Bremen again....

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As is almost a tradition, I once again returned to Bremen this winter for a good old catch up with my besties in Germany.



Having only got back from Israel around 2½ weeks earlier, and almost exactly repeating the trip from 2012, I flew out on a Thursday afternoon from Stansted and returned on the Monday night - However this time as I was working, I did a half day in the morning, before driving and parking at the airport, catching my flight and arriving in Bremen in time to join Elena's preparty before the international day party took place in the city. Having arrived less than half an hour before, at the pre party I was already fondly reminded of how fun the Erasmus experience was, being able to catch up with my good friends, meet new people and all under the influence of some booze.



Waking up on Friday I went along with my German friends to a Sushi Bar for Brunch. Here we were joined by Johanna's mother, who coincidently had come to Bremen the night before and was also leaving on Monday. As they all had class and I had been to Bremen before (obvs), they all thought it would be a great idea for me to give her mother a guided tour of the city. "No problem" I thought, and so we headed off into the city whilst everyone else headed off to class. However it soon became clear that after two years away, my German had become a little rusty, and Johanna's mother didn't speak the best English. What resulted were hilarious conversations in some sort of English-Germany creole. But as those who have travelled before will know - a language barrier does not stop you having fun! Walking together around the Christmas markets I found out much about Johanna's mother, as she told me all about the farm they own in southern Germany.



One of my highlights of our little tour was when we stopped at one of the stalls that was selling candle light covers of various designs. One in particular had a design of sailing ships and lighthouses to which Johanna's mother exclaimed "Urgh, so typisch Norddeutsch"....having experienced as much of Germany as I had, this internal joke reminiscent of England's North-South divide gave me a warm chuckle.



After enjoying a Glühwein after spending several hours in the freezing temperatures, we were eventually rejoined by Johanna and I left to go back to Elena's and get ready for the night - for this was Friday, and therefore the free Mojitos in La Viva were waiting for me!



Getting ready me and Elena clearly didn't read the script, as I went for the professional businessman look, with tieclip in hand, whilst she was there with a big fluffy jacket and rebel hat. Dubbed "Ghettofluff & Businessman" we then recoordinated our outfits a little more and headed for the club. Having waited two years I was finally returning to my favourite nightclub, where not only do Students get free entry, but for the first hour of entry (11-12), Mojitos are given out for free.



Still holding on to my UH ID, I attempted to gain entry as a student, and was successful! Next stop: the free Mojitos
Grabbing three I then sat drinking my free drinks before the inevitable dancing began. Whilst I had clearly matured since my Erasmus experience three years ago, there's still enough party animal in me to enjoy the night - as the dodgy nightclub photos showed.



The following day was a lazier day, with Ingo coming around to eat dinner with us before watching a film. The guys then had to go off for their class meeting at the ÖVB Arena in the city as part of their events management class, where they experienced the Farmer Party, whilst I stayed at the flat and took some much needed rest.



On the Sunday we went out to see the Christmas Markets, enjoy more Glühwein, before heading off for cake at Susan's place, whilst on my final day I took a day to see the city by myself whilst everyone else had class. I then rejoined them all one last time before I headed back off to the airport, flew home after a delay and eventually got to bed at 12:30, before going back to work the following morning. Like. A. Pro.



Seeing Bremen once more had reminded me so much of why I loved the city so much. The city itself is beautiful, and is just the right size to explore by foot without getting too bored. It also has a lot of student life, with a mix of foreign students that bring about so much interest and fun. I miss Erasmus!

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