The final day in Dusseldorf

- January 27, 2020

The Rhine in Dusseldorf

We didn't really need the fourth day in Dusseldorf, but we had it. I woke up with a sore throat and my toe was still bothering me a bit. Neither one of us felt like going back to the show so we decided to take it easy and see the sights slowly.

We checked out of the hotel but left our luggage in their storage area. As the hotel was en route to the airport, that was not a bad plan. We met a guy checking in who was trying to figure out how to get to the boat show. He was from Dublin, and lucky for him, we could explain the whole thing, with all the confusing aspects included.

After a leisurely breakfast -- yep, no eggs until the last instant and I had to plead with the chef -- we took the train to Altstadt. We walked along the river promenade. It was a fine day, not too cold and no rain.

We went to the museum of modern art Kunstsammlung K20 which was having a Munch exhibition. It was very well curated and we enjoyed it. We then toured the entire collection. The best way is to start at the top and work your way down. I counted one female artist represented among the works - the last one in the last room.

We then toured the shipping museum (SchifffarhtMuseum) which is in the round tower on the waterfront. Nicely done, but the highlight was the cafe at the top. Stunning views, tea and coffee, and drinks if you are so inclined. After that, it was time to return to the hotel.

We pulled our luggage and stopped for a rest and some tea before heading to the train station. Until then, the trains had been on time. Not this time. The train before ours, which stops at the Flughafen but not the actual terminal, was 10 minutes late. Ours was going to be 20 minutes late. Fortunately, we had plenty of time. The woman next to Alex explained that we could take the first train which then connected to the terminal via 'magnetic' train, which we assumed was a monorail. It was and we found it easily. But the monorail got stuck and couldn't let us off at the terminal. Naturally, after all that tea, I had to go. But here we were stuck on a train. We finally returned to the prior station where we had to catch the next train. We couldn't figure out how the doors opened at this station but not the other one. Many people decided to walk, but I couldn't have made it. So Alex called the station master and asked where the train was. Finally, it arrived. Just in the nick of time. Phew!

It was too early to check-in to our Aer Lingus flight so we had an early dinner. Steak sandwiches and beer at the last restaurant in the long corridor. Very tasty. When we did check-in, we got seats 6 A&B, very nice, upfront. The flight was fine - 2 hours, and we caught the shuttle for the Clayton. We'd decided to spend a night there instead of attempting to drive home at 10 PM. At €87 for two with parking, we thought it was worth our safety. We'd paid €97 plus 3 nights parking on the way out.

And BTW, I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz on this trip. Wonderful book.