The Flying Baroness: Bremen Town Musicians

Bremen is a sleepy little city tucked up in North Germany amongst rolling farmlands, now planted with windfarms, and surrounded by fishing ports that still brings in the freshest salted herrings and wild salmon to the bustling little market square. The town is quaint and cute, divided by small canals and carpted by green parks, everything is very walkable despite the unpredictable midsummer weather. The Rathaus area is lined with Flemish architecture, and has a delightful if not kitch little art deco street (Böttcherstraße) that's really worth a good wander - make sure you check out the modernist glockenspiel on the hour - it will really surprise you, an old town (Schnoor) crossed with little village lanes and bakeries and curiosity shops,

and a relaxed stretch of river front lined with beer gardens that will serve you a good old traditional German meat and 2 vege washed down with a favourite heffeweisse for very little money. On my first night, I even enjoyed a 5 Euro top-class concert of Bach's psalms in the main Cathedral, so don't miss a show if you're stopping by!!

Bremen's forte is in its tradition - the architecture, the churches, the manicured lawns, the smiling, friendly locals, the food, the beer, the chocolate in the shops. In a way its a lovely change get away from the in-your-face, wacky and maze-like Berlin, but in another way, I just know that it can only last a weekend, because it is just a little too nice, too small, too wholesome and monotomous here, and I know by instinct that I have already finished exploring it in one afternoon...

But now to the main drawcard - "Bremen Town Musicians" - I first came across these charming characters in one of the first picture books I read when we first moved to New Zealand, without saying it was another very formative time of my life where I've had to 'relearnt' an entire culture and language as well, I remember being fascinated and amused at this wonderful underdog adventure story, so its with a sweet longing that I approached the town of Bremen to visit the statue which immortalised the story of the donkey, dog, cat and rooster. Here's a picture book version of the story and here's one without pics.

Thinking through the story from an adult's angle, this folklore/ animal fabel in fact has a heavy commentary about animal rights, labour/production, fear of impoverishment, lonliness and abandonment in old age, social justice, and the ageless persuite of hedonism. And you know what? As an outsider, I can actually see all of these values being more or less reflected in contemporary German society, the way which they highly regard animal welfare, senior rights, the music and arts, and the encouragement of their youngsters to venture outdoors, to travel, and to find that utopian life.

And this is essentially what folklore is about - its an oral history tradition in passing on information, institutionalising moral education, and sculpting norms of cultural identity via the format of a fairytale from one generation to the next - and finally picked up and recorded and interpreted by the Grimm Brothers through their linguistic research. Not only do these stories relate to children and adult audiences alike by reflecting the physical and social elements of pre-industrialised agrarian German society, it arouses and perhaps manipulate their emotions by bringing in universal fears and celebrations, and that sense of adventure for a bigger and wider unknown world.

.... and now enough ranting -and to music of another other kind - Hurricane Festival!!