The second we stepped out of the train station in Düsseldorf around 4 pm, we immediately felt a different vibe than Cologne, despite only being 30 minutes away. A new friend from the bar the night before suggested we make a visit, so we arrived with expectations to fill, yet were not sure what to expect. I had been curious about the town ever since speaking to an au pair family there before I decided to move to Karlsruhe. It was quiet and felt almost like a deserted downtown in an American city. Since arriving on a whim, we stepped into the nearest Burger King for some free WiFi. After madly checking up on our Instagram feeds, we did a little Wikitravel research and figured out how to walk to the old town and to the riverfront.
The city didn't fare well during WWII, so it is mostly modern but still beautiful. The old town was rebuilt to its prewar look and the needle, called the Rhien Tower, situated on the river provides a memorable landmark in the city. The town is famous for its Altbier, a darker beer. Don't get confused and order a Kölsch, the famous brew in Cologne, in this city!
On our walk into the old town, we spotted dozens of Japanese restaurants. We would have been super confused had the wiki not filled us in on the large Japanese population in the city. It was a Sunday, and as Germany tends to do on Sundays, much of the city was shut down, which really contributed to the deserted feeling. That was until we neared Koenigsallee closer to the Old Town. Koenigsallee is normally the shopping street, but on Carnival Sunday, it turns into one massive outdoor party. It immediately became apparent that we'd just missed something. We were salmon swimming upstream against a river of drunk, tired people in costume. We continued up current and encountered Koenigsallee and the confetti filled streets. The once large crowd left only small groups still celebrating. After grabbing some Glühwein to warm our frozen bodies, we peopled watched and imagined the possibilities of what had just occurred on this apparent party street and gave ourselves a kick for not making it earlier. That was until we kept on trekking...
Once we made it to the Altstadt (old town), it turned out we hadn't missed a thing. The party just moved right down into the Altstadt, which is often called "the longest bar in the world" due to its high concentration of bars and pubs. Here, the streets were filled, shoulder to shoulder with people partying and moving in and out of the various bars. Music played throughout the streets, while people celebrated the year's "fifth season" with friends. We were sure to not miss the sun setting over the Rhine, it was an incredible sight - one I'd love to see again!
Koenigsallee aftermath
Koenigsallee Düsseldorf
Gluhwein Mug
Reibekuchen - German potato fritters characteristic of the region
It's always fun simply to see how much fun people are having.
Sunset over the Rhine in Düsseldorf
Always easy to make friends during Karneval!
Have you been to any of the cities in the German Rheinland area?
19 comments
love your traveling stories!
ReplyDeletewho can resist that mug? i can't wait until i can travel for holidays and not for work
Never been there, but I've been up to Essen, Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard there is a fair rivalry between Cologne and Dusseldorf. True? Noticed at all?
i love that y'all stopped at burger king. Crazy that they have such a high japanese population. So fun with the party in the street, pink hair looks good on you.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of a large Japanese population in Düsseldorf - very interesting! Among Germans Düsseldorf is mostly considered a very rich and fancy city, where people wear fur to go shopping on the Königsallee... I believe I've been there briefly, because they also happen to have a great art scene and couple of good museums - I should definitely go again someday :)
ReplyDeleteLove the pink wig on you! And that adorable Glühwein mug :)
I want that little bear cup! And I want to go to one long bar strip! And I want to just be you already.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew!!! I lived with a girl from Meerbusch, smack dab in the middle of Cologne and Dusseldorf. She said she sided more with Dusseldorf because it's the underdog in this battle!
ReplyDeleteI like Dusseldorf a lot. but I also like Koeln and I guess that is not allowed. Haha. Glad you had so much fun there. I have never been there at Fasching. I am surprised you get Gluehwein at that time of the year! The mug is sooo cute!
ReplyDeleteNo way the photo of the Sunset was taken in Düsseldorf, absolutely amazing! Look like you had a lot of fun. Love the teddy bear mug! :)
ReplyDeleteCutest Glühwein mug EVER!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Düsseldorf - other than the airport. My school German exchange was with a village in the Ruhrgebiet and we always flew to Düsseldorf - it's now the only airport in Germany that has direct flights to Newcastle (unless Hannover have started doing them again).
I was told about the rivalry, but as for noticing, I probably wouldn't have noticed without being told about it. Then again, everyone was just so generally happy during Karneval time :)
ReplyDeleteI do prefer Kölsch to Altbier though!
ReplyDeleteOh Burger King or McDonald's - usually my first stops when arriving in a new city so I can figure out where the heck I am. Hooray free WiFi! You really like the pink? Maybe I'll consider it for my midlife crisis when I start going gray
ReplyDeleteI know it's just the cutest Gluehwein mug I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Düsseldorf, it seemed like it could be a neat place to live! And seirously, it's the cutest Glühwein mug I've ever seen, I was thiiissss close to buying it.
ReplyDeleteI liked both cities, too! But I guess since we aren't from there we can do that :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the cutest, I so almost bought it and am kind of sad I didn't.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Duesseldorf! I have never been there for Carnival, but it certainly is a great place to be, especially for going out!
ReplyDeleteI used to live in Eindhoven (NL) where they even have a larger district of bars and clubs...(unbelievable but true,,, the town itself is not too big, guess about 250,000 people, but there is a large technical Uni, so lots of (male) students... *good for free drinks as a lady;-)* I indeed always partied for below 10 Euros, ha ha)
Love,
Svenja
Happybluebird
The photo of you sipping the Gluhwein is adorable!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking such amazing photos of my city! Made me appreciate it a bit more. Loved the sunset photo, we do have some nice ones over the Rhine!
ReplyDelete