I'm only here for the Beer (Dusseldorf)

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	Dusseldorf
Date:	03/04/06 (2566 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great beer, great food, great shopping, great transport

Disadvantages: Not much else

Actually I wasn't. I was in fact in Dusseldorf for a week long conference. It was my first ever visit to Dusseldorf and so I was keen to get to see as much of it as I could in the brief time available to me when not attending conference sessions. Regrettably that wasn't as much as I would have liked but at least I did get to explore on three occasions. So my review, as you will gather, is based on just this brief acquaintance.

Dusseldorf Airport
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I flew into Dusseldorf Airport on Lufthansa from Heathrow. The passenger terminal at the airport is very modern, well accommodated and very efficient, as you would expect of the Germans. Getting through all the formalities took no time at all and the luggage arrived quickly.

I had some time to spare on the return flight and so was able to have a look around and relax with a beer and to do my email. The shops at the airport aren't extensive but do contain most of what you would probably want to take home with you. I bought a couple of dark chocolate Toblerones. There are several bars and here they serve the local Alt beer as well as all the usual refreshments.

One thing that did initially confuse me was the Gate that they used for our return flight. A88 and A89 appear to be the only ones that serve both internal and external flights. In consequence the waiting area at the Gate has access doors from both before Passport Control and also after. Depending on the flight, only one set of doors is open at a time. I soon sussed this out but a American traveller was totally confused by this and went back and forth through Passport Control several times before the light dawned!

Altstadt
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I arrived in Dusseldorf on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon and went straight to my hotel, the Hilton. This is located in the Golzheim district, close to the Rhine and about halfway between the airport and the city centre. I have reviewed the hotel separately. Having deposited my luggage in my room and unpacked, I decided to visit the old town, Alstadt.

From the hotel I walked down Georg-Glock-Strasse towards the Theodor-Heuss-Brucke (bridge). Stretching along the banks of the Rhine towards the city centre is the Rhein-park public park. Here families were enjoying the sunshine, despite the cold. Kids were playing on the wide, open grass. People were wandering along the banks of the river or just sitting watching the world go by. This is a very nice part of the city and I took my time on my way towards the centre, so as to enjoy it to the full.

I eventually arrived at the top end of the Altstadt after a walk of about 45 minutes. The first thing I saw as I approached the Burgplatz was an advertising column, like the ones you see everywhere in Paris and increasingly in London. What was unusual about this one though was that it was topped by a statue of a mother carrying a young child in her arms. What it is supposed to signify I have no idea. I later saw another one on my way back but this time with a statue of a business man carrying a briefcase!

My first impression is that, apart from the Altstadt, you would not visit Dusseldorf for its architectural excellence. The city is real hotch-potch. I realise that it must have suffered extensive destruction during the war but it does seem like no control was exercised over the reconstruction. In many places the original buildings survive and give an impression of how the city must have looked in the past. However, in between these are buildings of all styles, some clearly built just after the war and many of more recent vintage. Sadly the overall look is something of a mess with no distinct style or theme.

The Altstadt, however, is something else. The Altstadt is clearly the jewel of the city. The Old Town district is full of narrow, cobbled alleyways and small squares, all lined with an almost unending supply of bars and restaurants. Indeed, you could be forgiven for imagining there isn't anything else. However, this isn't actually true. There are many ordinary shops as well, mostly small ones but nothing to compare with those across Konigs-allee in the Stadtmitte district.

Zum Schlussel
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A number of the bars are microbreweries and are well worth investigating. Had I had more time I would have ensured that I visited them all. As it was I only got the chance to visit one but it was a very enjoyable experience. Zum Schlussel is on Bolkerstrasse and is close to the eastern edge of the Altstadt, furthest away from the Rhine. Bolkerstrasse is a pedestrianised road so, apart from vehicles supplying the local shops, no traffic will be encountered.

Zum Schlussel is a very large building. The entrance opens onto the main bar with a limited space on the right mostly for drinkers standing or sitting at the bar. On the left there is more space and benches and tables line the walls. The room is entirely open and goes back around a hundred feet to the glass-fronted brewery itself. You can see all the brewing equipment but little actual activity.

Unless you are at the bar, orders are taken and served by waiters and waitresses. Food is also served and the menu contains may German specialities, such as sauerkraut, which I love. From the menu I chose weissewurst (white sausage) and sauerkraut with mashed potatoe. It was superb.

All of this I washed down with three glasses of their own home-brewed Altbier (Old beer). This wonderful brew is very common in this area. In style it is much like a British Mild but somewhat stronger. The taste is superb, having a perfect balance of malty sweetness and hops. I drank rather a lot of this during my stay in Dusseldorf. The whole came to about 13 Euros (£8.50) and superb value at that. A brilliant way to while away an hour or so on a cold drizzly day.

I must admit I initially thought that the beer, served behind the bar directly from the wooden barrel, was actually a cheat and that the barrel was just a fake concealing a pipe leading from a tank somewhere under the bar. However, later on it was clear that the barrel was anything but fake as they started chocking it up with pieces of wood so as to tilt it forward and enable the final few litres to be extracted before the barrel was replaced.

Transport
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The transport in Dusseldorf is excellent, predominantly because of the extensive tram system (Rheinbahn) that reaches out to most parts of the city. In the suburbs the trams run on the surface but as they approach the city centre the lines go underground. The exception is the tram route that runs around the outskirts of the Altstadt, which run on the surface throughout.

As an example, I was staying at the Hilton Hotel in the Golzheim district. Two routes, U78 and U79 run down Kaisers-werthe, stopping at Theodor-Huess-Brucke at one of the regular street halts. Here you will need to wait no more than five minutes but before you board you will need to have bought a ticket from one of the ticket machines at the halt.

And here you may have a problem if you don't read German well. There are no English instructions so it can be difficult to work out what you need to buy. I was lucky and found an English speaker to advise me. It turned out that I needed an “A” ticket, at 2 Euros, to take me to the city centre Heinrich-Heine-Platz station.

Dusseldorf also has an extensive bus system covering those parts of the city not served by the tram lines. In addition you can travel between cities on the efficient train system. If you have the time you can also travel by way of the Rhine on one of the river ferries.

Shopping
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There are shopping districts throughout Dusseldorf but the best is undoubtedly to be found in the Stadtmitte district that is separated from the Rhine by the Altstadt and Karlstadt districts. Here are all the most impressive of shops, many contained within shopping malls that form the inner spaces behind the shop fronts that face out onto the streets.

When the weather is inclement, as it was on my final day in the city, these havens offer everything you could want by way of gifts and, when the going gets tough, refreshment. An example is the Schadow Arkaden (www.schadow-arkaden.de) where you will find many top quality shops.

Out of the centre there are also many places to shop but these thend to be very much more the sort of outlets that you would expect to find in suburbs which serve the day-to-day needs of local communities. Nevertheless, even here you can find places of interest and at a better value for money. I spent a whole afternoon whiling away the time wandering around the the shops in the Pempelfort district, North of the city centre.

Conclusion
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As I said, Dusseldorf did not seem to me to be the sort of place where the architecture stands out as being a primary reason for a visit. I may be being unfair but nowhere did I stop and say “Wow, look at that”. There are a number of parks and probably the one that you might wish to visit is the Konigsallee in the centre of the city. Here the two sides of the street are separated by a canal and green spaces on either side. I stood on one of the bridges and took many photos despite the poor weather.

Dusseldorf is a nice city none the less. If you have to come here for any reason then it is worth taking time out to explore. Especially, a night out in the Altstadt has much to recommend it. So many bars and restaurants to choose from and so little time! That and the shopping.

Summary: A city worth exploring if you need to visit