King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were in Bremen today for a one-day visit. This visit is a part of a tour to all sixteen German states which began in 2013. This is the 13th state the Dutch King and Queen have visited since then. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg are set to follow in May.
The King and Queen were welcomed at the Hans Koschnick airport by the President of the Senate and the Mayor of Bremen, Carsten Sieling, who whisked them off to the Airbus Defence & Space. Aerospace Engineering, alongside wind energy and naval research, is one of the focusses of this visit as it is one of the fields where cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany can be improved.
The King and Queen were shown to the European module of the International Space Station where former German astronaut Thomas Reiter told them about what kind of work they did there. Afterwards, the King and Queen were taken for lunch at the city hall, where both the Mayor and the King gave a speech. King Willem-Alexander said, “Our relationship is rooted in the past. But what makes Bremen extra special for us, is our cooperation now. Our visit is a tribute to everything we share. Our belief in freedom and cooperation. Our historical trade relationship. And our connection to the sea, which is important for your and our identity.” The King made the speech in German.
After lunch, the couple took a short walk across the market square by the statue of the City Musicians of Bremen. In the afternoon the King and Queen visited the Fraunhofer Institut fur Windenergiesysteme where Dutch and German partners come together to work on wind energy. They ended their visit to Bremen at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Pole and Naval research where they learned about the changes in the pole areas and the consequences of melting icecaps.
