A Bremen Diary from Wales

Wednesday 1^st February

We arrived in Bremen at 4pm. Carola met us at the airport and took us to the hotel on a tram.  Even though we’d only been in Bremen about half an hour we could already see that this was just the sort of city for eco-tourism!

In the evening Carola and Herr Donch took us for a welcome meal in a typical Bremen restaurant.

Thursday 2^nd February

Today some of the students from Ökumenisches Gymnasium zu Bremen (OG) took us on a guided tour of Bremen.

We started outside the central station and over the course of the tour we saw the famous Bremen Musicians, Bremen Cathedral and the river Weser. The students spoke wonderfully about Bremen’s rich history and they made the city sound like a fascinating place.

Later on we saw the Weserstadion and it underlined Bremen’s eco-credentials; Werder not only play in green their stadium is covered in solar panels!

At the end of the afternoon a member of Bremen’s education department gave us a guided tour of the town hall. This was a fascinating glimpse into the history and culture of Bremen. We saw some of the council chambers and the banqueting rooms, including the famous Golden Room that visitors are usually unable to see.

Friday 3rd February

Today we went to Bremerhaven by train. We were hosted by a wind power consultancy and our first stop was a wind turbine factory. It was fascinating to see process of wind turbine construction at close quarters. After the visit we saw the various prototypes that have been developed and this brought home the massive scale of wind turbines.

In the afternoon we attended a presentation about the future of the wind power industry. It was fascinating to hear about the possibilities, including plans for a Europe-wide wind power network.

From the point of view of a greener Europe it’s great that wind turbines are becoming more efficient at producing electricity.

Saturday 4th February

In the morning we visited OG for our project’s planning meeting.

In the afternoon we visiting the fascinating Universum Science Museum.

Universum really brings science to life. From an eco-related point of view it shows how human beings are able to use careful planning in order to deal with problems and overcome them in positive ways

Sunday 5th February

Today we made our second visit to Bremerhaven by train but before we left we were able to use the German scheme for recycling plastic bottles. In Germany you are able to return plastic bottles to a shop, if the bottle has the right symbol, and get a refund of 0.25 Euro per bottle. Sometimes it literally pays to be eco-minded!

During the morning we visited a sea front hotel. Whilst we were there we listened to some students from OG deliver a presentation about the eco-tourism features used by the hotel. We were all impressed by the standard of their presentation and the standard of their English.

In the afternoon we visited the Klima Haus museum. The museum is based upon a very original concept; you visit places that share the same line of longitude as Bremerhaven (8 degrees East).

As you visit the different countries (Switzerland, Niger, Cameroon, Antarctica, Samoa and Alaska) the climate in each room changes from warm sun to hot desert to steaming jungle to Frozen wastes to tropical rainforest to Alaskan steppes.

In terms of eco-tourism this was a good illustration of the pressures that people in various parts of the world face and how fragile the balance between humans and nature can be. The Swedish team left today.

Monday 6th February

Today we had a fascinating visit to the Airbus factory near Bremen airport. It was interesting to see what happens to the wing sections that are made in north Wales before they become part of a finished plane.

Our guide told us that ecological considerations play a part in the manufacture of the Airbus aircraft. For example the design of the wings was changed in order to use less rivets because less rivets means a lighter wing and a lighter wing means that less fuel will be needed over the course of a aircraft’s lifespan.

In the evening we had a farewell meal on board the famous Beck’s ship. The Polish team left today.

Tuesday 7th February

All of the remaining teams left Bremen today. It had been a very enjoyable week. We’d like to thank Carola and everyone at the OG for organising such a wonderful meeting.

Viva Erasmus!