Bremen and Hamburg

On the way to Hamburg, I stopped over in Bremen because of the Grimm Brothers folk tale of the Town Musicians of Bremen. The city has a statue depicting the four animals. Although, in the story the animals never arrive in Bremen, but take over the house of the thieves and live happily ever after, free from the cruelty of humans.

Evidently I also took a walk down the main shopping street.

In Hamburg the youth hostel had a view of the harbour. I didn't explore Hamburg at all because the guidebook didn't mention much culture there—it being a city of commerce, and its entertainment district had a seedy reputation. This is unfair to Hamburg; I'm sure it's pleasant enough but it was competing against cities like Vienna and Munich. Perhaps I should give it another chance. In the event I spent the evening playing chess on a floor chessboard with a couple of Irish girls.