At a good friend’s recommendation, we traveled to Dusseldorf
for the day. Although we only walked a little more than 3 miles, it took us 5
hours! See what happens when you take too many pictures?
Upon arrival, we never have a city map so the streets and
alleyways are a jumbled mess to us. After driving around the city for a while
and not knowing where the altstadt (Old Town) was located, we pulled into the
next P (Parking garage) we found. In my usual form, I accosted a nice lady
wearing a Hijab and asked if she spoke English. She was so welcoming and
admitted her English wasn’t good so I assured her with my limited German and we
had a laugh.
Gilda and Ali chatted with us as they got us out of the
garage and onto the streets of Dusseldorf. We asked for directions to the
altstadt and it seems we were just one street away from entering its outskirts.
We thanked our generous new acquaintances, took pictures and parted company.
Our first stop was the T.I. to map our route for the day and
find a Toilette after our coffee-filled drive. Picking up a couple items to
give us a walking tour, we headed to the City Hall in Markt Platz to find the
facilities.
There were even signs to help us on our way! How nice…but we still
didn’t find them. Down one alleyway we found a beauty shop so I asked for
directions to the Toilettes and the girl said, “Why don’t you just use ours!”
Would THAT happen in the States? I think not! After getting permission and
directions to their restroom, I was ready for the day.
We headed for the Rhine and our walk along the river to oldest
park in the city. Stopped by the KD river cruise kiosk but the man was on his
way to the restroom and would return in 10 minutes. We decided not to wait but
took a pamphlet and went on our way past the Burg Platz and following the river.
Enjoyed the park but it was just that…a park…with trees, open spaces for play and
limited flowers.
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Children's play area with a ropes course. |
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Lifelike sculptures adorn cylinder advertising kiosks. There are 10 throughout the city.
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A jester was allowed to say anything to the king without retribution. This jester honors Carnival in Dusseldorf held annually. |
Daniela had said to walk the park and enjoy the architecture
but we discovered later that we think she meant the park across the river since
the houses over there had lots of character.
Beautiful walk on a double treelined center with the river
flowing between and then over to Citadelstrasse which was advertised as having
18
th and 19
th century homes lining the street. These were
the oldest houses in Dusseldorf. Unfortunately for us, many of them were
covered with scaffolding as renovations were underway. But school was letting out and these little girls with their big backpacks caught my eye.
Returned to the Burg Platz to get a photo of the cartwheeler
that we missed on our first go round and then walked back to our car park for
the drive home. Another meaning for M.A.S.H. and it's NOT the war series on TV.
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Can you afford an Omaha steak here at 42 euro? Exchange rate $1=.80 euro |
Crosswalk signals require traffic to stop but you'd better watch out for those bicycles!
And then there's bocci ball in the park to pass the time away:
Getting out of the city would be yet another adventure since we
were so turned around we weren’t sure which way would get us to an autobahn.
So, following the traffic and getting help from no right turn or no entry
signs, we stumbled onto our bright orange-yellow signs and were off to return
to Kreuztal.
I must apologize that I’m not good at blogging on the day of
the travel. Tired from driving and overwhelmed by a “responsibility” [remember
I’m retired and avoid responsibility ;-)], I tend to just relax and have a
wine. At home I seldom eat canned items
but we had purchased a can of “goulash” for a quick dinner and served it over
microwaved potatoes. Hey! Not gourmet but filling. ;-)
And here's our 5 hour, 3 mile walk of Dusseldorf:
We’ve been raiding Henning and Kirsten’s freezer of their
ice cream and will have to replace it. Their freezer is the size of our
refrigerators at home. The fridge in the kitchen is just that and the freezer
is located in their laundry room. I like the organization of the drawers inside
this big freezer.
Off to bed. Tomorrow is another day.
No wonder the walk took 8 hours. There's a lot to see!
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