Hanseatic League is a commercial and defensive confederation formed by merchants during the 13th-17th century. The organization serves to protect the rights of the merchants. They even have their own army to defend their goods during transport. For 3 centuries, Hanseatic League dominated the Baltic maritime trade.
Trivia: Lufthansa means “Air Hansa” , although I really don’t know if the company is still affiliated with any clan from the Hanseatic league. Soft power like Belt and Road, Silk Road, Hanseatic League are quite interesting as they seem non-threatening, yet they control so much in the world. Presidents and dictators come and go, while these merchants can control the goods for hundreds of years.
First Hanseatic City stop is Bremen. Bremen is just about 1 hour train ride from Hamburg.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the old area of Bremen. It felt like being transported back in medieval time. The place was bustling not just with tourists, but locals as well. Around the city hall in the Altstadt were restaurants and we decided to try out this dungeon like restaurant called Bremen Ratskeller. This restaurant wine cellar has been around since 1405, and we tried some nice local food not found in other cities in Germany. Hmm, maybe, the popular corned-beef-in-can in Philippine supermarkets was inspired by this corned beef in Bremen.
Some of the old ships are lined up as restaurants along the harbor area for people who want to dine in fresh air. It’s also a nice place to people-watch as locals gather around the sidewalks.
This the an old windmill in Bremen and inside, we had some yogurt cakes and coffee.
We were able to find a gym to work out for 15 Euros/day.
Above is the famous Roland statue erected in 1404 facing the cathedral.
Next article, I will write about the other Hanseatic cities we visited, Stralsund and Rostock.
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Thank you.