Germany: Dusseldorf and Its Surroundings

The next destination on the round-the-world trip was the lovely Dusseldorf, where I finally met Shova's German side of the family (about 17% of total Shova relatives, give or take a relative). Family-wise, we've enjoyed a week and a half of warm hospitality, advice on travels, daytrips together, and conversations over meals, capped by a Thanksgiving meal the day before our departure.

Dusseldorf is a charming town with a large enough business district to be called the 'accounting desk' of the industrial part of Germany. The town has laid claims to several serious records, such as the longest continuous bar in the world (comprising a long strip of bars), the longest urban competitor to Cologne, and the longest construction project in the world, or so it seems. At any rate, the streets were dug up and puddled, providing us with an excuse to duck into steaming sausage joints, crowded french-fries frieries, and European pastry shops. To compensate for the ongoing construction, the town erected countless malls full of H&M's. And as Shova was gently introducing me to the shopping district, I began understanding the full nature of her annual "girls' trips" to Dusseldorf.

Although our trip was mainly for visiting the family, we managed to sightsee together as well. We Autobahned past the Netherlands border to Maastricht, to walk around the squares, bridges, churches, and tall Dutchmen. I'm not sure how they maintain their figure, though: we could only find sausage, french fries, waffles, and chocolate. One particular coffee shop in Maastricht offers wooden teaspoons dipped into solid cubes of chocolate. The treat is intended to be dipped into hot milk, dissolving into a delicious thick chocolate beverage. We also got to celebrate several anniversaries (including our own one month anniversary) in a castled restaurant, complete with a moat, ornate fireplaces that reach the ceiling, and fancy [French? French-style?] cuisine.

We even squeezed in a romantic escape to the Rhine. We began in Rudesheim, a town known for its wineries, cobble stone, and an unusual influx of Japanese visitors. Indeed, the shop signs are exclusively in German and Japanese, and the local shopkeepers know the key phrases 'hello,' 'thank you,' 'this is the best wine in town.' We arrived at the town on the last weekend of the season; the temperature was a little below freezing. To bring our toes back to life, we munched on fried mushrooms with garlic sauce, washing them down with various local alcoholic specialties (including the suspiciously-named Adolfo Wine). Still with wine and cobble stone on our minds, we boarded the boat sailing down the prettiest part of the Rhine, followed by a score of Japanese tourists with professional photography equipment.