If you ever doubted firsts, for the most part, are the best I suggest you talk to any film critic and see what their thoughts are. But unlike many stories, the second part of my story in Germany was equally enjoyable. Ironically much is this was due to the fact I was not in Hannover my new home city all that much. This is not me saying I don’t love this urban green area because I do, but rather I am sure no monthly entry of this travel blog will have so much travel in it. This blog is about me adapting to life in Hannover but the opportunity to travel when it’s so easy on mainland Europe was a lure too great to turn down.
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| Windmill near the main train station in Bremen |
The travel marathon began in the City of Bremen which feels more like a small town despite having a population of over 320,000 and a great transport system. Much of the reason for this is that the fact it is set up like a small town. Yes, you have all the restaurant and chain stores that one can expect from a city but one thing that stood out was that the vast majority of the important or official buildings are all situated very centrally and within close proximity of each other. These including Saint Peter’s Cathedral, the town hall, and the spitting stone. Out of all the city tours, I have ever done the spitting stone is right up there with the strangest tourist attractions I have come across.
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| Saint Peter's Cathedral |
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| Bremen Main Square |
The spitting stone is there today as it was the location of the last ever public execution in the city. The execution which took place in Domshof Square was of a woman from the city who poisoned many people within her social circles. After the execution, many people spat to show their disgust. A tradition that still occurs a couple of hundred years later. While it does make, your stomach turn a little, I mentioned last month that I admired German’s and in particular the people of Berlin for their ability to confront their tragic moments in the past by having constant reminders of it. Again, I have to point out it is something I admire. The best way to prevent making the mistakes of history is to know about them. Let’s just say if every American read Germany’s history before, during and after WW2 a certain Presidential candidate would not be getting the same attention he is right now… The city as a whole is a very charming place and is very stereotypically German looking with its architecture. If like me and you only have a day there I suggest you do the walking tour, the Christmas shop where it is Christmas all year round and going to a restaurant and ordering yourself some Knipp which is a type of sausage/burger made by mixing meats. It is not just typical German but also for the city itself.
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| The Spitting Stone |
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Group of people I was lucky enough to go to Bremen with posed
next to the famous "Statue of the Town Musicians" |
The trip to Bremen was quickly followed by a trip to Scandinavia. The trip was the first to the region for myself. The trip consisted of two days in the Danish capital Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo. While the differences between the two cities were very small (hardly a surprise when they are an hour apart) they both fulfilled the stereotype image had of Scandinavia. For example, you could not help but feel safe no matter where you were or what time it was. They were both bitterly cold. Both cities are filled with lots of color and vibrancy. The people were all very friendly and helpful and it goes without saying the majority spoke perfect English. Most of the people I met could pass for native speakers. In terms of language what did come as a surprise was the lack of German spoken in Denmark considering Denmark and Germany border each other. I looked on every restaurant menu and museum booklet I could find, and while you would always find English, German was a lot scarcer. English is everywhere. So much so in a Chinese restaurant, I visited the menu was offered in just English and Chinese. In Denmark!!! How crazy is that?
If I had to pick a favorite Copenhagen would be the clear favorite because there was a lot more to do than in Malmo but that is to be expected from a capital. Despite their similarities, there were without a doubt, things about both cities that stood out to me. While I hated the Danish currency, which is called the Danish Krone because of the savage exchange rate I did love the fact everything cost a solid singular number. For example, a drink would cost 53 Krones. None of this 53.75 or 53:99 business which annoys me so much in other countries. It makes sense and other countries should follow suit.
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| "The little Mermaid" One of the cities main attractions. |
I believe in this blog it would be very easy to point out the obvious themes like food but rather than that I think it’s better to talk about the somewhat quirky differences from Ireland, Germany and even both that won’t show up on your standard google search. For example, the buses. In Copenhagen, it is totally normal to get on a bus at 10 o’ clock in the morning and to have dance or club music blaring to the point you need to blare something else just to drown it out if you so wish. The other thing on the buses that stood out was the lack of trust. In Ireland you just tell the bus driver where you want to go, they tell you how much it costs, you give them the money and the driver trust that you will get off when you said you will. In Dublin, the trust goes even further. Because instead of giving the driver the money for your ticket you just put the money in a box totally unchecked. There is absolutely nothing stopping you giving for example one euro less than you should. On n the U-Bahn's in Germany, you can get on free of charge due to the lack of checks. While if you do get caught without a ticket the punishment can be severe financially the system does work on a sense of trust that people will not take advantage. But in Copenhagen, this is not possible.
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| The home of the Danish Queen |
Most people have cards. With these cards, you must swipe in when you get on and swipe out when you get off. Making it impossible to cheat the system and very easy for the system to cheat you if you forget to sign out. This is because your card will keep getting charged. The last thing I would say about Copenhagen is that you will find bikes everywhere. I really did not think it was possible to have more bikes in a city than I saw in Amsterdam but I can tell you now it is very possible. In Copenhagen cyclist boss the roads. To the point I can say with some confidence there are more cyclists around the city than there are cars. I’m not sure how that changes when it’s raining but I imagine very little.
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| The Copenhagen Opera House at night |
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| Nyhavn Habour. (My favorite part of Copenhagen) |
The first fascinating thing about Malmo actually occurred on my way to Malmo. Very strangely on the Danish – Swedish border there was a passport control check but none coming back in the opposite direction the following day. When you think about it, it is quite strange but it is my understanding that there is a similar situation in the USA – Canadian border. There you do not need a passport or visa to pass into Canada but if you want to get back into the USA you do. I am sure there is a logical reason for both situations but on the surface, it is very strange. Malmo is a very charming place with a very interesting history. As recently as 1995 the city had massive social problems like unemployment but in a very short space of time, it’s fortunes have changed greatly. From what my tour guide told me it would seem that the city has had a complete economic turnaround on the same scale and pace as Ireland has due to the actions of the mayor of the city at the time. Which instantly made me see this city as a rag to riches story and one in which I could most certainly relate to and one I’m sure Irish people older than I could relate to even more. Another thing I noticed in Malmo was that the majority or bathrooms are non-gender bathrooms. While this is not some brand new idea it did catch my attention considering they were only brought into my own University In Ireland over the last 6 months or so if I remember right.
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| Modern Art at Malmo Peer |
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| Malmo Lighthouse |
Before you ask, yes I did look for an Ikea but unbelievably I could not find one in Malmo. I was, however, able to find a few H and M’s but nowhere near as many as in Copenhagen which I found to be very funny considering it is a Swedish brand. By a million miles my favorite thing about Malmo was the architecture. Manchester, England is a city that has tried and failed to incorporate new styles of buildings into older and more traditional buildings and designs. But Malmo does it beautifully and a great sense of elegance. It just works and nothing looks out of place. It is a place I would recommend any mayor or architect who wants to modernize and older city to look towards.
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| Sankt Petri Church, Malmo |
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| Modern Architecture in the City that I simply fell in love with |
After Scandinavia I did go to Switzerland but to avoid this month’s blog post becoming too long I will mention it next month and about my first few weeks of University in Germany. But both have been interesting experiences, to say the least. So, for now thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post.
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| Turning Torso. The tallest building in all of Scandinavia |
*** photos are intentionally unedited*** So no judging ;)
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And to read last's month's post (September 2016) you can chick
here
