Another Düsseldorf Day

Yesterday I was going crazy trying to decide whether or not we should travel this weekend. I really wanted to go somewhere, but Ben really didn't. The place I want to go, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, was either really expensive to go to, or we could go for really cheap but take an 8-hour long train route to get there. In the end, we decided it just wasn't worth it, so another weekend in Düsseldorf it is.

I met a Romanian girl named Veronica at my last workshop (for people in the graduate program) who is also living here in Düsseldorf for 4 months. She recommended weeks ago that I visit Kaiserswerth, which is just another area of Düsseldorf, about 20 minutes from our apartment by subway. So Ben and I decided to make that our afternoon.

First, we went to the farmer's market held every weekend in Old Town to buy some stuff for a picnic so we could take it to Kaiserswerth. I love this farmer's market; you can buy everything here - meat, cheese, fruits, veggies, olives, bread, flowers, dips, wine, etc., or even get lunch (last week I got a fresh fried fish sandwich there and Ben got a bratwurst). So for our picnic, we went with bread, dip, cheese, and dates (we already had wine).

Of course, we had to stop for an ice cream along the way...but then it was on to Kaiserswerth. What a cute section of town! The one road we walked down leading to the river had adorable little buildings and shops.

By the river, there was a little castle...all this time, a castle 20 minutes away from us, and I didn't even know!

There was also a memorial there to the Nazis who died in the war. Maybe that's why no one ever mentioned this place to me - ha.

There was a nice little grassy area behind the castle, where we settled into a park bench and had our picnic. It was such a beautiful day, too - really sunny, but we were in the shade, so not too hot. After our food, we just sat there for a while, enjoying the weather and having a nice chat about Adam and Eve and questions we had about the creation story in Genesis...not sure how that conversation got started.

After coming back to the apartment, Ben playing some games, and me taking a nap followed by a short run, we got a pizza for dinner - four cheese, and we sat there watching the guy make it, complete with fresh basil off his basil plant. Oh, how I love that about Europe...why can't restaurants in the states always use fresh herbs? So simple, and so good.

Now to think of something else interesting to do tomorrow!