A Day Trip to Düsseldorf

After visiting almost all the interesting places we could find in the tourist brochures in Cologne, my three friends and I decided to take a day trip to Düsseldorf, since it’s just 25 – 30 minutes train ride from Cologne. After buying our tickets and taking more chocolate than was “allowed” from the train ticket counter (they were giving them as freebies), we were on our way to Düsseldorf.

Welcome to Dusseldorf

You know when they say, karma is a b*tch. Well, better believe it! We got ours that day! We got off at the wrong train station. Good thing the next train wasn’t that long and we didn’t have to pay for our tickets again. So lesson learned, don’t take more chocolates than what you were told to take. LOL!

After that little stop over in the middle of nowhere, we finally arrived at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof or Düsseldorf Central Station. Düsseldorf is located on the Rhine River and is a major cultural hub in the region.  The city is also known as the fashion capital of Germany. That’s why we tried really hard to fit in! LOL!

Since we were only there for a day, we agreed to visit only those sites we think interesting based on the tourist brochure we got from the tourism office, which on hindsight was a great idea as we soon found out that Düsseldorf is a city that has placed great importance on open space. From the wide walkways on the banks of the Rhine to the large Nordpark, Düsseldorf has plenty of spots that encourage taking leisurely walks or just stopping at a bench to sit and watch the world go by. And boy did we do much walking that day?!

One of the things I noticed whilst we strolled around the city was the sheer number of beautiful sculptures found in the streets. You could actually find gorgeous works of art in almost every corner, a fantastic manifestation of how important arts and culture are in their everyday life. 

Another thing I noticed was the fact that trams, buses, cars, and bikes all drive on the same road and if you don’t get out of the way or if you aren’t paying close enough attention, you get run over. They don’t stop or slow down for anything.  It is very scary.  There are train tracks everywhere and it is almost impossible to cross streets. Hence, we were extremely cautious whenever we were near a busy street.

And did I mention that apart from the usual greetings, not one of us understand German language? So we were on our way to Rhine Tower, our last destination before heading back to Cologne,  and it was starting to get dark. Since the front part of the tram was full, we have no choice but to sit at the back. We were so engaged with our conversation that we didn’t realize that we were the only remaining passengers and that the driver had been telling us via the microphone several times that we’ve already arrived at the last stop. Of course he said it in German so we had no idea what he was saying. We thought he was just waiting for the other passengers to get in the tram. He had to make a hand signal for us to understand what he meant, which was pretty funny as we were just there talking and laughing whilst he was frustratingly telling us to get off his tram as he’s going back to the main station. Ah bless him!

Anyway, after taking countless photos with matching far-away look and after almost an entire day walking, we decided to call it a day. We were so tired that nobody talked the entire trip back to Cologne.

Far-away look hahaha!

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