I went to Dusseldorf to see my wonderful Frenchie, Marine. She is currently working in Germany right now. I arrived late on a Thursday night (Nov 11) and went straight to bed. The first thing I have to say that shocked me a little about Germany, is that I did not meet a single person that did not speak English… fluently! They must have one hell of a school system and I am very impressed! Well, the next day, Marine had to work, so after I slept in, I went to meet up with Marine and her friend at her work to go for lunch. We had a pleasant lunch and then I went exploring. I found myself in a major shopping strip filled with shops I couldn't afford. Not only could I not afford them, but I really literally couldn't afford to take them back with me on the plane… which leads me to talking about RyanAir. This airline has many bases all around Europe. They are incredibly cheap, but they sure do getcha in other ways. Trick #1: their airports are usually based a little bit outside of the main city (as was Dusseldorf… approximately 1 hour outside). Trick #2: You are only allowed to carry on a very small bag. For me, my smallest suitcase is still too big, so I had to take my backpack. This also includes any shopping bags you may have from shopping in the airport as well as purses. Upon entering the plane, if your baggage does not fit in the little tester box, which they make you try, you much check your baggage for… Trick #3: A whopping 30 euros!!! Going on a big trip? 30 euros per bag that you check. That includes if your purse does not fit in to your one carryon. Tough luck they say! Trick #4: If you forget to print your boarding pass before you come to the airport, they charge you 40 euros!!! Typically, that is more than your whole flight is worth. Trick #5: Think you are going to have a hassle free relaxing flight? Probably not. They spend the entirety of the flight selling you things. Everywhere from smokeless cigarettes that you can smoke on the plane, to hot meals, to lottery tickets, to calling cards. Anyway, all of the tricks aside, your treat is, that if you make sure you are prepared with transportation after you arrive as well as your boarding pass, pack light, and bring headphones on the plane, the flights are very affordable. Ok, back to shopping center. It was very beautiful, but cold and gloomy. Evidently, Dusseldorf was known in the past as being famous for ready-to-wear clothes, so that is why there are so many fancy stores. I started wandering around the city and stumbled upon a pretty looking museum called the K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen Museum. I decided to go in and check it out because it started raining right as I got there. The art exhibits were ok, but some were slightly disturbing. However, it was a good way to pass the time while it rained. After I finished with the museum, I went looking for the funky buildings that are the face of Dusseldorf. My favorite part of Dusseldorf was probably the architecture. There were a lot of cool buildings. I found the funky buildings, but It started raining again. I walked in the rain along the river, which looked like, if it was good weather, it would have been quite a pleasant area for a drink. There were many bars along the river. I went to a Starbucks to meet up with Marine after her work and when we finally met up, we went to a few bars to experience… German beer! However, this was slightly disappointing for me because I expected the beer to be awesome! But… the beer was only mediocre, but the experience of getting it was fun! They walk around with trays of beers and you just holla at them when you want a new one and they make a little notch on your coaster to keep track! After this, it was raining, so Marine and I got some wine and cheese and went back to her place to chill for the evening in her warm apartment. The next day we had more bread and cheese (I LOVE EUROPEAN CHEESE!) for lunch, and then went out to meet Marine's friends. I was very impressed with how many languages they all spoke fluently! I want to be like that one day! We walked around town and drank lots of warm beverages to recover from the cold rain outside, and then in the evening we went to a restaurant for German food. Personally, the food was all right, but nothing to get too crazy about. The following day, Sunday, I went for lunch with Marine before I made my long journey home. My favorite part of Germany was visiting Marine. Dusseldorf didn't have a lot of things to do, or maybe I didn't research enough, but I really enjoyed spending time with my friend. Sorry this post is a month late!!!!!
