Düsseldorf

Night 1

Goodbye Antwerp! Hello Düsseldorf…well actually we’re staying at an Air BnB in Duisburg as it’s cheaper…but Düsseldorf is only one U-Bahn line away and we’re visiting tomorrow! On that note, one U-Bahn tip, don’t step on the red areas by the door when the train is ready to leave. It’s pressure sensitive so if a certain traveller (we’ll call them Paul M…no wait that’s too obvious…P Mitchell) stands on it a displeased German train driver will come down and tell you off…

The apartment is wonderful and we’re both looking forward to exploring Düsseldorf tomorrow.

Day 1

The problem with staying in a private Air BnB with no hostel interruptions is that despite good intentions at an early morning – we slept in late. Never mind off to explore Düsseldorf! One of the coolest lamest thing that Eleanor and I love about foreign countries is their supermarkets and Düsseldorf has the best one of them all! From walk in fridges for drinks, a Lindt chocolate pick and mix and huge cheesecakes we were in our element!

Apart from the best supermarket in the world, Düsseldorf has the Rhein tower which has 170 metre spectacular views over the whole city. It also had a watermelon ice lol (lol)… I’ve come to realise the pictures of me so far on this blog are either Eleanor looking picturesque, couple selfies or me eating things.
 
After visiting the tower we had lunch along the Rhine and spotted a community book exchange which had one english book to take, “Striptease”. Cue Eleanor evil look…I did not take the book.

Before going back to the apartment we went back to the Selfridges of Supermarkets (Mitchell, P:2018) to get some cheesecake. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try out my google translate German. I successfully asked what I wanted, before being stumped at the server’s question of “Zu essen oder wegzunehmen?” (To eat in or take away?). The look of panic on my face immediately gave away my Englishness and the rest of the conversation was in perfect English.
A successful first day!

Day 2

Today – washing! Unfortunately the flat doesn’t have a washing machine so we (Eleanor) had to handwash the clothes and we’ve put them out to dry. So far, they are not dry but have got a good 15 hours to go. Think dry thoughts…

In the afternoon we visited the “Tiger and Turtle” the number 6 on The Huffington Post’s list of Most Extreme Staircases! It resembles a rollercoaster but you can walk up and around it, except for the loop. Considering the October heatwave it was quite nice to be up so high with the wind…except that Eleanor had again forgotten she was afraid of heights half way up! I of course was a very supportive husband helping her / I of course mocked her by filming her walking and cowering in fear. A quick look around Duisburg and it’s ruins of an old market followed before walking back to the flat. 
A nice Saturday 🙂

Day 3

Check out day from the lovely Air BnB flat in Duisberg. Because out bus to Vienna was at 10:30pm we stayed as long as possible in the flat. We decided to go around the film museum in the afternoon exploring the history of cinema and exploring how early special effects were made. Eleanor particularly enjoyed the shadow puppets which was also shown in Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father (highly recommended on Netflix!). The hot weather continuing we spent the rest of the afternoon next to the Rhine (I fell asleep) and as the sun set we walked across the Rheinkniebrücke bridge. To kill the rest of the evening we ate pizza and drank beer at Barco Lounge bar making sure to download Doctor Who before we left for Vienna!