Travel Tuesday – Town Musicians of Bremen

Do you know the story of the “Town Musicians of Bremen”? If not, then read on for an abridged version.

Once upon a time, there lived a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster. When they got old and were of no use to their owners, they were mistreated. So they decided to leave their owners and travel to Bremen to become musicians (it’s a German town which was known for freedom). They have adventures on the way (of course!). They don’t make it to Bremen though, for they find a cottage which belonged to some robbers. They scare the robbers away and live happily ever after there. (There are other versions of the story too..look up on the net.)

I’ve never been to Bremen but imagine my surprise when I found this sculpture in the city of Riga! As it so happens, Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the partner city of Bremen since 1985. But the connection goes way back. Riga became predominantly Christian after 1201, when a Bishop from Bremen arrived there and laid the foundation of the cathedral. Both the cities were also part of the Hanseatic League which was a very important trading guild from the 13th to the 15th century.

Did you notice the shiny noses of the animals? You guessed it right – rubbing their noses is considered to bring good luck (just like the bronze statues anywhere in Europe 😉). I was too short to reach up to the rooster, but I saw many tall people also having to jump to reach it! Now I am wondering if I even reached the cat 🤔..

In this blog, I focus on sharing some of the photographs that I capture, often during my travels but also in the everyday life. If you’d like to read about my travels, you can find the stories on this blog – Reflections on the River.