The musicians

Bremen is a photographer's feast. With the snow and a sunny day, it is even more of a visual banquet, so it was hard deciding what NOT to take pictures of today. We are hosted here by Eva and her parents Hans and Angelika, in a beautiful home in a village 20km or so out of Bremen. Everyone is amazed at the snow and temperatures here in the north - it is usually only the south that has this experience, and admittedly it was pretty darned cold today, with the thermometer hovering around -8 to -10 degrees most of the day.We are really appreciating all our Icebreaker clothing and assorted merino and goose-down!	Needs no introduction!
We were treated to a delightful tour of Bremen and its port by Eva and Hans, with a visit to the Rathaus (town hall - one of the most famous in Europe) and the Schnoor, a famous old area of the town with very narrow streets and very narrow buildings. Many houses had dates in the 1600s etched above their doorways. There is also a "Wedding House" that is the smallest hotel in Europe - it's a very old building containing just one honeymooner's suite upstairs, and the whole thing is only about 3 metres wide. Of course a lot of it is centred around the theme of the Musicians of Bremen, which has probably made the city a great deal of money over the years. However, it's a picture postcard city so the attention is well-deserved. Bremen is one of the major ports of Europe, so it has that added flavour to its history that comes from being a maritime town.	In the Schnoor
Bremerhaven is 50km or so north on the actual coast, and is the fishing port, but here, on the River Weser, most of the shipping is cargo. A newer port is being developed slightly west at Wilhelmshaven, which allows ships of deeper draft. Yesterday we had our first real hassle due to the weather; all the trains were delayed, and the one we travelled on from Berlin to Hamburg was so crowded that we had to sit on the floor the whole way. However, it was no real drama, and we made the acquaintance of a Berlin theatre director and her dog Missy. In Hamburg we had a couple of hours with Benedicta, our very first student, and a brief tour of the city, then continued to Bremen.	Wherever there is a sword ...
Breathtaking in view and temperature