Last weekend was the closing weekend of the Freimarkt (literally: free market) in Bremen, one of the biggest and oldest festivals in Germany. First celebrated in 1035, the Freimarkt now attracts over 4 million visitors a year. The scale of this festival is absolutely incredible. What started off as a time of year where merchants could sell their goods with fewer restrictions has turned into what is literally called a "5th season" in Bremen.
Roller coasters, a giant ferris wheel, hundreds of brilliantly-lit stands, and giant party tents light up the giant plaza next to Bremen's Central Station.
Bright lights and spinning bodies at the Freimarkt.
Ridiculously high swings. I mean, ridiculous.
The biggest portable Ferris wheel in the world.
The next day we went to the Deutsches Auswanderer Haus (German Emigrant House) in Bremerhaven. The museum portrayed the journey of European emigrants to a better life in past centuries. It was an excellent museum, so good that it won the European Museum of the Year Award this year. They recreated the port, the insides of various ships that brought emigrants to America throughout history, and the scene upon arrival in the immigration office.
They had some of the questions from the immigration test. Luckily, I passed. Hopefully America will take me back next year.
After we "made it" into the country, there were some interesting maps and figures about the two countries. Looking at a map of German settlement of the United States, it's amazing to see what an effect German immigrants have had on America. German remains the largest ancestry group in the United States, with most of German immigrants having settled in the Midwest or Northeast regions of the United States.
Overall the experience was especially powerful when I thought of my ancestors who could have been in conditions just as cramped with an outlook just as bleak just trying to make their way to a better life.
