Munich to Dusseldorf
September 28 & 29, 2006
      

President: Glenn "Wally" Faunce 2923-E Olney-Sandy Spring Road Olney, MD  20832 Phone: 301-774-4646 Fax: 301-774-3610   Return To Germany 2006 Main Page

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I woke up at 7:00 AM and repacked to get ready to leave.  I had breakfast and checked out and decided to take the 9:10 AM train to Dusseldorf.  There was an 8:26 AM that would get to Dusseldorf 45 minutes earlier but you had to change trains twice and the second connection was only 5 minutes in Koln.  The train I’m on now has no changes.  It’s well worth the 45 minutes not to have to get on and off trains twice with my luggage.

I got a seat with a table and electrical outlet so I’m happy.  I’ve downloaded all my pictures from yesterday and have caught up on my journal to this point.  It’s about 11:00 AM right now and I should arrive in Dusseldorf at about 2:14 PM.  I absolutely love Munich.  It’s a great town.  Like usual I didn’t see everything I wanted to but that’s alright, it gives me a reason to come back again.  I’ve been emailing Francis after his debacle with his Internet Order Uzbeki bride he says he is definitely in for Oktoberfest next year.  I’m going to try and talk Joe and Larry into coming too.  I think we would have a blast.  I was thinking maybe do an Ireland-Oktoberfest-Poland trip to get in all the backgrounds of the boys.

I’m outside Frankfurt and just looked up at the display in the train that said we were traveling at 267 kilometers per hour.  I’ve tried sleeping but can’t, I’ve played solitaire on the computer and I’m bored with that now.  At least I can listen to my music downloaded on the computer.  I forgot to recharge my phone last night so that would have only lasted about an hour.  I’ve now just seen us get the train’s speed up to 291 kilometers per hour outside Montaur.  We are really moving.    

I wandered around the train station some and finally figured out how to get to the hotel via the tram system.  The hotel was about 200 yards from the tram stop but of course the big problem is trying to figure which way is the correct way.  After looking at my map for awhile I figured it out and got the hotel and checked in.  I was exhausted since I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.  I took a nap and when I woke up I went down to the restaurant at the Courtyard Hafen Dusseldorf which was called Julian’s Bar & Restaurant.  The hotel is on a canal that leads to the Rhine River and I ate outside as the weather again is just beautiful.  I had a Caesar Salad which was supposed to be a Chicken Caesar Salad but the waitress didn’t understand me.  I was too tired to argue.  I know it’s hard to screw up a Caesar Salad but this was one of the better Caesar Salad’s I’ve ever had.  I planned to go upstairs and take another little nap before heading out but ended up sleeping until Friday morning.
 

I had a full day to explore Dusseldorf.  I took the tram back to the main train station then took the subway to the Heinrich Heine stop near Old Town Dusseldorf.  I crossed the main shopping street Konigs Allee and went to see the Triton Fountain.  Before I found the Triton Fountain I walked through the park opposite where the fountain was and got to come across an old man urinating in the park. That was a great way to start the day.  I went back to the Triton fountain which is at the head of a canal and probably is really cool when the water is spouting out of it.  Of course it was not working when I got there.  I tried later in the day to see if it was like Schloss Nymphenburg where they turned the fountain on for a couple of hours but it was still off when I revisited it later in the day. 

It was fairly early and the Old Town area was pretty quiet.  The area is also known as “The World’s Longest Bar.”  That’s a bit of an overstatement as it’s mostly restaurants.  I started to wander the Old Town and it’s a neat area.  It seems like things haven’t changed forever but you know it’s had to have been mostly been rebuilt since World War II.  I first stopped at St. Andreas Church, which is a small church painted gold but is all white inside. I then went looking for the 1933 – 1945 Monument which is not a monument at all but a building that is a museum.  I was looking for a monument for quite awhile not knowing I was really looking for a building.  When I finally found it, it had not opened.  I planned going back but never did.

Next on my tour of Old Town was the Town Hall Square.  It’s a nice little square where they have all types of celebrations like when the soccer team wins some important game.  There is an equestrian statue of Elector Jan Wellem which is supposed to be the most important equestrian statue north of the Alps.  I’m not sure how this was decided but that’s what I’ve read in Dusseldorf literature.  The square is a surround by the Town Hall on two sides which has ivy growing up the walls.  It really adds to the building as it’s the only one I saw in town that had that little extra. 

The Rhine River was a few blocks from the Town Hall Square.   I decided to head that way.  The Rhine is a really wide river and the current, at least in this bend at Old Town is really strong.  It was another just amazingly nice day so I decided to stop at one of the river side cafes and have a beer to soak up some rays.  I had a few beers while taking some pictures of the Rhine River and Rhine Tower.  There is an upper and lower walking level on the Rhine River in Old Town and they have café’s on both levels but I imagine the lower level ones can be completely relocated in case the water level rises.  They are right at the water level.  They’ve also added some park space where there were a lot of people just out relaxing.

After finishing my beer I headed down the river towards the Rhine Tower.  I stopped at St. Maximilian Church which had a statue outside that had a bunch of bronze murals depicting famous people and events in Dusseldorf’s history.   Next stop was the monument to Heinrich Heine the cities most famous son.  It’s a weird statue of half a head looking up out of the ground with various parts of the other side of the head around the main half of head.  Heinrich Heine was a 19^th Century German Poet.

From the Heinrich Heine Statue I started towards the Rhine Tower.  The Rhine Tower is on the Rhine River and is 234 meters tall.  Entrance was included on my Dusseldorf Tourist Card as was the unlimited use of Dusseldorf’s transportation system.  I went up to the observation deck which was 164 meter high and spent about an hour enjoying the view and having a couple of beers.  It was a pretty day but when you got that high you realized it was a bit hazy.  I’d love to be up in the tower when it’s a clear day. 

While drinking my beer I was sitting next to an Australian couple who was trying to figure out there next destination.  I let them look at my map and unwittingly let them have it.  I had a 2^nd map so it wasn’t a huge deal but the one they took was the better of the two.  Oh well, it was my good deed of the day.  While taking in the view at the top of the tower I also realized how close it was to the Courtyard.  It was within walking distance definitely but you couldn’t see the tower from the hotel due to the position within other buildings.

I descended the tower and decided to walk up the river bank back to Old Town.  I stopped at the Rheinknie Bridge where there was an outdoor café and had another beer while watching the barges come down the river.  From the bridge I head into Old Town and found the most famous statue in town.  It was of Cartwheeling Children.  Cartwheeling Children has been Dusseldorf’s city symbol since the Battle of Worringen in 1288.  The statue was in a neat little courtyard within a bunch of trees.  While I was here I also encountered a bunch of Dutch school kids on a school trip.  They had a bunch of locations they had to find in Old Town and take pictures with them.  I helped them take there picture with the other monument next to the Cartwheeling Children which commemorated the Battle of Worringen. They were pretty funny.  It was this bleak statue with medieval knights on horses in there war helmets and a broken down cart.  They took there picture with the statue posing like Charlie’s Angels.

My next stop was St. Lambertus Basilica.  It’s another beautiful church inside which is sort of hidden in a small back street near the river.  As usual, I got all my church visits for the year during my vacation.  The architecture in these beautiful old churches is amazing. 

I was getting a little hungry now and after my unsuccessful try at seeing the Triton Fountain with water flowing out of it I went to get something to eat.  I stopped at a bakery and got some pastries.  I love the pastries in Germany.  I could live on them.  I had a beer at the bar on the corner across from the bakery called Bei Bill.  I also love the outdoor seating for all the bars also.  I pulled out my guide to see if there was anything on my Dusseldorf Tourist Card that would give me a discount and realized I was right across the street from the oldest brewery/restaurant in Dusseldorf.  My card gave me a free beer with entry also.

This restaurant was called Zum Schiffchen and was over 375 years old.  I had an outstanding meal, Braised Shoulder of Pork in a Rosemary Sauce.  I really enjoyed the meal and the restaurant which I ate outside again since it was so nice.  I did go inside to check out the main restaurant.  One of the main reasons I stopped in Dusseldorf was dad’s dad had a cousin that lived in Dusseldorf, Johann Locke.  It hit me that there was a great possibility that he had probably eaten at Zum Schiffchen himself.  That was pretty cool as I just kind of took in the whole trip.  I really would like to get dad to Germany to experience it.  He would really enjoy it. 

It was getting dark now and I decided to head back to the hotel and then maybe come back out later.  The restaurant was right around the corner from St. Maximilian Church which I had found out had a bus stop that had a bus that went right by the Courtyard Hafen Dusseldorf.  I got on the bus and headed home.  It was a good plan except that I had been walking around Dusseldorf for about 9 hours by this time.  As soon as I hit the bed in the hotel I realized I wouldn’t be going anywhere.  I was in for the night.
 

Return To Munich - Oktoberfest
September 27, 2006

Continue To Dusseldorf To Amsterdam To Washington, DC
September 30 & October 1, 2006