Boardwalk/ Promenade/ StreetSchnoor

[MALU, 18.05.2008] If you want to know what Bremen looked like in the olden days many centuries ago, visit the Schnoor. Look out for the Church of St. John (St. Johannis Kirche), walk down some steps and youll find yourself in a maze of narrow (about 4 m wide) alleyways. Small houses stand side by side in a row, lined up like pearls on a string - ‘Schnur in German or ‘Schnoor in local dialect. Originally fishers, skippers and artisans lived there, but after the building of a Franciscan cloister, more and more tradesmen arrived.

Nowadays the quarter is one of the main attractions of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the houses have been renovated lovingly, tiny gardens and rose bushes give it a romantic flair. If only there werent the cobble stones! To be sure they give the quarter a genuine aspect, but if you arent a good walker, you have to look carefully where you put your feet.

Small as the quarter is, you can find a great variety of shops offering Bremen specialities like teas, sweets and hand-painted crockery. You can buy teddy bears, doll houses or model sailing boats as well as high-quality leather goods and fashion articles from elegant to all-weather and Christmas decorations all year round.

Galleries, museums and a theatre cover the visitors cultural needs whereas the many restaurants and bars care for their physical ones, the menus offer original Bremer dishes and also exotic specialities, but if you dont feel like eating, you can just have a glass of beer.

A visit to Bremen is not complete without a stroll through the Schnoor.