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We’ve recently returned from a trip to Düsseldorf over the recent bank-holiday weekend. We were very fortunate to travel out and experience a gorgeous break in the weather.

Flying out from Prestwick

We flew out with Ryan Air to Weeze airport (otherwise known as Niederrhein airport) from Prestwick airport. I have to say, I’m no fan of Ryan air. I’ve now flown with them on two trips, and both have been baffling. Compared to Easyjet they have a long way to go in terms of prioritisation of boarding (Allowing boarding in two groups is hardly prioritising, especially given how badly they organise the queuing area). Whilst we were able to get the seats together that we wanted, it was a fraught affair. Combined with the attempt of the cabin crew to “forget” to return a small amount of change, I just get the impression Ryan air are a bunch of penny pinchers, and I’m not going to be in any hurry to reuse them.

Transferring to Duesseldorf

No matter, we arrived in Weeze on time. Their website is a little out of date, so we were a little uncertain as to how we were to get the 50 or so miles to Duesseldorf. The bus was scheduled to depart at 17.30, and we had arrive a little early, so we had a 45 minute wait for the bus driver to return, before boarding and waiting for others to board. Once we finally departed, it was little over an hour before we were in Duesseldorf. All said and done it was a lot less hassle than I’d thought it would be, and for €11 (one way) it’s a very good price.

Update. We’ve just run through the detail with Frances’ parents who are this weekend visiting Duesseldorf. A few things missing from this section that might be useful to others travelling out to Duesseldorf, via Weeze. The bus stands are just outside the main exit/entrace area. Weeze airport is new, and small, so when you come out of the arrivals area, take the nearest exit (they’re not very well signed, but they’re straight ahead) and bear to the right. German bus stops are white, with a green circled “H”. The Duesseldorf bus will depart from the Duesseldorf/Koln (Cologne) stop. The bus drivers who were hanging about were helpful enough to confirm we were at the right stop. The bus had a card in the front window confirming things too. Also, note that it makes the coach drivers job much easier if you have the precise money for the ticket (you can only by single tickets), so €11 per ticket. He does have spare change, but won’t take too kindly to a large denomination note.

Also, bear in mind that the bus won’t wait for delayed flights. I used to assume it would - given that without inbound flights it’d be empty, but that’s not the case. Frances’ parents were unfortunate enough to miss the bus, and faced a four hour wait for the next. However, they split the cost of a taxi with another couple in the same situation. The taxi drivers quickly stepped up to offer their services (understandable, perhaps!), and offered a fixed fair of €90 for four people to Dusseldorf Hbf. Be careful, as an hour journey on a meter may be more, or less. This is a guide price on one experience. Please let me know if you have different experiences with taxis. I’m still shocked that a bus service from a quiet airport couldn’t hang about for a delayed flight, but such is the price of efficient bus services I suppose.

A quick note for the curious. Duesseldorf is the same as Düsseldorf: The “ü” (u-umlaut) is expanded to ue when the character is not available. Handy to remember if you’re searching google.

Reuniting with an old friend

We hiked over to our airport on Graf Adolf Platz, and checked in. It was then time to reunite myself with Alt Bier once more as we awaited Frances’ brother to join us. I left Duesseldorf back in 1997 when I returned to London, and I left behind not only some good friends but many good memories, one of which was what a remarkable local beer Altbier is. For the uninitiated it looks like many British Ales, but is very different. Much more refreshing, extremely drinkable, and very deceptive in its strength (I’ve seen many a strong beer drinker floored by the stuff). Altbier has a distinguished history, and merits exploration even via the rather expensive process of buying it at your local off license (assuming they stock international beer). For the pedants, the picture here is actually me drinking a Pilsner (it was a hot day, so was more refreshing).

The Altstadt

Duesseldorf’s biggest attraction, after the shopping (which really doesn’t do it for me, given it’s mainly clothes and fashion on Konigsalle that attract people) is of course the Altstadt. The Longest Bar in Germany Europe the World, or so they claim. Certainly 260+ bars and restaurants in a small space give the deserved impression that this is one of the best, easiest and most enjoyable places to go out and enjoy food, wine, good company and a friendly atmosphere.

We enjoyed many a good meal out in the Alt Stadt, perhaps best amongst them was “Miles Smiles” (hidden away on Akademiestraße 6). I had one of the most enjoyable evenings of my time in Duesseldorf just before I left with friends and colleagues (and devoured more than a few bottles of a superb Cabernet Savignon in the process), so I was delighted to find that it was still open and still as good as I remembered it (only gripe was that the portions were a bit small).

We wandered about the entire Alt Stadt whilst we were there, and I certainly rediscovered a few old haunts, and found that a few had closed down. Only one of the old Irish Pubs I spent a fair bit of time in remained, and the kartoffle Konig (with it’s rotating potato head) had long gone. Buck Mulligans seems to have been a recent closure, as the signs were still up, but the upstairs restaurants had crowded out the entry area. Shame, as there was a lot of space downstairs and some good bands played there on occasion.

Ohme Jupp was one I’d almost completely forgotten about until I saw it, and we spent a fruitless time outside waiting for the waiters to bring beer in our direction before giving up and moving across the street to the much quieter alternative. At this point, Frances was getting a little frustrated as - fairly in my view - the waiters only brought out beer, never anything else. Given 90% of people out on the streets are drinking Alt, it’s hardly surprising. Unfortunately, as a result of this, we did miss out on Ulrege’s famous brew…

Out and about

We took a walk through the Hofgarten, where I’d spent a fair bit of time when I lived there. It’s a nice central park with some hidden away nooks and crannies. With the weather so hot, we were lucky to find a bench in the shade with a view over the pond, and witnessed some quite impressive battles between the swans and the geese there.

We hopped on the U-bahn to the North park, with it’s Japanese Garden (Duesseldorf has the largest Japanese population of any European city) and beautiful spring displays (still good, if a little past there best).

On the Sunday afternoon, we hopped onto the Koln-Düsseldorfer boat for a one hour excursion along the banks of the Rhein. Whilst queuing in the heat was hardly fun, not least because of the blatant queue jumping we saw going on, the views from the boat were quite impressive. We were lucky to have half-price tickets because Paul had recently registered as a Düsseldorf resident and such a discount came with a book of tourist highlights. Fun to listen to some really cheesy music from the on-board musician (hear it for yourself! - how much of the 40s sample can you bear?)

We of course went up the Rheinturm, the tallest building by far in the city, one of it’s most distinctive landmarks, and also the largest digital clock in the world. The lights down the side of the tower light up enabling - on a clear night - for the time to be read from almost anywhere in the city with a clear view to the tower (Read the digits in the blocks from the top down, thus 21:32.11s is marked in block one as two lights, then one light (=21), in block two as three lights and two lights (32), followed by the seconds in the final (lowest) block as 1 light and 1 light).

The view from the top is stunning, and the weather on Monday morning was much better than any of the other times I have been up. Duesseldorf was - at least to me - divided into two seasons “grey and light” (summer) and “grey and dark” (winter): it was heavily overcast most of the time, and often very hazy. The view on Monday was just superb and we could see for a very long way, and make out the quite distinguishable path that the Rhine took.

I was also able to see the offices in Am Seestern where I used to work for AMS. The company for whom we worked (Mannesmann Mobilfunk) has since been taken over by Vodafone, and their red logo was the final confirmation. I could almost see my old office window…

One gripe…

I’d forgotten how difficult it is to get a decent cup of tea in Germany. There’s this thing of serving tea (and even sometimes coffee) in a large glass with no handles, which means it takes five minutes to cool down enough to be able to pick it up. Very frustrating. Combined with often strange selections of tea, which may have past it’s use by date and lots the pungency, and a lack of milk (all too often the thick, creamy “coffee milk” which ruins tea).

Return trip

We decided to take the train back to Weeze, to ensure we’d explored the best option for getting to and fro from the airport (we’re hoping to pursuade some of Frances’ relatives to fly out). Whilst - as I’d come to expect - the train service was excellent, it did arrive five minutes late in Weeze station. The taxi shuttle bus had already left, and with an hour wait until the next cab, we were looking quite seriously at missing our flight, or at least being on the receiving end of the ire of the checkin staff and a lousy seat on the plane.

With the rain coming (it had held off all weekend, so we were lucky in that regard), I braved the telephone number of the shuttlebus operator - who was no help whatsoever - and then the number of a local taxi company who was a bit more use (my German is basic, but just good enough to at least be able to get a cab to the right place). Sure enough the taxi came and took us to the airport, but the five minute delay on the train meant we had to fork out €10 for the taxi we shouldn’t have had to if the shuttlebus hadn’t been so ruthless in it’s time accuracy.

Moral of the story? Weeze airport is a long way out from Duesseldorf, so allow plenty of time to get between the airport and the centre of Duesseldorf. The bus service operated there is superb, at least from the airport to Duesseldorf. I’d suggest using that unless there’s a compelling reason to use the train service. It’s certainly more reliable as it’s in one hop, rather than two (train then “shuttle”, which is a misnomer given it’s potential one hour waits).

Useful sites

• Map of Duesseldorf
• hotel.de - find hotels in Duesseldorf (note that they only make reservations, which may need to be confirmed especially if a late arrival is likely!)
• Weeze Airport Website
• Bus timetable for transfers to and from Duesseldorf
• Bus operators website
• My Flickr photos, including pictures from the trip
• Wikipedia entry for Weeze airport

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 4th, 2005 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Travelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.