We Made It

We arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport about a half an hour late so our lay-over was about an hour and went very quickly. The airport itself was not impressive and had vast areas of empty concrete-like spaces that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. We had to keep walking what seemed like a great maze that finally ended at a huge white double door that looked like a dead-end; it wasn’t. Heidi decided we could organize things much more efficiently and attractively. There was no art anywhere and the trash containers were just large, clear plastic bags suspended from rings at the tops of pipes so all the garbage was clearly visible. There were fire extinguishers every few feet which wasn’t really comforting. It was tacky and cold to say the least. We went outside and rode a bus to the gate. When we came in it was four miles from where we landed to our arrival gate and just as far to the departure gate. The flight left on time and was good.

We took a cab to our hotel, a Holiday Inn (Heidi’s preference the Swiss Hotel was full when she booked) which we found to be very comfortable. There were nice, nice down feather comforters on good beds. After a restful four hour nap we went with Heidi’s colleague Jan from Belgium to an Argentinean-German restaurant in Düsseldorf (our hotel was next-door in Neuss) for dinner. Heidi and I had kind of a stroganoff on really good fried potatoes made with bacon and onion. Jan had a lamb dish that was excellent.

Monday morning after Heidi went off to work I walked about six blocks to a tram stop so I could go into Düsseldorf. The train ride was 23 minutes to the Hauptbahnhof or main train station in Düsseldorf. After walking around there and going to the information center and the post office where I learned the door thing, I took the underground just two stops to the Alt Stadt (old town). Here was a quaint old shop, restaurant, and museum region that bordered the Rhine River. After a lunch at a quaint German restaurant of sausage, salt potatoes that turned out to be boiled potatoes with parsley which prompted the waiter to finally say, “They’re gut, you try.” when I couldn’t understand what he meant by salt potatoes, and a mushy cabbage vegetable dish that was very good, I was off to see the ceramics museum. It was closed! Bummer - because what I saw through the window was amazing.

So, now plan B. I knew there was a modern architectural area not too far away, so I started walking. It was a beautiful walk along the River Rhine under an archway of oddly-shaped leafless trees. I love to see people riding bikes and walking dogs and there were plenty. One old couple had lifted their dog onto the waist high wall so he could see the river too. After walking what seemed miles and miles I came to the Rhine Tower which was built in 1979 and is over 234 meters high. I went up and had a gorgeous, though overcast, 360 degree view of Düsseldorf. Luckily my camera’s battery didn’t die until after I had some good shots.

I retraced my steps to the Alt Stadt and after stopping at two places to ask if there was an Internet café nearby, I found a young woman who gave me good directions. It was two Euros for an hour which was way less expensive than the nine Euros for two hours back at the hotel. I replied to an email from Taylor and then chatted with Holly a little since it was just after eight at Shoreland where I found her online in her office. Then back to the underground from the old town to the Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof where I got the tram to Neuss. That night we had dinner at a Greek restaurant of all things where the lamb was delicious. I wonder how the family is going to like the idea of lamb when I get home?