Posted on March 25, 2010 by Fiona Hilliard

Bremen is famous for two things – Beck’s Beer and a creepy children’s fairytale called The Four Musicians of Bremen. In fairness to the Brother’s Grimm, the story probably didn’t set out to be macabre but the artist behind the Ladybird books of the ‘70s saw things differently. If I remember correctly, the book told the story of a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster who planned to run away from their farms to the freedom and tranquility of Bremen. Here they would change career direction completely and become musicians. It was the illustrations that got me – all dark and menacing. I can still see the barn on fire and the animals piled up like a totem pole. The horror. The horror.

So anyway, Bremen. Well, they say good things come in small packages and  it’s certainly true in the case of the smallest state in Germany, Bremen.  Tinchy Bremen doesn’t really seem deserving of this moniker though.  If anything, it’s more of a town than a state.

In actual fact, Bremen is made up of two very different places, industrial Bremerhaven on the edge of the Weser’s river mouth and riverside Bremen, 65km south.  Both have been linked politically ever since 1827, when Bremen’s mayor decided to snap up the river delta from Hannover.

Bremen’s compactness makes it the perfect destination for a weekend getaway and Bremen car hire means you get to see the best of both worlds.

The state’s capital is pretty-as-a–picture and exudes a delightfully quirky Art Nouveau feel with a bit of medieval charm thrown in for good measure.

A drive north with Bremen car hire will take you to Bremerhaven.  Here attractions include an Emigration museum similar to the one on Ellis Island in New York.

Then of course there are the statues of that story.  Everywhere you turn, you’ll see the farmyard animals in all their acrobatic glory. There is some reprieve though – namely the Beck’s Brewery Tour which is on hand to take the edge off any recurring childhood traumas.