan Lochner. Its nicknamed the “Mona Lisa of Cologne”:



Across the street was the original perfumery where cologne was invented! It was “eau de cologne” or “water of cologne”, which is a lighter perfume.



I then headed up to the Cathedral for noon day mass. I enjoyed the mass even though it was entirely in German. For Communion, there were many lines and essentially one large crowd where the priests walked back and forth. It was like windshield wipers, giving out Communion. Not sure if it was more efficient, but I’m sure if the Germans felt there was a better way, they would have figured it out. Some photos of my Cathedral visit as I walked around after mass:





The modern window to the south that was recently designed with the help of a computer randomly selected the arrangement of the stained glass - it’s meant to look like pixels:



Some traditional stained glass windows:





And the shrine to the 3 wise men or magi! Apparently their remains were brought here from Italy and therefore, the Cathedral is a popular catholic pilgrimage. The shrine sits at the beautiful high altar:



The altar piece of the three kings by Stefan Lochner:



And the Crucifix of Gero from the 10th century:



After exploring the inside, I decided to climb the tower over 530 steps and 100 meters up. I got a little dizzy spiraling up and down, but it was an adventure and cool to see Cologne from up high. There were signs that said “no lift, no joke”. Indeed, it was a serious matter!







A sweaty selfie:



On the way down, the belfry was open, so I got to check out the bells in the steeple:



Right next to the Cathedral are two museums. I first went to Museum Ludwig which is known for very modern art.



Here’s a David Hockney next to another art piece which I thought was a real woman who got too close to the art!



On Kawara giving a shout out to my birthday:



A Picasso:



Chagall’s “Sabbath”:



 A Kirchner:



Then I went to the Romano-Germanic Museum which although was going through a renovation, allowed small groups to come in and see the Dionysus Mosaic. This was discovered when they were trying to build an air raid bunker next to the Cathedral. Apparently, it was the site of a Roman villa and they built the museum around it. In front of the mosaic, they installed the Tomb of Lucius Poblicius. The small groups were led by a lecturer who spoke for about 20 minutes in German. I didn’t understand anything, but wanted to see the works up close:









It was around 4 pm at this point, so I popped myself down in front of the Cathedral at Café Reichard where I ordered mushroom and cream pasta with some bitter lemon Schweppes. I enjoyed the ringing of the bells and the people watching.





Then I returned to the hotel, washed up, and watched some football at the bar restaurant. Coincidentally, Bremen was playing and won their match - go Bremen! I picked up my luggage, walked over to the train station, and was on my way to Bremen to see the Thomas sisters! A photo of the station below:



The train ride was just less than 3 hours and Tresa was kind enough to pick me up from the train station with her husband Roland. I last saw Tresa in Spain when we walked the Camino. When I arrived, Mary Ann had just put her nieces to bed and we chatted over wine and some plums quietly. Not only were Tresa’s daughters asleep, but also Mary Ann and Tresa’s mother who was visiting from India. Indeed it is a packed house these next few days, but I can’t wait to relax and spend time with the family in Bremen!