Essential German phrases

The northern German greeting, used at any hour — morning, midnight, and every point between. 'Moin moin' is considered chatty. It is the first word you will hear and the one that marks you as having arrived.

Low German for 'outside and inside, dare and win' — the merchants' motto carved on the Schütting on the Marktplatz, and still the city's self-description. Bremen thinks of itself as a trading republic first and a German city second.

Bremen's funfair on the Bürgerweide, first granted market rights in 1035, and seventeen days of the city's calendar in late October. 'Ischa Freimaak' — 'it's Freimarkt' — is the standard excuse for everything that fortnight.

The parliament of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen — which is simultaneously the state legislature and, sitting without its Bremerhaven members, the city council. One chamber, two jobs, and the reason Bremen sets its own rules where other cities inherit them.

Literally 'the quarter', but always one specific quarter: Ostertor and Steintor east of the centre. Bremen's bohemian district, its bar strip and the answer to 'where should I live'. Nobody says the full district names.

Low German for foul weather — horizontal drizzle with wind off the North Sea. Used constantly and without much complaint, because the alternative would be to complain for eight months of the year.

Registering your address, legally required within two weeks of moving in, and the gate to your tax ID, bank account, health insurance and residence permit. In Bremen it is done at a BürgerServiceCenter.

Cold rent versus warm rent — base rent against rent plus heating and service charges. Listings quote cold; your standing order is warm. On Bremen's older Altbremer houses the gap can be large.

The credit scoring agency. Landlords, phone operators and instalment sellers all check it, and a newcomer's file is empty. Bring the free annual data copy to viewings rather than promising to send it.

The winter kale outing: a group walks out of town pulling a handcart of schnapps, eats kale with Pinkel sausage at the far end, and crowns a Kohlkönig. Invitations arrive between January and March and declining is not really done.

The employees' chamber. A compulsory statutory body that exists only in Bremen and the Saarland: a small percentage comes off your gross pay and buys free legal advice on employment, tax and social insurance. Most newcomers notice the deduction and never use the service.

112 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police. 112 works across the EU.