Dusseldorf, (Deutsch)land of Trains!
I feel I must preface this post with apologizing to Dusseldorf. While we technically had an apartment rented for a month there, we were out and about in NW Europe quite a bit during that time, so I feel Dusseldorf didn’t really get a full experience. Sorry for any Dusseldorfers (I hope I made that up…) that feel I’ve forgotten a bright point here and there. Anyhow, when we weren’t off galivanting around, we had a really good time in Dusseldorf!
Looking down on Dusseldorf from the Rheinturm tower.
Unlike Split (Croatia), where we were pretty close to the center of the best part of town, in Dusseldorf we were a bit further out from the hustle and bustle, in what seemed like a fairly standard urban German neighborhood. I only say that because as we traveled around the city most of the neighborhoods looked very similar to ours. Much like what I assume most urban areas are like, when more people want to live in a certain space than the current space will allow, they must go up! So most neighborhoods look like general businesses on the ground floor; bakeries, salons, cafes, etc., with apartments stacked 3 to 4 floors above them. So most of the things we needed on a daily basis were right around our apartment building, including a very wide variety of food options, which is helpful when you have two kids that are more than slightly picky about their culinary indulgences. But where Dusseldorf really shined was its mass transit system.
Even though our neighborhood had a great variety of stores, parks, markets, etc., we of course felt the need to venture out and see what Dusseldorf had to offer. After all it has quite the reputation as a happening place to be these days! Most places you go in the world have more than a couple ways to get around, whether it’s by taxi, Uber/Lyft, scooters, walking, etc. But most places pale in comparison to the number of ways you can get around the city of Dusseldorf. It has all those usual ways, but the ease and vastness of the transit system in this city is unreal. The combination of above ground local/regional/intercity/international trains, underground metro lines, street based tram lines, and bus lines in this place is Amazing. And not only the number of options, but how easy they are to navigate and use, the excellent punctuality, and the relatively low cost. I honestly can’t imagine why anyone owns a car in this city unless they’re going far and wide very frequently, as the trains further out start to cost more (but then again considering gas prices it’s almost negligible).
Best seat in the house!
Unlike some of the other places we’ve been, the mass transit system here will let you buy tickets that work on all systems (train, tram, bus). And the way they do this is by segmenting things by geographical area. If you’re only traveling within a small area then your tickets are less than if you need to travel further out (like a suburb kind of thing). So we were able to buy tickets for the entire Dusseldorf area, whether we took metro lines, tram lines, or busses. Luckily Germany realizes that very young children don’t often travel by themselves, and generally have an adult with them that will buy a ticket. So the boys were always free. So it was just on we adults to buy tickets to get around. Of course you can simply buy tickets every trip using automated kiosks and ticket machines on the trams/busses. But since we figured we’d be using them quite a bit we decided to go ahead and each buy an unlimited monthly pass. This can be accomplished by buying an actual card with all the required info, or by buying a pass through their mobile app, which provides you with a QR code to scan in case you need it. And after that you’re done. You can ride anything you want, anywhere within your purchased area! And to be perfectly honest, we literally Never got asked to show our tickets. Not once. The honor system is so highly valued in German culture that it’s almost unthinkable that some lowlife would take advantage of this and not buy a ticket for their tram or bus. I’m sure it happens, but clearly there are enough good hearted citizens buying tickets that the system runs just fine.
We knew that the boys would love to get to ride on a few trains if we took them between cities or countries now and then during our travels. However, considering the ease and low cost of the trains and trams in Dusseldorf, these boys got tossed right into the mass transit deep end, and loved every second of it! On more than one occasion, our entire plan for a morning or afternoon would simply be taking trains and trams around to different parts of the city simply to look around and take it all in. These two absolutely loved taking trains. Many many years from now, aside from glimpses of the Eifel tower or a beach here and there, my guess is one of the things that will stick out in their memories of our adventures is all the trains. Even though we’ve now left Germany and are in a completely different environment, every time we even mention a bus or train their little eyes light up. I knew they’d like the trains, but I definitely underestimated the adoration these boys would feel for riding them around.
So, Dusseldorf is nothing but trains eh? Definitely not! It really is a cool place. I’d say it’s rare for a place to be equally fun and exciting for 3 yr olds as well as adults, but Dusseldorf brought its A-game! The city is absolutely packed with parks, with playgrounds, green spaces, and long paths for running and such. Oh, and in and around these parks, in Northern Germany mind you, are many thousands of Green Parrots. Yes you read that right. Parrots. The boys never seemed to care about them, because they’re 3… but we were definitely a bit bamboozled. But avian oddities aside, we found a lot of fun stuff to do. There are quite a few museums around the city, and we found a very cool aquarium/museum with a ton of cool exhibits that the boys loved. We spent one afternoon at a great little indoor pool/waterpark. One of the cooler things we’ve seen in a while was an outdoor “wild park” that was tucked back into an old growth forest within the city limits. There were a bunch of different species of animals walking around. While the wild pigs were fenced off from visitors (and rightly so), some of the deer were allowed to roam around among the people folk (many of whom have cups full of treats). And when I say among, I mean the boys pet quite a few of them. Very cool thing for them!
So again, I know we’d have seen more, and I’d have more to write about, if we’d have stayed in Dusseldorf for the entire month rather than bouncing around. But come on, Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne, you have to take advantage of the opportunities you’ve got in Europe! Perhaps we’ll meet again Dusseldorf. But until then Danke Schoen, and Auf Wiedersehen!!
