Just Back from Bremen

And a great weekend was had by all.

Caught a couple of football games (well one and a half), drank lots of Haake Becks , had a couple of good meals…and drank lots of Haake Becks!

On Friday we went to the game between FC Oberneuland and Chemnitz. It wasn’t a great 1st half and looked like it had 0-0 written all over it, so we left at half time to get back to the pub which was a bit warmer! Couldn’t believe it later on when we saw someone in the pub with a Chemnitz scarf on and found out the final score was 3-0, neither team looked like they would score after the 1st half.

We also took in the game between Bremen’s u-23’s and Dynamo Dresden, those Dresden guys are a bit mental!:stirn:

We heard them coming out of the train station at 10am and they were steaming drunk then. Most of them that I saw couldn’t stand up straight. I didn’t see any trouble, but I take it from the amount of police who were at the game that they have a big hooligan element. Fair play to them though for staying to the end and were still singing away, of course that probably had something to do with the amount of alcohol they had obviously consumed. I expected the Dresden team to be better than they were, they didn’t look very good.

It was a good enough performance from Bremen's u-23's. :svw_applaus: I think 4-0 would have been a fairer score, the Bremen team missed a few sitters. The big centre forward, no. 47, Torsten Oehrl, looked a decent player. Also enjoyed the wee bar you have there, missed the 2nd goal just after half time as we were still in the bar. We were really impressed with the set up, with all the different training grounds around the stadiums.

Unfortunately we didn’t know was that it was a German holiday on Saturday, tried to do some shopping in the morning only to find out all the shops were closed, but at least the pubs stayed open!

We went to the Schnoor area in the evenings and had a couple of really good meals and took in a couple of nightclubs.

The hotel wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, nothing special but clean enough and somewhere to sleep for the night. After the game on Saturday we went to Paddy’s Pit to watch the football scores from back home on Sky Sports.

Really impressed by the tram system in the city, though a bit unsure about how it is all policed. Do you have conductors who come on the trams occasionally to check people’s tickets or is it just trust? If Edinburgh’s tram system (when it is eventually finished) is a fraction as good as Bremen’s then maybe all the road closures we have at the moment will be worth it in the end.

It’s my 40th next year and we all agreed we'd loved to come back again to watch a 1st team game, I may have to sweet talk the wife into letting me come back!

Results seem to be going well for Bremen now, good luck for the rest of the season. :svw_schal:

 

Glad to hear that you had a great time in Bremen!

@Trams. Yes, there are conductors coming occasionally to check the tickets. I don't know how frequently this happens in Bremen, but they come regularly here in the Ruhr area where I live so I would not recommend using public transport without a ticket (the fine would be 40 euros).

I didn't know that Edinburgh is going to have trams...? Having studied in this fantastic city for 6 months in 96/97, I not only remember the great pubs (and the excellent whisky), but also the dark red double decker buses trying to make their way through crowded Princes Street, as well as the bus drivers who sometimes drove like madmen... When is the tram system supposed to be operating?

@Public Holiday. October 3 is the day where the reunification of Germany is celebrated. But, to be honest, I completely forgot about it, until I tried to buy some rolls at my local supermarket... I am sorry for you that you missed out on Bremen's shops because the choice is quite good.

You should definitely try to come to Bremen another time. The atmosphere in the city is just great when Werder plays. Since I live quite far away from Bremen I normally go just once every year - in December because of the great combination of going to the stadium and enjoying Bremen's beautiful Christmas market with lots of gluehwein...

Greetings to Edinburgh,

opalo

 

The Edinburgh tram system was supposed to be up and running next year, but it's going to be at least 3 years behind schedule and millions of pounds over budget, it's a bit of a shambles.

The dark red buses (the colour of our local rivals Hearts :o) do still operate, but at the moment not through Princes Street as that has been closed since January for the tram system.

Hopefully we'll be back to Bremen one day to enjoy a game. :svw_schal:

 

Don't worry, that could be Germany as well... But the delay probably is the reason why I did not see anything like a tram when I was in Edinburgh for a 2-day trip in 2007... The trip was on the occasion of the UEFA cup final in Glasgow... We had everything fixed and then Werder lost the semifinal against Espanyol... :wild: Finally, we decided to go to Scotland - and to the stadium - anyway, which turned out to be a good decision. We had a great time in Scotland and with the Espanyol fans (even though it was extremely tough to see the final and no Werder on the pitch... ).

Well, I keep my fingers crossed that you'll make it to Bremen another time... And I will certainly come to Scotland again - it's just a great place to be...

 

hibbypaul

my 40th next year too & there's every chance I'll be in Bremen around September next year

 

Since it was my 40th we went over for, I thought it only correct I register for the forum and say 'hello' to all Bremen fans :svw_schal:

Even though it was literally only a flying visit we had, everyone thorougly enjoyed the trip.

As Paul said, the Friday evening game at Oberneuland was a bit of a disappointment, but our mood was lifted when we left at half time and searched though the cornfield behind one of the goals for a ball that was kicked over - and found it We even manged to get it on the plane home too!

Had a great time at the Bremen \ Dresden game, though having beer and bratwurst's at the game certainly helps

Drank in some good bars and some not so good but all part of the trip - I've even got hold of some German language CD's and books to try and help learn the lingo as we Scots (Brits in general) are piss poor as far as that goes.

Hopefully when I return, I'll be able to say a bit more in German than 'a cup of tea please' (which is where I'm at now )