With Bremen Airport having a free Spotters’ Terrace within the terminal building, it would have been rude to spend a couple of days in the city without at least paying the terrace a short visit. I actually ended up visiting twice, once immediately after arriving, to enable me to see my inbound aircraft depart back to Stansted, and once the afternoon of my first day in the city before heading to my hotel. So, is a visit worth it?
Having arrived in Bremen on a Ryanair flight from Stansted (read about that here), the first of three planned trips to Germany I would be taking in 2025 was underway. Rather than just being an extreme day trip, I was staying overnight near the airport and so had plenty of time to explore the city, starting with the historic city centre. Having watched my aircraft depart back to England, it was time to begin my explorations, starting with a short tram ride into the city.
After seemingly working every Bank Holiday weekend in 2024, I was pleased to have ended up only being rostered to work on the Bank Holiday Monday itself for the 2025 Late May Bank Holiday and so I decided to make use of the weekend and head out of the UK for a trip somewhere. Bremen is a destination that I have planned a trip to previously, but for one reason or another didn’t actually make, and so with some cheap Ryanair flights available, it seemed like the time to visit the German city. And so, early on a Bank Holiday Saturday, I was at Harlow Town station waiting for a delayed Stansted Express to the airport.
I remember visiting Birmingham Airport with my Dad to go spotting a few times during my childhood, and then during my teenage years making the trip by bus and train alone as my fascination of aviation developed. Back then, Birmingham had an indoor visitor centre on the second floor of the terminal building that provided okay views out over the main apron, slightly obscured by the triangular roof of the lower part of the terminal building in front. Unfortunately, as with my youth, this visitor centre is long gone, swallowed up by various airport expansions and developments over the years, however unlike many other UK airports Birmingham Airport does retain an official 'plane spotting' area.
My trip to Eindhoven and The Netherlands had unfortunately only been partially successful and, having ran out of things to do in a closed Eindhoven, I was back at Eindhoven Airport a few hours ahead of my flight home. I’d once again be flying with Ryanair to London’s Stansted airport, the low-cost carrier’s largest base and an airport I’m not a fan of arriving into as its quite often chaotic. Would it be any different on this occasion?
Having had a day unsuccessfully exploring the city of Eindhoven, as well as a jaunt to the Dutch/Belgian border, I was back at Eindhoven airport a few hours before my flight and with some time to spare before heading through security. As such, there was only one thing I could reasonably do, check out the viewing terrace at the airport, and see what aircraft I could spot.
Flights & Times 