Welcome to Breezy Bremerhaven!

Bremerhaven, Germany. It was last September when I visited Bremerhaven for the first time. I was craving to see some water, so I decided to take a train up north. When I arrived, the city was basking in sea breeze and sun.

I became immensely excited! By the way, the name Bremerhaven means “Bremen’s harbor”; thus, this city is an extension of the city-state of Bremen.

Life’s A Beach

The beach, or der Strand, is reachable on foot from the Bremerhaven main train station.

I was expecting to sit by the sea and just breathe in the sea breeze from the north. So I walked at a leisurely pace and marveled at the views. Bremerhaven is a small, young city benefiting from port activities. Everywhere you go, the sea seems to call you.

I kept walking for a good fifteen to twenty minutes, and then I saw the ships. Well, museum ships, actually. The ships that I saw belonged to the nearby German Maritime Museum. One of them, the Seute Deern, is a restaurant-ship made in the USA.

I felt instantly in awe when I saw the U-boat for the first time. This particular submarine served during the Second World War under Nazi Germany. Today, after being decommissioned in the 1980s, it serves as a museum ship protected by the German Maritime Museum.

And then, the beach. It may look like a beach, but it is actually the mouth of a river.

The water in front of me is the mouth of the Weser. The sea is still kilometers away from where I was. I love the view, despite the water not being blue, partly because it was silty and windy at that time. According to a friend, the water was blue last summer. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. I stayed by the beach to just think and look around. Having seen this body of water — a mouth of a river, at the least — made me feel better. The tropical person in me has been made content, even by sitting by the river.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated with me at the time. So it was sunny and bright, but chilly because of the sea breeze.

How to Enjoy Bremerhaven In One Day

If you feel like walking along the stretch of the beach besides meditating by it, here are a few places you can visit:

• German Maritime Museum. You may see their outdoor ship collection while walking to the beach, but it’s best that you come inside the museum building for their expansive, interactive exhibits. The admission fee is EUR 6. Open daily from 10am to 6pm from April to October. The museum is open at the same time from Tuesday to Sunday from November to March, but the museum harbor is closed in winter.

• German Emigration Center. This museum is dedicated to telling 300 years’ worth of stories of emigration from Europe to America, and immigration to Germany. Like the German Maritime Museum, the German Emigration Center offers an interactive journey for visitors. The admission price is EUR 14,50.

• Klimahaus 8° Ost. Here’s another interactive exhibition center dedicated to exploration, climate, and climate change. A must-see for climate science fans! The admission price is EUR 16.

• Bremerhaven Zoo/ Zoo am Meer. If you’re into polar bears and seals, this place is for you. Entrance fee is EUR 9.

• Atlantic SAIL City Viewing Platform. On the 20th and 21st floors of the Atlantic SAIL City Bremerhaven is a lookout deck 90 meters above sea level. You can enjoy an unobstructed 180° view of the city and the sea. The entrance fee is EUR 3. The maximum stay on the viewing platform is 30 minutes.

• Das Mediterraneo. If you’re looking to shop till you drop, here’s a mall where you can do so in peace. Mall hours are from 10am to 7pm, and restaurant hours are from 10am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday.

Bremerhaven is truly a wonderful city blessed with the breeze! I’m hoping you’ll include Bremerhaven in your itinerary! For now, I’ll leave you with a photo of the Atlantic SAIL City by the Weser.

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