08/13/2010

Dusseldorf: More Than Beer and Pretzels

It is true that its altstadt is considered the longest bar in the world and its beers are some of the finest.

It is true that people were drinking ginormous mugs of beer glistening like gold in the early morning sun for breakfast.

But it is more, much more than that.

Heinrich Heine, the German poet who once described his love for his lover as more precious than the treasures of the sea and the lights that spatter the heavens above, lends his name to the old part of town. As I walked the still sleepy allees, cafes were preparing to open. A couple of bars were serving a group of musicians in uniform practicing for the afternoon fun fair and procession in celebration of the patron saint St. Apollinaris. Everything else was closed. I stopped at the St. Lambertus church and peeked at its impressive ceilings through the half-opened door, slowly daring to push it open, my chin ahead of me, my head leaning forward to sniff the presence of another soul. I was alone. I could have felt like it was all mine. Instead I felt like it owned me. It was majestic. It was awe-strikingly beautiful.

Past a statue of a mother carrying her child I continued, briskly walking the quiet streets, my eyes moving back and forth between the map in my hands and the street names trying to locate the museum of modern art. A very friendly bunch at an outdoor bar graciously showed the way then continued its jovial chatter.

Bratwursts, kochwursts, blutwursts, liverwursts, stuffed pretzels, pretzel sandwiches, pretzel pizzas, spaghetti ice cream. The food at the street fair smelled of baked bread and grilled meat. I grabbed chicken skewers and made it just in time for the one o’clock boat ride on the Rhine. I struggled to stay attentive to the voice explaining the tour. Between the German accent and the poor sound system, all I managed to understand was that Dusseldorf had the largest Japanese community in the world outside of Japan and was called Japan’s capital in Europe. Even that I might have gotten wrong. I gave up. I fell asleep to the sound of the water.

Posted in Summer, Travel
14 comments » / Leave a Comment »
 

Related Posts

14 Responses to “Dusseldorf: More Than Beer and Pretzels”

  1. 1

    Bridgett — 08/13/2010 @ 6:52 pm

    Stunning photos. What a great experience.

  2. 2

    Bryan — 08/13/2010 @ 7:41 pm

    Beautiful Photos! It sounds like you are having a great time.

  3. 3

    Nisrine Merzouki — 08/13/2010 @ 8:29 pm

    Bridget and Bryan- thank you! It was a fantastic experience but I'm glad to be back. I missed my pillow :-)

  4. 4

    Kamalika — 08/13/2010 @ 10:47 pm

    Awesome snaps dear…glad to your experiences too….

  5. 5

    Dana — 08/14/2010 @ 3:24 am

    What great photos you take! Your beer pouring bar tender seems quite young, lol!

  6. 6

    ♥peachkins♥ — 08/14/2010 @ 8:38 am

    nice photos!

    The Peach Kitchen
    peach and things
    blowing peachkisses

  7. 7

    Mademoiselle Poirot — 08/14/2010 @ 9:07 pm

    Salut Nisrine, ahh, these pictures and your last few posts bring back a lot of memories… Anyway, thanks for your lovely comment on my blog. Taking a break and rethinking a lot of things was necessary and the right thing to do, I guess we all need to do that from time to time… Thanks so much for your kind words, Lots of Love from London, Carole xo

  8. 8

    Nadji — 08/14/2010 @ 10:12 pm

    Très beau voyage. Je connais quelques villes allemandes mais pas Dusseldorf0
    D'accord avec toi, leur salade de pommes de terre est délicieuse.
    A bientôt.

  9. 9

    Nisrine Merzouki — 08/15/2010 @ 1:32 am

    Mademoiselle, gald to know your real name:-) Everything will work out for the best at the end.

    xoxoxo

  10. 10

    Reeni — 08/15/2010 @ 11:57 pm

    Beer for breakfast? I'd have to go back to bed. I'm such a light weight. I loved seeing their culture through your eyes. The pictures are gorgeous. I hope you're having a great time! Or are you home now? Either way your comment made me happy – I missed you too. xoxo

  11. 11

    Chow and Chatter — 08/16/2010 @ 12:49 am

    wow cool snaps i love Germany so sorry its been a while since I visited Rebecca

  12. 12

    Carla and Michael — 08/16/2010 @ 1:03 pm

    Beautiful photo's. Felt like I was there too. Thanks.Just one question. The bread circle in the middle of this post looks divine. Do you know quite what was on it? I'd love to be having that for breakfast. Glad you're back safe and sound.
    Thanks.

  13. 13

    Nisrine Merzouki — 08/16/2010 @ 8:24 pm

    Carla and Michael-It had cream cheese and shredded Gouda cheese.

  14. 14

    Oum Younes — 10/28/2010 @ 12:05 am

    You have a nice blog. I live in dusseldorf near Heinrich Heine Allee

Leave a Comment