In 1404 the merchants of Bremen put up two statements of independence in their market square, a Gothic town hall and a stone statue of a knight, Roland, standing five and a half metres tall with a sword in his hand and a shield at his feet. The town hall was later given a Renaissance front in the Weser style, rich with arcades and sculptures, in the early seventeenth century, and the great hall inside has a ceiling hung with model ships. Roland, who looks out over the square towards the cathedral, symbolised the city's freedom from the archbishop, and a local saying holds that as long as Roland stands, Bremen will remain free. Both were inscribed by UNESCO in 2004.
Bremen was a member of the Hanseatic League and is still officially the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a city-state of its own, together with Bremerhaven. On the north side of the square the cathedral, with its two towers, is a landmark, and beside the town hall stands a small bronze statue of the Bremen Town Musicians, a donkey, dog, cat and rooster stacked on each other's backs from the Grimm fairy tale. Locals say you should hold the donkey's front hooves and make a wish. Nearby, the narrow alley of Böttcherstraße is a brick-built curiosity of the 1920s, with a glockenspiel of porcelain bells, and the old quarter of Schnoor, a maze of tiny houses, is full of craft shops.
Riding in the centre is not the plan. The market square is a pedestrian zone, and the surrounding streets have trams, cobbles, restricted zones and a low-emission area, so park outside and walk. Beyond the city, the flat country of Lower Saxony and the Weser valley offers quiet roads. The wind from the North Sea is a constant, and rain showers can come at any time of year, so a waterproof layer is a good idea. The best time to visit is spring through early autumn, though the Christmas market in December is also a draw.
Bremen has half a million people and every service you could ask for, including plenty of fuel stations on the ring roads, workshops and a very wide choice of places to eat. Try a bowl of Knipp, a local sausage with oats, or Kohl und Pinkel in winter, and a coffee, since Bremen has a long history as a coffee-roasting port. The city is known for beer, and Beck's is brewed here. Look for parking garages near the old town, and be aware of rules on emission zones for vehicles from other countries.