I had some holiday to use at work so I decided to spend a
week and a half in North Rhine Westphalia. Although I made brief forays into
other countries; namely Holland and Belgium the main focus of the trip were three
German cities, Düsseldorf, Aachen and Cologne.
I flew into Düsseldorf from London on a warm Monday evening. The airport
felt really big but I think this was mainly because I couldn’t find my host.
Once reunited with my friend the first exciting thing about my return to Germany was my
first ride on a double-decker train. I imagine, if you live in Continental
Europe, the thought of a train on two levels is not that unusual but in England
they don’t exist; between that and the Sky Train I was quite enamoured of the
German rail system.
Düsseldorf, like the airport, was bigger than I expected. I
particularly enjoyed the old town, complete with Schneider Wibbel immortalised
in music and metal, little town squares and gorgeous waterfronts. Their rich
heritage in Persil and other soaps is celebrated in the town museum which
boasts a large collection of artefacts and trilingual signs. The other
wonderful part of Düsseldorf to visit is the harbour. Like much of the rest of
Europe, the old industrial parts of the country have been salvaged through
architectural innovation. The arty office blocks make for an interesting view
but if nature is more your thing there is also a really nice Rhine walk in this
area complete with little beaches. Like many German cities Düsseldorf’s public
transport is comprehensive...but one word of warning, don’t trust the station
names. Getting off the train at Düsseldorf Zoo Station will not lead you to
Düsseldorf Zoo but an ice-rink, the zoo was destroyed in the Second World War.
Stroking Schneider’s Nose. Düsseldorf.
For the majority of my trip I was based in Aachen, staying
at a backpackers hostel. I was taking a bit of a leap because usually I only
stay in HI hostels; but I found the backpackers hostel to be much friendlier,
more homely and, importantly for a girl on foot, more central than its
competitor. Aachen is a great German city to visit; it has got impressive regional,
national and international transport links. The old town has some lovely places
to visit; Charlemagne’s Cathedral, a UNESCO site with an impressive treasury,
the Town Hall, again Carolingian in origin and now featuring an impressive
multi-sensory museum, and lots of pretty little streets with a surprising
amount of remaining architecture for a city that was 80% blitzed. It is hard to
verbalise my love for this city but one of the things I really like is how
truly international it is; the last big city before the border with both
Holland and Belgium it is not unusual to hear at least three different
languages at once. Several of my shopping experiences have started in German
and ended in English via French! This attitude is echoed in everything from the
architecture to the food and the music that I’ve heard in Aachen. That and the
ice cream from a little parlour called Del Negro is the best I’ve tasted
outside of Italy; they’ve got loads of flavours, the portions are huge, the
prices are small and they even let you do half and half!
Amazing Aachener Eis!
Finally I wanted to write a little about Cologne. It took me
a while to visit Cologne because of the loyalty I felt to other parts of
Westphalia. The rivalry runs so deep that to ask for Kölsch in an Altbier
region is really quite offensive! But Cologne was lovely. The riverside at
Cologne is much photographed and with good cause. A similar size to Düsseldorf
but very aware of its historic context, where Aachen is built in circles,
Düsseldorf builds in squares and lines. Nowhere is this more evident than in
comparing the Cathedrals of both towns. Aachen circular and Carolingian, Cologne
is tall, gothic and towered. The city museum showcased just how aware the
people of Cologne were of their cities relevance. The town had, for a long
time, been able to harness all the local resources, and become a powerful
independent city. That power had been seized on occasion for good and for very
bad uses but I felt the museum dealt with this subject gracefully. There was
lots to do in Cologne even on a national holiday; I reckon I could have spent
more days there and still not have been bored.
In sum then, I really enjoyed my return to West Germany; the
challenge of communicating in foreign languages, walking through foreign climes
and discovering new cities. I hope you will consider visiting North Rhine
Westphalia and discover its charms for yourself.
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