Okay I lied. I said I would post it Wednesday but it's a day early.
**To see part one click here! :) **
Germany: Part Two
After arriving in Dusseldorf, Parker and I went to the tourist office to get a map. If you ever travel Europe, most tourist offices are located in the train station or right outside the station. If you have trouble finding one, ask and you can be directed. They are a HUGE help, especially when you are walking the old streets that go all sorts of directions.
We walked to our hostel, which was a little less than a mile. I did change shoes before we started walking and I was so happy. But I could tell that I was at the point of no return when it came to blisters. My feet were hurting big time, and that's not a good way to start a trip!
Once we got to our place, we dropped off our backpacks and started walking around. Since it was too early to check in, we thought it was perfect timing to explore Old Town Dusseldorf. Dusseldorf is a newer city since it was wiped out in World War 2. I learned that it was used to keep the tanks and what not for the Nazi Army.
{The United States actually wiped out Dusseldorf. I have mixed emotions on that one, haha}
The walk was really pretty. There were a lot of parks and trees. It smelled good too! Which sounds weird, but it smelled like clean air and nature/flowers. You don't get much of that in Southern California cities.
When we got to the river, we were so excited! It finally hit us that we were in Germany! There were so many little restaurants and shops, but we decided to keep walking around to find something a little more in our price range.
We found a cute little place selling bratwursts. They were the BIGGEST thing I have ever seen in my life. And no offense Dad, but it was the best too. You can't blame me though right? Haha. Then we walked over to basically a booth that is set up on the sidewalk and ordered a beer. My mouth was in heaven. It was a beer that was brewed in Dusseldorf. I wish I could remember the name! It was tasty. Also, it was a holiday so there were a lot of people out. So many people were laughing and enjoying themselves.
I was watching the guys working the booth and they work so quickly. Not to mention their interesting ways of cleaning the glasses. A guy would drop off a tray of empty glasses and the dishwasher would dunk it in soapy water, then in clean water and set them up to dry. But they were so busy the glasses didn't ever really dry. So I don't think the glasses got very clean. Note that I was watching this process while I was drinking my beer. But I don't think anyone has died yet from it so I figured I would be okay. I just shared germs with a German guy, no biggie.
We walked back towards our hostel while taking in the sights. We walked through a park that was so cute. It had a huge pond and the ducks would walk right up to you. Once again, the smell was intoxicating. Because it's Spring, everything was in bloom and a certain type of tree had white fuzzy stuff falling off of it like snow. It got stuck in my hair and it was fun to play with. I was just shocked by the amount of white in the air!
Once we got back to our hostel, it was time to check in. The girl was super nice and really pretty! She took us to our room and it was teeny tiny. Which is fine since we only wanted to sleep in it anyways. It had a bunk bed and Parker called the bottom. Dang him. The theme must have been the Simpsons because it had two posters in it. It was actually kind of funny. We took a nap since we were so tired from traveling and woke up around dinner time.
We freshened up and went to a pizza place on the corner. There was much open because of the holiday, and so we thought pizza was a safe bet. I felt brave and tried to communicate to the pizza guy, but it didn't work out to well. He didn't speak much English and I didn't speak ANY German. But we made it work. They were really nice too! The pizza was alright, but I was so hungry and tired still I didn't care. After we bought huge water bottles from a liquor store and made the mistake of getting carbonated water. I don't mind it with dinner, but I don't like drinking it to stay hydrated. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and I don't feel refreshed.
*Trick: Shake your carbonated water really hard then let the cap off. Repeat until there are less bubbles. Then it is flat. Tah-dah!*
We fell asleep shortly after returning to our hostel. I don't think it was dark when we passed out. I didn't shower or brush my teeth. It's gross I know, but I was THAT tired.
We woke up the next day and packed up and we were on to Koln!
I originally wanted to post about Europe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but I will be writing about it until August and will forget little details. So I will try to get as many posts out as possible a week! Some might even be two a day, who knows? :)
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