Essential Oil Quest: Gap Day in Dusseldorf

Gap Day/Saturday

Today is a gap-day, a day to just be a tourist in Dusseldorf. It seems that it always takes a little while to orient yourself to a new location and this is the first time I've ever been in a new city without a map. Though I had tried to familiarize myself with the layout of the area around my hotel, I always do better with a map in-hand. I had met a German man on the plane who was quite talkative and helpful. He offered to help me purchase the right tram ticket to the stop near my hotel, so I took him up on it. When we went to the tram stop, he asked someone standing on the platform if the tram went to Graf Adolf Platz. The guy said it did, so I hopped on the next one. Turns out the tram was the right number, but it was going in the opposite direction. I ended up at the end of the line, the only one on the tram when it stopped for the driver to have a break and a smoke. "Does this tram go to Graf Adolf Platz?" I asked him in halting German. I do pretty well until they answer with more than one sentence, and this guy went off about something. Finally, I asked if he could speak English. He could, so he explained that the train would eventually go there but he was finished with his shift and he was taking the tram back to the station! I had to get off the tram and hop on the next one back to the main station and then on to my destination. What should have taken ten minutes or less, took over thirty. Sigh... I do better on my own!

I checked into the apartment hotel that I had pre-booked and then set out to look for some groceries. One of the reasons I chose an apartment over a hotel room was because it was less expensive, of course, and because I wanted to cook for myself. Obviously I hadn't been very observant, because when I got back from the grocery store, I suddenly noticed that there was no kitchenette, as advertised on their website. Hmmm... apparently the statement, "All our apartments have kitchenettes" means nothing, or here in Germany, a kitchenette refers to a coffee machine! Luckily, cheese and butter can do without refrigeration for a short while.

View out the window of my apartment to the back courtyard.

Carlsplatz farmer's market.

Next morning, much more refreshed and ready to explore, I headed out to Carlsplatz (where they hold a farmer's market in the morning) in search of some breakfast. Bittner's Cafe served a superbly German breakfast with cheese, cold cuts, a softly hard-boiled egg (I must find out how they manage to get them so perfect - not too hard and not too soft), quark (which is a thick yogurt), croissants and hard rolls in a bread basket, and peppermint tea. Yum! And it was only 6 Euro. The least expensive thing in Germany! Fully satisfied, I set out in search of a tourist office where I could redeme my voucher for a Düsseldorf Welcome card. I had discovered on the internet that this card, valid for 24, 28, or 72 hours depending on the price, would allow the purchaser to ride free on all public transportation, provide free entrance to many venues, and some discounts to others. I recommend purchasing this card from Expedia or other sources if you plan to spend any time in a Germany, as they are available for most major cities. You can buy them at the tourist offices here, but they are a little cheaper on the internet.

My day included a trip up the elevator of the river tower- Rhein Turm - (think of the skyline of Seattle) with a dizzying, panoramic view of Düsseldorf, schlepping around the old town between raindrops (I eventually bought an umbrella even though I had one in my other bag which was in storage at the airport), and eventually, a trip out to the airport to retrieve my bag. Because of Air Berlin's tight baggage allowance, I decided to repack my bags to make the check-on one the heaviest and the carry-on one the lightest.

View of the Rhein Turm.

View from the Rhein Turm. The old town (Altstadt) is right in the middle.

My Welcome card entitled me to a free glass of beer at a little brewery called Zum Schippchen that was fairly close to my apartment. I managed to use German to order a plate of German sausages, saurkraut, and mashed potatoes. Ah... sehr gut!