Düsseldorf
Quite by chance I find myself at present in the Rheinland in the West of Germany (about 4 to 5 hours West and slightly south of Berlin) in the capital of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is in the heart of the Rhein-Ruhr-Gebiet, an area encompassing multiple cities such as Dortmund, Duisburg, Köln, Bonn, Essen, Bochum and more, with a combined population of 11 million.
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| Care of www.reading-dusseldorf.org.uk |
As the regional name indicates, it is situated on the River Rhein downstream from Köln und Bonn. And if Wagner's Rheinmaidens were looking for somewhere to spend their recovered Rheingold, I'm sure they would find all the necessary luxury shops here in Düsseldorf.
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| Looking Upstream Rhein (c) MJT |
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| Looking Downstream Rhein (c) MJT |
Just for fun, here is the entire production of Wagner's Rheingold from 2007 in Bayreuth, in case you have a spare 2.5 hours.
While I wouldn't have expected to visit Düsseldorf specifically from Berlin, since arriving I have found it to be a very pleasant city - much calmer, friendly and civilized than Berlin - and very diverse in cultures and architecture. For example I quite like the newly opened Daniel Libeskind designed building at Jan-Wellen Platz.
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| Libeskind Architecture (c) MJT |
The Alt-Stadt (old city) which is build upon the bank of the Rhein is well worth exploring, as there are numerous culinary options (at some points a different nationality per shop), including Ethiopian, Spanish, Turkish, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, alongside various fish markets and bakeries. Plus a central market area and cafes/beer gardens stretching along the bank of the river.
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| Along the riverbank (c) MJT |
And so over the next few blogs I hope to explore the city further and share my experiences and recommendations for this Berlin getaway to the Rheinland.
M.
