After arriving in Bremen, we walked to our hotel on the Weser River. Then we walked around the Schnoor area where the roads are extremely narrow and the buildings date from the Middle Ages. After a snack and a Beck’s beer (brewed in Bremen) at the Ratskellar, we joined three others at Osteria for a multi-course Italian dinner hosted by Thermo Fisher. Plenty of wine and grappa were consumed!

On Wednesday morning, we got up late and had a tour of the Thermo Fisher mass spectrometer factory before lunch. We are currently on the ICE train from Bremen to Gottingen, via Hanover. Our goal is Wartburg Castle near Eisenach, which will require at least two more trains.

Narrow streets in the Schnoor.

Bremen is famous for its four animal musicians.

Rathaus (city hall).

The grave of the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss in Gottingen. Almost missed our train connection because of the stroll to see this.

• Germany Chemtrip