Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [592]
Return to beginning of chapter
Train
Frequent trains go to Hamburg (€20.80 to €28, one hour to 1¼ hours), Hanover (€21 to €30, one hour to 80 minutes) and Cologne (€60, three hours).
Return to beginning of chapter
GETTING AROUND
Tram 6 travels between the Hauptbahnhof and the airport (€2.20, 15 minutes). A taxi ( 140 14, 144 33) from the airport costs about €15.
Buses and trams are operated by Verkehrs-verbund Bremen/Niedersachsen ( 01805-826 826; www.bsag.de). Main hubs are in front of the Hauptbahnhof and at Domsheide near the Rathaus. A €2.20 single covers most of the Bremen city area, while a day pass (Tageskarte) costs €5.90.
For bike rental, contact the Radstation ( 169 0100; www.1-2-3rad.de; per day from €9.50; 8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm Sat & Sun) just outside the Hauptbahnhof (bring your passport).
Return to beginning of chapter
AROUND BREMEN
* * *
BREMERHAVEN
0471 / pop 115,000
Anyone who has dreamt of running away to sea will love Bremerhaven’s waterfront – part machinery of the trade, part glistening glass buildings pointing to a more recent understanding of its harbour as a recreation spot. Although it is best seen on a day trip, the city has an unusual zoo and many boats you can clamber over, so it’s a hit with kids.
Most of all, Bremerhaven’s German Emigration Centre and the new Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8° Ost (Climate House) are worth coming to see. Bremerhaven has long been a conduit that gathered the ‘huddled masses’ from the verdant but poor countryside and poured them into the world outside. Of the millions who landed at New York’s Ellis Island, a large proportion sailed from here, and an enticing exhibition at the Emigration Centre allows you to share their history. The new Climate House (looking in plan a bit like the bubbly Kunsthaus in Graz, Austria) and the new Atlantic Hotel SAIL City (like a mini-version of Dubai’s Burj Al-Arab) have added a new dimension to the interesting waterfront.
Return to beginning of chapter
Orientation
The bus ticket office ( 300 3513; Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse 73 D-F; 7am-6pm Mon-Fri, 8am-1pm Sat), outside Bremerhaven’s train station, has free maps. The city runs north–south along the eastern bank of the Weser River. For the museums and zoo, get on any bus leaving from in front of the Sparkasse building outside the train station and disembark at the ‘Havenwelten’ stop, about 1.7km northwest of the train station. Havenwelten comprises the main harbours (Alter Hafen and Neuer Hafen). The Schaufenster Fischereihafen (fishing harbour) is 2km southwest of the station. Click here for more details.
Return to beginning of chapter
Information
Bremerhaven Touristik ( 414 141; www.bremerhaven-tourism.de; H-H-Meier-Strasse 6; 9.30am-6pm mid-Mar–Oct, 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Nov–mid-Mar) When you cross from the bridge behind the Auswandererhaus, this is in the building ahead, but is unhelpfully hidden on the far side.
Tourist-Info Havenplaza (Am Längengrad; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat mid-Feb–Mar, 9.30am-6pm Apr-Nov; hr might be extended to whole year)
Tourist-Info Schaufenster Fischereihafen ( 9am-6pm mid-Mar–Oct, 10am-5pm Nov–mid-Mar) Located at the Fischkai, near the FMS ‘Gera’ ship. Also rents bicycles: to 6pm on day of rental €6.50.
* * *
GETTING BACK TO THE ROOTS
About 42 million US citizens are descendents of German emigrants, according to the US census of 2000. Each year, says Dr Simone Eick, who heads the German Emigration Centre in Bremerhaven, over 700,000 of these come to Germany. Many will find their way to the Centre, which opened its doors to visitors in 2005.
’We kept in mind two things when we started working on the concept of the