Düsseldorf

Day 441 – (September 12, 2019) – Düsseldorf, Germany

We, once again, found ourselves back in Germany! After leaving Brussels by train and making a quick transfer in Cologne, we had arrived in Düsseldorf. We were starving by the time we got there so the first order of business was to find some food. We went for a couple mustard-slathered bratwurst to mark the occasion. What could be more German than that?

We were in Düsseldorf to meet up with one of my childhood au pairs, Silke, who took care of me when I was a kid. I was probably somewhere around 11 or 12 years old at the time. We were living in Boston and Silke lived with my family for a year watching over me and my younger sister. But I had seen her since then. She had flown out to New York over Thanksgiving one year and Travis and I drove up from Philadelphia to meet up with her for a night. But we were excited to finally meet up with her in Germany and to meet her two kids for the first time.

Our introduction to her kids was kind of amusing. Silke had left us a key so we could get into her apartment. We arrived before her kids got home from school, so our first introduction to them was when they walked into their own home to find Travis and I sitting at their kitchen table. But Travis pulled together the best German he could to greet them. It was just a few words, but apparently it left an impression on them and they were quite excited that he could speak some German. Little did they know that he had exhausted most of his knowledge in those few carefully selected words.

Silke made it home from work and her kids eventually returned home too (they had both scattered to nearby friend’s houses with us being there – I probably would have done the same in their position). But we finally had an opportunity to catch up over dinner which was wonderful.

The next day we had a chance to explore some of Düsseldorf while everyone was at work and school. The weather was kind of terrible with cloudy skies and a cold wind, but we had a chance to explore the neighborhoods, the downtown area, and the Rhine river. We ended our walk with an afternoon altbier, the famous beer brewed in and around Düsseldorf. It has a unique taste. It’s darker colored but still clear and tastes like something between an ale and a lager. It’s lighter bodied but still flavorful. It’s the beer to drink in Düsseldorf, but I’m not sure what all the fuss is about to be honest. Germany has so much great beer and I'm not sure that altbier is their best on offer.

Sampling the famous altbier.

That night we happily volunteered to watch Silke’s kids while she went out. It’s a very interesting experience to watch kids who you can’t exactly communicate with, but we had a lot of fun trying to pull together German sentences to tell them some basic information. We had stopped at the grocery store that afternoon to pick food up for dinner. We were wanting to have something German, so we made sausages, sauerkraut, and potatoes. However, in retrospect we should have made something American for her kids. That was sort of a missed opportunity, but they gave our dinner a good review anyway, so I think we succeeded.

The weather was so much nicer the next day, so we explored more of Düsseldorf again. We enjoyed a coffee out in the sun and then spent a lot of time in a park along the Rhine, watching all the boats run up and down the river. 

The Rhine Tower.

The boats along the Rhine River.

On our way home we gave the altbier another try, but this time we had another brand. We thought it was better than the first one we had. I still don’t think I’d go out of my way to order it again. It also amuses me that no matter how hard we try to fit in, we sometimes can’t help but stick out like a sore thumb. Travis ordered the beers from the bartender in German, but then when the bartender came to check on us on the patio, she asked in perfect English, “two more?”. I guess we didn’t pass well enough as German. It’s probably better anyway, because had she asked anything more complicated than “two more?” in German, we would have been lost.

The second (and better) altbier that we tried in Düsseldorf

That night Silke cooked us dinner and we had another fun night sharing some wine and catching up. I was sad to leave the next day for the airport. It was so nice to be visiting with friends over the last week, with Silke and her family and then with Lauren and Kyle before that. After leaving Silke’s place we would be on our own again. The next time we were going to see a familiar face was going to be when we were back home in Florida again. It was so crazy to think about.

Thank you so much, Silke, for having us over! It was so great to see you and meet your kids! We had a blast and we're looking forward to when our paths cross again.