Jan 04 2010

Day 6: Big city, quaint village

Today we awoke to see that there had been a massive snowfall overnight, and that the trip to Hamburg might take a little longer than expected. We set out anyway, and made it out of the city in about thirty minutes. I knew that I would then get to drive on A10, which stands for autobahn 10. The autobahn is fantastic, even in a car that struggles to reach a nice cruising speed in top gear. Some spots in the road were a little rough because of the snow and ice, but for the most part, the motorways were clear.

We arrived in Hamburg, and right when we got here I had a bit of that same feeling I had when I visited Detroit last year. Hamburg seems like it might be on the decline, but that they are hoping to rebuild. The only reason I say that is because of the relatively few people on the roads and walking, as compared to Düsseldorf.

The hotel is nice, but it is completely the opposite feel of the one from which we just departed. The Artus had a very cozy, bed-n-breakfast feel to it, while the Commodore in Hamburg is much larger and has a business / corporate feel. The only problem so far is that they are having trouble with the wifi on the upper floors, but it works just fine in the lobby. The receptionist said that they hope to have it fixed by tomorrow morning.

Once we got all of our things up to the room, we decided to go visit a town that is northeast of Hamburg called Lübeck. Unlike the metropolitan city of Hamburg, Lübeck is much more of a quaint, rural town. I haven’t looked it up yet, but I think that it is also home to a university, as there were many student-age young adults walking around with backpacks, and several halls that seemed like they might house lecturers for classes. Lübeck is incredibly serene, and the scenery is gorgeous. As I was looking for a particular restaurant, this cat randomly came up to me and started rubbing up against my leg. I knelt down to pet her, and after I had done so for a minute, she seemed satiated and went about her business roaming and being nomadic.

There were many different ethnic restaurants up and down the small and somewhat quiet streets. We ended up eating at an Italian place called Ristorante Ecco. I had a simple penne alla bolognese, which was very nice, and the bread was freshly baked right in front of us in a brick oven. For dessert, nothing came close to the Tartufo Nero, which is a traditional Italian specialty. It is a ball of vanilla gelato surrounded by a coating of chocolate gelato, then dusted with cocoa powder, drizzled with chocolate sauce and caramel. Traditionally, though, it is rolled in hazelnuts, but this one was not. Overall, a nice meal. On the language barrier side of things, we were in an Italian restaurant in Germany trying to read a menu that was in two languages, neither of which we understood. It was a challenge…

Once we got back we had to go see the Reeperbahn, which is an odd district adjacent to the city centre that is known for its scandalous shops and activities. Some refer to it as “the sinful mile.” It is basically a somewhat rundown, neon sign-infested street filled with adult shops, strip clubs, and street-walking prostitutes. Though these activities weren’t enticing in the least, there were also some neat places to sit and have a cup of coffee or tea.

Lastly, we stopped by the JET gas station and picked up a bottle of orangensafe (orange juice) for the morning, and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow will be the full day in Hamburg (and probably Lübeck again), and then it will be off to Amsterdam (which I can say instead of Amsterdarn [more appropriate when there are children around]). 😉 (I know, I know, it was a completely lousy joke).

Jan 02 2010

Day 5: A day of good eats

Today was the full day in Düsseldorf, and it started out with a trip down to the market. We were looking for a particular bakery, but they weren’t open on Saturdays. However, that was no big deal as we just went into Oehme bakery instead. There, we got bröchen and a cream pastry. We sat at a table on the street and ate these delicious treats.

Afterwards, we made the trip to the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen museum, but alas, it was under construction. Nonetheless, it was located right near Burgplatz, which is a large plaza filled with shops, restaurants, bars, et cetera. It is a nice area, and it is located on the Rhine. While we were in Burgplatz, we saw the giant tower that is the Rheinturm (also known as the Rhine Tower). It is approximately 234 metres tall, and has a panoramic lookout at the top. We decided to go up and have a look. The view from the top was amazing, and it really put the entire city into perspective. We each had a glass of overpriced tea, and then made our way to dinner.

We decided to go to a place called Schnellenburg, which is essentially a German steak and seafood restaurant. I had an unusual cut of steak which the waiter described as the rear portion of what would be a porterhouse. It was unbelievably tender and had a great light glaze on it. There were also very nice potatoes similar to fingerlings as a side.

Tomorrow we leave for Hamburg at around 09:00 or so. The trip should take about four hours, but I would imagine we will stop along the way to look at some items of interest. While in Hamburg, we are planning on going to see the memorial at the Neuengamme concentration camp.

Jan 02 2010

Day 4: New Year’s Day and onward to Deutschland

Today started off with a bit of waiting. While waiting for the bus, we killed some time around noon in the little diner-style restaurant adjacent to the hotel. The bus schedule was the same as the Sunday schedule since it was New Year’s Day. This meant that they came only once every thirty (pronounced “tirty,” as in rhyming with “dirty”) minutes instead of every ten. Anyway, due to the inclement weather in the area, the buses didn’t run at all. We ended up taking a taxi to the airport instead.

The bad weather in Dublin caused all the flights to be delayed throughout the day, but by the time we arrived, the weather had cleared up (and it was beautiful outside). Our flight was only delayed by an hour, and that is because the plane (or airbus) was delayed in Scotland on its way to us. Anyway, Dublin International Airport operates really smoothly and efficiently. They also have a mall inside, but alas, I did no shopping.

We arrived in Düsseldorf at around 21:30 local time. I then had to locate a phone to call for the shuttle to the car rental place. All the phones in the airport are pink and sport that big, beautiful “T” on them for T-Mobile (which is owned by Deutsche Telekom). Everything went smoothly with the car. It is an awesome Fiat Panda, and it’s bright orange. The nice things are that it is a manual, it runs diesel fuel (which costs less per litre), and it gets excellent fuel economy. It also has a GPS unit with the maps for Europe preloaded.

The hotel (Hotel Artus) is absolutely incredible! It is in what seems to be a home, and it has a cultural feel and cosiness that chain hotels don’t. It is truthfully more like a bed and breakfast. We were greeted by the owner right when we walked into the building, and he was dressed quite formally. The room is very nice, and the light switches are too cool. They are big squares that tilt up and down to turn the lights on or off, respectively. Oh yeah, and there is free wifi. 😀

The only unfortunate part of the day today was that we arrived in Germany so late that the only place open was McDonalds. 🙁 One interesting thing about the McDonalds though, is that it is on the bottom floor of the biggest, most luxurious BMW dealer I have ever seen.