DUSSELDORF
Biggest Little Village on the Rhine
I
was taking pictures of the Rhine River at sunset and trying to get
a good angle on a freight
barge and someone
commented that I must like
boats. I had to respond, “Well, it wouldn’t be the Rhine
River without a barge”. It is the character of Germany’s
most famous river - the barges and low narrow freight boats
motor up and down its length all day and night, many with the owner-operators’ automobile
parked on the cramped back deck for shore excursions. Their parade is
only broken by the regular Rhine Cruise boats, either making a short
city tour or a long river cruise. Travelers contemplating a trip to Germany
often mention Munich, Cologne (Koln) or Berlin as cities to see, rarely
is a visit to Dusseldorf on the list. Take a moment to reconsider. You
might be surprised.
Düsseldorf is that German city familiar outside the country and
even inside as the heart of Germany’s industrial and most populated
region of North Rhine-Westphalia where the Rhine and the Ruhr meet. Although
a major center of the country’s political and financial tax base,
the city’s long and slightly funny sounding name in fact means “little
village on the Düssel” the name of a small stream which empties
into the mighty Rhein at the city’s old town. Dusseldorf is also
perhaps one of Germany’s best kept secrets. Thought of as a dirty
industrial-convention sort of place for business trips but not a tourism
destination, the little town on the Düssel is in truth, a relaxed
and quaint river town with a vigorous night life of bars and cafes, surrounded
by a lively architectural Renaissance. When the highway which ran along
the river’s edge was removed and replaced with a tunnel underneath,
creating the now open riverside embankment promenade, it is said by locals
that Dusseldorf was returned to the Rhine.
When
the weather is good, Dusseldorfers flock to the riverside and fill
the outdoor cafes and bars. In spring
the Jazz Concert, one of Germany’s
biggest and best brings music to the streets of the old city. The old
town of Dusseldorf was heavily bombed and 85% destroyed in the war, but
much has been reconstructed from old plans, retaining its old Rhine town
feel, unlike concrete and steel Stuttgart (see Stuttgart
- City of Festivals),
or the frenetic bustle sprawling hodgepodge of Berlin. The old mixes
with the new in Dusseldorf,
giving
the city a feeling of the past meeting the future. The Media Harbor,
so named for the advertising and media companies taking up residence
in its trendy “green” office buildings, populated with hot
new restaurants packed late into the evening is dominated by the unique
modernist designs of Frank Gehry’s twisted form architecture. Three
sisters of Gehry buildings stand side by side on the waterfront, in red,
white and reflective aluminum. The Rhine Riverfront stretches from the
Schloss Turm, the old tower which is all that remains of the former castle, with
a coffee and snack shop on the top to the Rhine Turm observation TV tower
is a sharp attractive icon at the bend of the knee off the river with
a rotating restaurant on top with magnificent views of the river and
the city.
Napoleon
came to Dusseldorf as well as Goethe. The latter left a museum, the
former a corner table
in the
famous Brauerie zum Schiffchen Restaurant (Brewery of Small Ships)
where the little emperor once sat for the city’s local brew “Alt
Beer” and
you can too. The French conquerer gave the city the nickname of “Little
Paris” and the name sticks today. The “Kö”, the
city’s famed upscale shopping street the “KönigsAllee” dares
to rival Paris’ Champs Elysee, though smaller and quieter, separating
the old town from the new modern one. Dusseldorf is the center of Germany’s
fashion design and its influence is reflected in the “Kö”.
Originally built for the elector King along the moat protecting the old
town, the citizens objected to the taxes to pay for the Königsallee
and would only pronounce the first syllable, but the king has his revenge,
as the cosmopolitan boulevard has been become world renowned for the
trendy boutiques and designer names that equal Beverly Hills, Monaco
and Paris. For a little less cityscape, go a little farther up the river
to the area of Kaiserswerth in the shadow of the castle ruins of one
of Barbarossa’s imperial fortresses with its Rhine bank beer gardens,
or further out to the Benrath Palace of Karl Theodore (see Benrath
Palace).
A Dusseldorf Welcome Card can be purchased from the tourism office or
from rail stations. It allows unlimited travel on the underground and
local S-Bahn rail system along with discounts at many attractions. Rhine
Cruise boats embark from Düsseldorf’s river front for excursions
and tours (see KD
Rhine Cruises).
Cologne’s
Carnival is probably more famous (see Koln
Carnival Crazy Days), but Duesseldorf’s
is actually bigger and Cologne with its great cathedral is only a twenty
minute train ride away. The summer Kirmes Funfair (see Dusseldorf
Kirmes Fun Fair)
is the largest on the Rhine. In winter, artificial snow lines the
banks of the river
for cross-country
skiing through the city and the Christmas Market offers free ice-skating
(see Dusseldorf
Christmas Market). Dusseldorf’s
modern and easily accessible airport (see Air
Berlin - More Flights To Dusseldorf)
with its brand new Maritim
Hotel footsteps
out the door is one of the closest to the downtown of any major German
metropolis. The city also offers museums ranging from the grand Kunstpalast
and K20 to the just plain curious, K21 and KIT-Kunst im Tunnel (see Art Museums K21- KIT).
With the largest Japanese community in Europe, the city’s international
culture status is reflected everywhere, with Japanese Gardens in
the Nordpark, just one of many of the parks which make Dusseldorf feel
a long way from its industrial and business center reputation. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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best hotel and vacation deals in Dusseldorf
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Dusseldorf Tourism
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See Also:
BOPPARD
WINE VILLAGE ON THE RHINE
STUTTGART
MUSEUMS
GERMAN WINE ROAD - WEINSTRASSE
NEANDERTHAL
DISCOVERY MUSEUM
BARBAROSSA'S CASTLE RUINS KAISERSWERTH
