Hello again!

I've not been to Bremen for a few years but I thought it was much nicer than the three places you mention. Then again, the weather was good and it always rains when I'm in Koln or Dusseldorf!!

the old town seemed to be more intact than the others (especially Dussledorf's), to me it seemed much like the Shambles area of York. Because of the time lapse I can't remember the restaurants and the hotel has probably been changed (all I can remember was that it was near the HBF opposite a Post Office building). It is a place that I'd go back to.

The relatively short journey from the airport is simple using the frequent tram number 6. The English pages of Bremen Transport are at http://www.bsag.de/eng/index.php but the timetable info is better on the German pages.

As for other cities within reach, the two that spring to mind are Hamburg and Hannover.

Now, you remember the NRW-Ticket for up to 5 people we discussed a while ago? Well there is an equivalent ticket for this region called the Niedersachsen Ticket. Download the German leaflet with map http://www.bahn.de/regional/view/mdb/pv/dbregio/ausfluege/niedersach/MDB53648-niedersa_ticket_juni_2008_web.pdf (this link will self destruct sometime in 2009!). This will get you to either of these places. The 5 person day ticket is €27, the normal single from Bremen to Hamburg is €20!

Bremen and Hamburg are each seperate city states but are covered by the ticket, which like the one in NRW covers the trams and buses as well as trains (but doesn't cover EC/IC/ICE trains).

Thanks Steve, as always you are a real star mate :tup, for days out from Bremen we thought about Lubeck, Hannover, Rostock, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, or Ouldenburg, any of these places you would or wouldn,t reccomend and why, we like old buildings, old squares and generally mooching about in the older bits of town, aswell as traditional beer boozers or brauhaus and traditional local food such as you get in such places, also, does Bremen have plenty of these places ? as this would of course be our evening base so good ale and food places will be very important, thanks again Steve the tips on train travel are very good as is all your info.

Regards
Sliema2

Lubecks a nice place but is beyond the limit of the cheap day tickets unless you went on a weekend day when you could use a Schones Wochende (same deal as the state tickets but whole country!!). Rostock is even further and probably too much travel for a day trip with time to do anything - direct IC trains take nearly 3 hours and the standard return is €110 each (you can get cheaper if you book in advance). The only time I passed through Hamburg it was raining and there didn't seem to be much left of the old town although it has some interest if you're into ships etc. Hannover seemed the nicer of the two and the Herrenhausen gardens are worth a visit on a fine day.

Never been to Oldenburg or Bremerhaven although they would be on my list if I got a chance to return. This pair are so close to Bremen they are part of the local tarif area. I'd also think about Cuxhaven or Emden.

As for mooching in the evenings and good beer, Bremen seemed well catered for. Given the number of trips you make to Germany I'd recommend this book . Because I've already got it I'd be heading for http://www.schuettinger.de right in the centre.

Just in case anyone asks - I'm not Steve Thomas (the books author) , although I've discovered I do have a very vague connection to him!

Hi Steve, yes been thinking about buying that and the Belgium good beer guide, a good mate of ours has them both so when we go somewhere he lends them to us, we have developed a taste for good German and Belgian beers over the years and whilst I enjoy trad british beers, stouts, ciders, perrys, porters etc I much prefer German and Belgian beers now, and as for Jenever and Dusseldorf black Schnaps (Killepitsch) then wow keep em coming, ex member of CAMRA so got a good nose for these things, out of interest what are your favourite beers from Belgium and Germany ?.

Thanks again mate
Sliema2

Beer wise in Germany I go for the darker end of the spectrum rather than Pils. Alt in NRW (daren't ask for it in Koln!) and whatever the local dunkel is elsewhere, or Hefeweizen (obviously the dunkles version where available). My best find this year was Eisgrub in Mainz city centre where the beer is brewed in the pub - quite literally, bits of the brew kit were in various rooms and people sometimes get moved to let the brewer in!

Don't spend much time in Belgium so just go for a "blond" (take that any way you want!).

But my award for best boozer is Augustiner in Salzburg and best beer (breaking the above rule completely) went to Bozner in Italian Sud-Tirol for their cask conditioned ordinary beer.

Hi Steve, well hotel and flights booked, so Bremen here we come, thanks for all your help mate as always, if you ever need any help on any aspect of Malta or Gozo please let me know as that is my forte.

Regards
Sliema2

I suspect Malta would be far too hot for me!

In the meantime, did you find the Bremen tourist office site at http://www.bremen.de/sixcms/detail.php?template=01_hauptnavi_freizeit&id=551441 ? Only seems to be available in German but should be useful.

Hello from Bremen....

When you are looking for Pubs, Bars Restaurants and breweries in our small village, best choice is:

- Schlachte Area
Next to River Weser, just in the City, an area with many restaurants, bars and beer gardens.
Accross the river there is the Beck´s Brewerie with a visiting center, worth it.

-Viertel
Ostertor/steintor, more an alternative quarter with many Pubs and so, 2-3 Stopps with the tram from the city or a 5-10min. walk.

-Schnoor
Our old town, located between the city center and the Viertel, more into restaurants, but also some good pubs.

Bremen is more a small village in town center, everything into easy wlaking distance or 2-3 Stops with the tram. The citycentre itselfs has more space for shpping than for bars and restaurants, but as mentioned before, everything is nearby.

For travelling around into small and old towns in the area, I would recommend
-Worpswede, a small art village with galleries and so on
-Oldenburg, student village with a nice shopping area, less chains more individual shops.
-Lüneburg, more an older town.

Ah, and the Schüttinger, don´t like the place very much, but the beer is not so bad. Give it a try....

Greetings from Bremen
Tom

Dear Tom, that is great information thank you very much, please can you either tell me a list of traditional brauhaus and kneipers in Bremen or can you tell me a website that will have this kind of information ?.

Best Wishes
Sliema2

Sorry, I am not allowed to Post links, not enough posts( after 15 min. work....)
Please use google and add in the words and you will get, what you want: (there is not one side which has all the information....)

Schlachte de
Schnoor de

For some Kneipen/Pubs/ Bars, which came in my mind, add in:
hegarty de
paddys pit de
pub im schnoor de
zum lustigen schuster
auf den hoefen de
Litfass
meisenfrei de
schuettinger de
brommy kneipe
spitzen gebel de
piano
staev de

if you are more into "Alternative" Kneipe, I would recommondend different ones.....

Hi Tom and welcome to HT!

Sorry you were not able to post links after all that work. Unfortunately this is necessary and new members are not allowed to post links to prevent spammers joining the site and spamming their websites.

luci