Bremen, Germany

Still can't settle down, mostly in my head.  Today's day trip was not a snap decision but was the result of the need to 'forcibly' kick-start my energy and adrenaline for the coming schoolyear, but also to shove the goings on in MNL into a middle drawer and focus on some positivity and self-growth.  I'd always thought of Bremen in conjunction with Hamburg, but Hamburg will be done with AW (we have decided this already) and there's no date for that yet.  Besides, Hamburg is about 110 km. further north and today was not the day to attempt a combi trip.

Left at 11.30 and decided to avoid Dutch motorway traffic, so went through my usual route in the south.  Drove straight on the 40 till I hit Dortmund, which is where the 40 ends anyway, then turned left and headed north straight to Bremen.  I did my best to take Dortmund city traffic into consideration but the jams were more massive than I had expected, compounded by road construction here and there.  I finally hit motorway 1 going north, and it's a wide one, but, again, a number of road works.  By the time I had parked my car in Bremen (of course at a free parking zone), I was almost a full two hours behind schedule.  Phoned AW and assured him I was fine.

I couldn't have come at a better time, though.  The midday heat was largely gone but the sun was still out and the skies were clear, so there was more than sufficient light to admire the centuries-old structures.  St. Peter's Cathedral is beautifully imposing, there's a pharmacy that has been open since 1532, and of course I had to take a shot of the famous Musicians of Bremen, a story which I read when was about seven.  What really amazed me as well was the restaurant I happened to have my snack in -- the Bremer Ratskelder (sounds like 'rat cellar' but actually refers to the city council, or 'raad', equivalent to the Dutch 'raad' which means 'advice'; the fact that many government officials actually behave like rats is entirely off-topic).  It was founded in 1405, has been operating non-stop, and is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site!  It's not a Michelin restaurant, thank goodness.  It is really in an old beer cellar, and you can still see the huge beer barrels on display, some of them 400 years old.

Extras - St. Peter's Cathedral, plus one of the beer barrels, from 1657, beautifully decorated.  Don't know if there's anything inside, though.

Finished dinner at about 19.30, took some more shots as the sunset light was especially 'romantic', walked back to the car, and left at around 20.15.  Back on the 1 but this time, right after the Osnabrück exits, I turned right on the 38 and headed towards Amsterdam.  I knew I would hit our own A1, which is familiar territory as I used to give evening classes in Hengelo.  My guess was right and so I drove to Apeldoorn to refill my tank at the cheap station I used to patronise, phoned AW, and we both knew how long the remaining trip was going to be.  Turned my key in the lock at about 00.35.

I may have been physically tired but, even then, not all that much.  Managed to clear my head, and that was really the point.  This won't be the last day trip this year, but it was a really good one.