The Cyclysts of Bremen

As longtime readers know, Positivo Espresso expanded from a local to a global phenomenon when many of the core members left Tokyo in the last great exodus of expats -- generally 2008 to 2011. This exodus has somewhat (well, severely) limited our initiatives within Japan over the last decade, but it has given us a core/founding presence in diverse locations such as ... London, then Mallorca, and Bremen.

Reunion of the 2015 Bremen B Team for the Giro del Dolomiti
(That is me across from MOB in the front, with the muscular arms and flat stomach.
No, actually that is Jochen, who placed on the podium in 2015 Giro. I am at the back,
my usual location for riding up mountains with this group).

Our founder (I won't call him our "bicycle leader" in German, since the word for "leader" reminds people of a very dark period in German history), Michael O.B. Kraehe (aka "MOB") is now the Bremen leg of the Positivo Espresso tripod ... After spending most of the last decade running an international business program in a university, MOB in 2018 opened a bicycle shop. The shop, "Cyclyng Bike and Cafe", quickly established itself as one of the leaders in Bremen, a city that was recently rated the most bicycle friendly city in Germany of over 500,000 persons. Perhaps Cyclyng Bike and Cafe" pushed it into the top spot, ahead of Hanover.

At dinner with MOB's family (Kazuko, Henry, Karin) -- even the teenagers showed up.

Why does MOB spell Cyclyng with a "y" instead of an "i"? His award-winning German cycling blog is titled "There is no "i" in Cyclyng". MOB tells me that he based this on a Facebook post he saw long ago where one friend wrote "There is no 'I' in happiness", and someone else answered "Well there would be, if you spell it right". But I always think of it as a play on the old high school sports team coach's entreaty for players to be less selfish -- "There is no "i" in team" (apologies for crude language in that excerpt).  The classic comeback is, of course: "There is no 'i' in Team, but there is an 'M' and an 'E'!")

Of course, there IS an "i" in cycling, and a lot of "me" at least in cycle racing, as Lance Armstrong, Bernard Hinault, Eddie Merckx, and other aggressive, not-so-friendly champions have shown over and over.

Anyway, at long last I was able to visit MOB in Bremen and to enjoy Cyclyng there. I had a great stay in Bremen and these posts present a long overdue report to other members and our long-neglected readers, mostly in the form of photos.

The famous "musicians of Bremen", and a couple of humans.
Not as impressive as the similar animal statute in Bolzano ... but more famous.

This post starts with some general tourism. The following ones will focus on MOB's incredible shop, and our afternoon ride outside of the city.

It is a little known fact that MOB is not "of Bremen". No, he is a Rheinlander living in a foreign land. These city-states go way back to the middle ages, and the Rheinlanders in Bremen sometimes feel a bit like foreigners. They retreat to the informal "Rheinland Consulate", which serves the right kind of beer. We went there.

Warning -- place your coaster over your empty beer glass, or it will be swiftly refilled. House rules.

Rheinlanders -- Look for the sign of the winking owl with a finger/feather to the head.  ... or so I am told

Roland of Bremen, Protector of the City, this statute from 1404

MOB as tour guide, at Roland's knee, across from the old city hall.

Peace sign in the city square. Bremen has been ruled by the Democratic Socialists for many decades.

Leaving the square.

These incredible buildings are a legacy of Ludwig Roselius, the inventor of decaffeinated coffee, a local.

More from the coffee king.

Coffee tastes good, morning, noon and night! Decaf!
Bremen also hosted the very first coffee shop in German speaking countries, 1673.

Scary statues, interesting fish tank.

After the in town tour, we went to a lovely restaurant in the countryside along one of the many rivers and marshlands near Bremen. It is over 65km from the North Sea, but very much a coastal city, with its shipyards, and links down the River Weser to Bremerhaven

Approaching the restaurant

Setting sun on the marshlands.

A feast for two. Those are small local shrimp (ebi) on my plate.

Serious berries for dessert ... and not the only berries on this visit to Bremen.

As we were ready to leave the restaurant ... last light.

Enough of tourism. Next post -- the bike shop!