Life: Idiotropic

On my list of "things to see before I move" was Dusseldorf's Altstadt. After all, it's only 45 minutes from my house and in 3.5 years, I'd only seen the airport. I'd read reviews. I'd read tourist information. It all led to me think that this area is absolutely precious, beautiful, quaint, and not to be missed.

May be. But not today. Last night Dusseldorf's soccer team won pushing them higher in the rankings. Today the celebration took to the market area and spilled into surrounding Altstadt streets with music, fireworks, and beer and beer and beer... you get the idea. After all, according to Wikipedia (which I read when I got home), "the Düsseldorfer Altstadt is known as the longest bar in the world (längste Theke der Welt)." Crammed into the streets littered with trash and beer cans are over 300 bars and discotheques. Makes sense. The music was ganz laut. And the bars were bursting with people who filled the sidewalks and streets dressed in all arrangements of red and white imbibing the local golden brew.

Without kids I could have possibly enjoyed that set of photo ops... the strangely clad German, the over abundance of beer. But it was too raucous to take photos of the area itself. Altstadt's beauty was covered in banners and so viele Leute. So, we headed to the Kö.

The Kö, just a few blocks from the Altstadt, is stunning in it's simplicity and tranquility. Once Kastanienallee, an unhappy citizen threw dung at the king, so they renamed the street Königsallee to appease him. And it feels kingly. Wide streets lined with posh cafes and high end shops divided with a long canal reflecting the old trees. This is what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the shops were closed and we were on a mission for food which I knew we'd find more of along the river.

Thinking "Portland's Waterfront Park" and finding crowds and concrete, we ducked into a place to eat (really greasy chewy food that only Elise would eat before she choked on a piece of ham), hydrate the girls and get out of the sun. We felt like cattle walking through the crowds along the hot cement gazing across the river at the pretty side - lined with lawn and bike paths, fisherman and a flock of sheep coming to the river's edge from time to time for a drink. Lucky sheep.

We thought we'd see a little more before heading home... but just as we stopped for ice cream, the music started and the first rainbow appeared. Kirk pulled the girls into the ice cream shop and I darted out just briefly to get a couple stomach turning shots of the Gay Pride parade. Time to go home. There were several images there that the girls just didn't need to see.

So... glad I went? Yeah. I would have regretted not seeing it. But, now having been there, I wouldn't go back without a really good reason. I'm sure on a weekday morning, it's lovely, but our Sunday post -soccer celebration/Gay Pride lunacy was just a bit more than I wanted to deal with. Dusseldorf can have it. I'll stick with Maastricht - prettier, quieter, and closer to home.