*POST UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
This might sound weird, but I can remember the exact moment when I decided that I wanted to go to Bremen. I was 17, & I was studying for my final German exam ever. The paper I was studying was about the German government trying to bring tourism to a little city in the north of the country that I’d never heard of before: Bremen. My recollections of the paper are pretty vague. I remember that it focused on the fact that the city boasts has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and that the city was situated around a river. That said, it must have been a pretty convincing paper. It has been 6 years since then, and I’ve been waiting the perfect reason to travel there.
why bremen?
The reason that cropped up was better than I could have dreamed. See, Boyfriend had never been to Germany before. Never. We’d talked of visiting my beloved Munich, or Berlin maybe, but both of them have certain aspects that I wasn’t sure he would love. And I needed him to love Germany. Germany is one of my top three favourite countries & I needed to be sure Boyfriend would love it just as much. Or, at least love it enough to go back for future visits. I took a gamble on Bremen, as I had never been there either, but after some investigations online I was 98% sure that it would be perfect for us. Casual & laid back, but with cultural & historical aspects, too. Besides, it’s pretty close to Hamburg, so I had a backup plan if needed.
Turns out, I was right – Bremen was the perfect place for us. It was, in fact, one of the easiest trips I have ever been on in my life. The flight from Dublin to Bremen takes just under two hours. The tram from Bremen airport into the city centre is a mere ten minutes. The walk to our hotel was a further twelve-ish minutes. It was that simple. This warmed us to the city immensely. We also instantly loved: the lack of English tourists, the cleanliness of the city, and the relaxed attitude. We. Loved. It. We ate and drank our way around the small city, and then we drank some more.
where we stayed
Hotel Motel One Bremen // after searching around online for a while, we decided to settle on Motel One. The place gets amazing reviews & deservedly so. It was central, comfortable, quiet, and clean. That’s all of our boxes checked! Would recommend. Address: Am Brill 10, 28195 Bremen