We made our first foray into Germany last week, thanks to a school vacation that coincided with a family birthday. The trip was by train; first to Cologne (Köln in German) for a day and a half, then Düsseldorf for another night and a day.
Our impressions: unlike some other places*, in Germany the train schedule is serious business. Stops at smaller stations are quick, sometimes less than a minute, and more than once we saw luckless travelers sprinting for a train that started pulling away from the station 20 seconds early. On the other hand, we found that Germans are sympathetic and helpful to visitors. Once, when we got on a tram going the wrong direction and foolishly stayed on it to the end of the line, a very kind Oma (grandmother) instructed us on where to find a tram back to the city center, and which tram we needed - all in German but perfectly comprehensible to monoglot me.
In Cologne we visited the Schokoladen Museum (Chocolate Museum) then worked off the rich desserts by ascending more than 500 steps to the top of the belfrey at the Dom (cathedral). The view was wonderful but the interior of the cathedral was simply spectacular. I hope to return someday to enjoy one of the many choral or organ concerts at the Dom.
We happened onto a fun international event - Düsseldorf is the host city for Eurovision 2011 (a song contest) and we enjoyed watching hopefuls in the junior division dance their hearts out on stage. While walking around Düsseldorf's old town we were treated to a glimpse of last year's winner, Lena Meyer-Landrut, as she was intercepted by a TV camera crew.
Other highlights of our trip: Köln's riverwalk and many beautiful churches, most of which were rebuilt in their original styles after the war, meeting other travelers at the Pathpoint Cologne hostel; Dusseldorf's Kunst im Tunnel (Art in the Tunnel) gallery, rich-in-history Stadtmuseum and local Altbier.
On the whole, a successful foray. Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland! We'll be back!
*namely the Netherlands and Belgium, more on this later.
We were able to enjoy a brief stop in Dusseldorf last year as we traveled to Macedonia. Our layover was long enough that we ventured downtown. It was Sunday, all the shops were closed and it was a cloudy day but still, exciting as we managed to 'read' the instructions for the subway and actually find our way there and back!
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