Dusseldorf

It is difficult to listen to CKNW these days. I feel the weather man mocking me as he discussed the sunny Vancouver weather with temperatures reaching the low 30s. We had summer, briefly, in May. There was a nice week in early August, but that gave way to more wind and rain. The weather seems to change here hourly, going from storms to sunshine and back again like it has a personality disorder.

The weekend of August 2nd I went to visit Nina. It had been ages since I had seen her parents as they had been sailing around France for close to 6 weeks. On Friday night Nina and I went to our favourite Italian restaurant, 2 blocks up the road from her apartment. As per usual, we had a fantastic meal.

Saturday Nina and her parents were committed to spending the day at Nina’s grandmother’s birthday. It was a large garden party and not my idea of a fun way to spend the day. So, while they were fulfilling family obligations, I headed to Düsseldorf for the day.

I did a bit of research before I left. Nina’s parents had some suggestions and I found some great info on the internet. I was set with a list of sites I wanted to see. Side note: all the pictures in this entry were taken in Düsseldorf.

One of my first stops was a stroll along Königsallee, one of the most desirable shopping streets in all of Europe (to my surprise). After walking down the kilometre of high-end stores end-on-end I understood the appeal. Every big brand name was represented on this street including Cartier, Lacoste, Benetton, Gucci, Esprit, Armani, Chanel, Escada, Hugo Boss, and Prada. I stopped to look in the window of the Bulgari store and admired a watch for €9,000. The front window was as close as I was going to get to many of these stores as they were guarded by a doorman who chose who gets buzzed in and who has to remain outside. I didn’t try my luck. I did pop my head into one of the most modern and trendy shopping malls I have seen. This street was a great place for people watching and it was clear to see the difference between the tourists and shoppers.

I walked through the Hofgarten, an expansive sculpted park in the middle of the city and on the edge of the historic centre. Inside the park were some of the most unique park benches I have seen. From a distance they looked normal, but as you got closer you could see that the tubes making up the seat and back were actually florescent lights. The lights were all hooked up to transformers on the back and the benches lined the main path in the park. Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there after sundown because I imagine it makes for a very cool effect.

Next I heading toward the Museum Kunst Palast. This was a wonderful gallery, one of the better ones I have seen. Instead of specializing in particular era or style, it showcased a little bit of everything, from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque to contemporary pieces. A full wing was dedicated to glass art which was something I hadn’t seen in a gallery before. I saw a collection of still life paintings from the 1700s, which normally wouldn’t have interested me too much. However these were different. Instead of being flat and lifeless, these paintings jumped off the canvas. The way the artists captured the light reflecting off each piece of fruit was incredible. One painting focused on a bundle of grapes and each one was painstakingly painted with picture-perfect detail. Most of them also had silverware or a candelabra incorporated into the piece. The way the light reflected off the metal made the pieces mesmerizing. And as I stared at them, studying the incredible detail, noticed a commonality in almost every one of them. The artists had incorporated themselves into the paintings through their reflection on the glass bowl or silver. Even though I was looking at paintings that had been produced by 3 different artists, they had all done this.























I don't remember the name of the German artist, but one of the more unique paintings was this unfinished piece. I don't know why they decided to display a piece in this state, but it was interesting to see how half the piece had been transformed into a work of art. While the other half still displayed the framework of the artist's vision.

A walk along the Rhine took me to the historic centre of town. The old town hall faces a public square that was hosting a wine festival the day I was there. More than the wine, I was interested in the food vendors who had set up shop around the perimeter of the square.

As I made my way to the observation tower I passed the provincial parliament’s new headquarters. From the ground you can tell its an impressive building, but you can really appreciate it from the aerial view afforded 56 storeys above the city.

I found Düsseldorf to be a very attractive city, more so than its rival city of Cologne. But my day was coming to an end and it was time to head back to Herzogenrath.

I headed back to Amsterdam Tuesday morning, spending Monday working at Nina’s office with her. Agne moved out that weekend and I was eager to go back home for the first time in ages.

Marc and I enjoyed having the apartment to ourselves for a week. Our new roommate, Jaana, was scheduled to move in the following weekend. Thursday evening Marc and I met up with her for a drink in a pub. We wanted to get to know each other better. We had a lot of laughs and it confirmed we had made the right decision in picking her.

This past weekend Nina came up to visit me. We spent a low-key weekend together and Monday morning she left for Iceland for a geology conference.

Work has been slow and I finally called my boss on it — his predictions of how much work he would have for me haven’t come to fruition and I have given it 3.5 months. Now we are renegotiating my rate to take into account the actual volume of work. I am waiting to see if he accepts my proposal.

Over the past 2 days the weather has started to look a little better. For the first time in ages it looks like we might actually have a decent weekend. It’s about time!