Wanderbliss: Germany’s Northern Rhine Region

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Bird's Eye View of Duesseldorf

Usually when one thinks of Germany in terms of tourism, Berlin and Munich immediately spring to mind.  As lovely as these two cities are, it is in my opinion that they each represent separate ends of the cultural spectrum in Germany.  On one end you have Berlin, a city which has risen from the ashes of a dark history and has transformed itself both physically and mentally into a vibrant, young, very much modern metropolis that is quickly becoming one of the best capital cities in Europe.  At the other end of the spectrum lies Munich, Bavaria’s crown jewel, and well known for old-world charms, lederhosen as well as the infamous Oktoberfest. Though both Berlin and Munich offer much in terms of German culture, I opted to travel to the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen for my May bank holiday weekend instead.

Situated in Northwestern Germany, Nordrhein-Westfalen is the most populous and economically active region in the country.  Within this prosperous state lies the mighty Rhine River – the lifeblood of the region for thousands of years and along its banks sits many of Germany’s largest city’s.Though not particularly laden with world-class museums or historic buildings (most cities in this region were effectively destroyed in WWII), cities along the Rhine offer a window into the middle of Germany’s cultural spectrum.

On our trip, we visited Duesseldorf and Cologne – two of the largest cities in the region, with the former being the capital of Nordrhein-Westfalen.  Duesseldorf is a distinctly modern city with a somewhat kitschy old town (altstadt) area that has mainly been rebuilt due to its destruction during the Second World War.  Strolling through the old town to reach the river promenade, we ran into the unmistakable smells of German bread, pretzels and other delectable baked goodies.

German Bread

German Bread

Passing old town with pretzels in-hand, we walked to a dock along the riverfront and purchased tickets for a short Rhine cruise to the small suburb of Kaiserswerth, home to ancient castle ruins – a site which is quite prevalent along the Rhine.  The boat ride was short, sweet and full of free beer. We took this opportunity to sample “Alt Bier”, Duesseldorf’s locally brewed concoction of which they are quite proud.  Not being a beer person, I’m not in the position to provide a review of the beer other than the fact that it is drinkable.

Entrance to Emperor Barbarossa’s Castle in Kaiserswerth is free, and patrons are allowed to explore the premises as they wish.  The castle ruins are in a pretty severe state of ruin and require a bit of imagination.  Nevertheless, it’s nice to see if you’re in the area.  Kaiserswerth itself is a quaint little village that has all the charm which Duesseldorf’s Altstadt lacks and is a great place to have a traditional Rhineland meal.

Dog in Kaiserswerth

With enough booze and hearty German food in our bellies to last us quite a while, we hopped on the S-Bahn back to downtown Duesseldorf and took a walk up the river towards the Rhineturm .
The Rhineturm is a large tower and observation deck located about a 15 – 20min walk from Duesseldorf’s Altstadt.  Entrance to the tower is only 3 Euros and it boasts some of the best views in the state (see below)

View from the Rheinturm

From the Rhineturm, the Neuer Zollhof can be seen on the river below (see above).  Built by famed American architect Frank O. Gehry in the lat 1990s, this area is part of a revitalization project on the riverfront and is a must-see for any architect fan.  There are 3 Gehry buildings in the area and each can be seen close up without any sort of entrance fee.

Der Neuer Zollhof

A 20 minute train ride to the South of Duesseldorf lies the more tourist friendly city of Cologne.  Though more economically viable and significantly larger, Duesseldorf is locked in a fierce rivalry with its neighbor to the south and upon arrival into Cologne’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof), it becomes readily apparent why.As we exited the train station in Cologne we were immediately greeted by an imposing square, punctuated by the formidable Cologne Cathedral (Koelner Dom).  It is the largest gothic cathedral in Germany and even for those like myself who are not religious, the building is breathtaking.  Left mainly in its original state (it’s structure survived Allied bombing), visitors are able to enter the Cathedral free of charge.  We arrived in Cologne on a Sunday and were lucky enough to observe Sunday mass.  Like the Rhineturm, the Cathedral boasts excellent views from it’s main tower which is only accessible via a 50 flights of stairs. For a few Euros, you can climb the tower yourself and enjoy the views, though I don’t recommend it for anyone with small children (you’ll end up carrying them) or with health problems (there’s no way down other than stairs).

View from the Cologne Cathedral

After all the calories we burned climbing the Cathedral we decided to reward ourselves with a trip to the Imhoff Chocolate Museum, which is located along the Rhine.  Despite it’s subject matter, this turned out to be quite a serious museum with loads of information about the history of chocolate.  Also included inside was a fully operational chocolate manufacturing process complete with free samples.  We ended our trip to the museum with a stop in their cafe for chocolate cake and some of Cologne’s locally brewed beer, known as Koelsch.

While Nordrhein-Westfalen may not be a typical stop on the tourist map, I suggest that anyone with interest in German culture, food, or history take a look at this area before planning their next trip.  The food is as good as it gets here in Germany, the weather is pleasant, and the Rhine provides a uniting force and stunning backdrop to this influential region of the country.

Wanderbliss: Berlin – Goodbye Lenin

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Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate

When planning our European vacation, Berlin was a must see city for me but I quickly found out that not many other people felt the same way about it. I don’t think that it has shaken off the stigma it gained from WWII, and the Cold War that followed. I would argue, though, that it is the fact that Berlin is so intertwined with some of the most important events of the 20th century that makes it so interesting. The clash between history and the modern-ness meld together into one of the most fascinating cities I’ve ever been to.We arrived at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station) around midday on February 3rd, 2009 after a long train ride from Frankfurt.We had arranged staying accommodations through craigslist.org and were supposed to meet our contact (Norbert) at 5pm at the apartment we were renting in Kreuzberg. In the mean time, we were plopped in the middle of Berlin with all our stuff and decided to take a look around.Berlin is truly a grand city. Immediately noticeable a few steps from the train station was the famous Reichstag. It is an imposing building that sits opposite a vast lawn. This is a popular tourist area and there are a number of signs that will point you towards other attractions. The signs are in German, but will be understood by anyone who speaks English. From the Reichstag we moved on to the Brandenburg Gate, and strolled down Unter Den Linden to Museum Island.

Museum Island holds some of the grandest museums in the world and includes the Pergamon Museum, which holds some of the largest artifacts from antiquity in the world. Included within the stark walls of this world class museum are the Pergamon Altar (the museum’s namesake), the Ishtar Gate, and the Muschatta Wall. This is a museum that is not to be missed by anyone visiting Berlin.

As day shifted to evening, we made our way via U-Bahn (subway) to Kreuzberg to meet Norbert. Kruezberg was an interesting neighborhood inhabited mainly by Middle Eastern immigrants. Our apartment was a short walk from the U-Bahn and the building sat adjacent to a large daily outdoor market. We arrived at the front door of the apartment a few minutes early and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited. At nearly half past five, there was no sign of Norbert and we were starting to get concerned. Maybe craigslist was a bad idea?
We were a few minutes away from taking off and finding a hotel when Norbert opened the door to the apartment building. While walking up the stairs through the unheated common space of the apartment building, Norbert turned to us as we shivered and said ‘Welcome to Germany’.

Berlin's Last Lenin

Berlin

The apartment was a studio with one main living space and a sleeping loft. It was nothing amazing, but was sufficient for our needs. Nearby were the two essentials – laundry mat and grocery store. We capped off the day with some pizza bought from an outdoor stand ‘zu mitnehmen’ (to go).

For the next few days we explored many of the famous attractions of Berlin. Highlights included (of course) the Pergamon Museum, the Altes Museum (Old Museum) which houses the famous bust of Nefertiti, and Schloss Charlottenburg.
Schloss Charlottenburg can best be described as the Versailles of Berlin, except better in some respects. A short, absolutely gorgeous tree-lined walk from the U-Bahn station, Schloss Charlottenburg is situated in a beautiful area of Berlin. We arrived in the morning and were surprised to find that no one was there with the exception of the staff. The palace was huge, void of tourists (much unlike Versailles), and full of period furniture. A person could easily spend a day at Charlottenburg, but we were a bit short on time and had to get a move on.

I’m not exactly one for shopping, and I certainly wasn’t planning on buying a boatload of souvenirs (Reiseandenken!) to lug around for the rest of the journey. Nevertheless, we decided that the shear enormity of the KaDeWe warranted a visit. Inside it looked like a normal upscale mall, but the highlight was definitely the top floor buffet. We left the KaDeWe with a small Berlin Bear magnet, and we continued the practice of buying magnets for at least every country we visited throughout the trip.

Another surprising highlight of our Berlin stay was the Stasi Museum. Located in the former East Berlin, the museum was the location of the old State Security headquarters and it has been preserved as such. It’s provides an eerie look into life before the wall fell in East Berlin.

Our stay in Berlin seemed brief, and it is definitely a city I plan on returning to in the near future. We took a risk by renting an apartment off of craigslist but it paid off for us. By staying a little outside the normal tourist area, we were able to observe what life is really like in Berlin, and even got to play the part of Berliners for a few days. I learned that Berlin is not the city of our parents’ generation anymore. It managed to be both world class and feel cozy at the same time. In fact, of all the great museums and cultural sites the city had to offer, my best memory from Berlin is something entirely mundane.

Our first morning in the city, we got up early to take a walk around the neighborhood. It was just above freezing and we purchased a fresh croissant and a chococinno (hot chocolate and coffee mix) from a local bakery.

We then proceeded to stroll happily down the residential streets of Berlin, croissant and coffee in each hand, freezing our butts off, and loving every minute of it.