Trip to Bremen

Bremen (71), originally uploaded by deniseakob.
At the end of June I took a trip to Germany to visit the Kostka family (Joel, Beth, Laurel, & Lilly). Bremen was a great place to visit with lots of interesting things to see. My first night there we had dinner with Heath, Jen, & Jordan Mills and a British family that Joel and Beth know from a visit to Berlin.

On Saturday, we went to Universum (a science center) with all of the kids--this is my favorite way to visit a science center because I can play on all of the exhibits with the kids! Universum was the best science center--and everything was in German! We all really enjoyed it. That afternoon/evening we walked around downtown Bremen and saw the marketplace and the glockenspiel. The glockenspiel or 'play of bells' is quite famous in Bremen because part of the wall next to the bells turns. It is quite beautiful and you can see all of the faces of the wall with the various images (just click on any of the photos to go to my Flickr site).
The Bremen Marketplace:


Bremen (10), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

The glockenspiel:



Bremen (15), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at Botanica, a fantastic botanical garden within walking distance from the Kostka's flat. Laurel and Lilly had a great time in the gardens and I really enjoyed seeing new plants and the exhibits.




Bremen (40), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

In the afternoon, Joel and I met Heath, Jen and Jordan at the cathedral downtown to climb to the top. After lots and lots of steps, and getting a bit dizzy in the circular staircases, we made it to the top. The view was spectacular! Below you can see the view of Bremen and a gargoyle on the roof of the cathedral. After the climb we went to a nice pub along the river and enjoyed good German food and beer!


Bremen (68), originally uploaded by deniseakob.