I planned to play tour guide and show her around Düsseldorf. Her visit was also a good opportunity to explore, try some new restaurants, and see some places that were new to me too. I had done some research, talked to people, and had a bunch of ideas for interesting places to go and things to see.
What I forget is that simply being here is interesting.
We leave the apartment to walk to one of the neighborhood stores. After being here for 3 months now, this is routine to me. But for her, everything is new: the different houses, different cars, the little beer store on the corner.
My intention is simply to walk to the store, but she wants to go slow and stop and look at everything.
We pass by three bakeries and a dessert shop within 15 minutes and stop to look in each one. She comments, here and elsewhere during the week, how everything looks so good, and is displayed so well with just the right lighting. I realize that is why I always want to stop and buy something.
There is a small open-air market in the neighborhood on certain days. We stop at the produce stand to look at a vegetable called Romanesco (I think we call it “Broccoflower”). It looks more like something you’d put in a plant arrangement.
There is an olive stand, a meat stand, a cheese stand. We buy olives, small peppers stuffed with cheese, stuffed grape leaves, fresh bread, then walk down to sit by the Rhine and eat lunch.
She comments that the “fast food”, if we can call it that, is good here. There are little stands and kiosks where you can get currywurst and frites, sandwiches of all kinds on nice bread, freshly made apple “pfannkuchen” (essentially an apple fritter). She notices people eating long bratwursts on small rolls, with the ends of the bratwurst sticking out on both sides. You can even get nice sandwiches and bakery at the gas stations on the Autobahn.
She notices that people seem well dressed and not at all sloppy looking.
More than anything she notices the dogs. Dogs in the airport. Dogs in restaurants. Dogs in stores. People walking their dogs off-leash. The amazing thing is that they are all so uniformly well behaved.
This has surprised me too, and before I leave here I must talk with someone to figure this out. It is no coincidence that the dogs all behave so well. I have not been chased once on my bike. They don’t even seem to pay attention to me.
The downside to the dog situation is that there is dog crap, well, everywhere. This is one of those contradictions about this country. There is mandatory recycling. People sweep and wash the steps in front of their houses. They are meticulous with their cars. Yet people don’t clean up after their dogs.
On our first walk, within maybe 5 minutes, Laura notices this too. I tell her, yes, you need to be careful when walking.
That night we walk to see the Branford Marsalis Quartet, over the river near the old town. I love being able to walk to things here. On the way back, on a dark side street, Laura finds one of the presents left by a local canine resident and almost slips and falls. Welcome to Germany.
That shoe spends the night out on the porch.
Currywurst and Frites at the Burg Elz.
6 comments:
Very interesting about the dogs. What breeds were the most common?
I went for a walk while at your house and don't you know, I stepped in some dog mess. Still can't figure out how I did that, because I was on the road.
No matter how many times I saw it, I was still surprised when I would see a dog in a restaurant, bakery or grocery store. We went to something like a mall, kind of an arcade with very high end stores. There was a dog on a leash tied up to one of the banisters right in the middle of the mall...just sitting there waiting for his owner to come back. Not sure why he was even tied up as I did not ever see a place where you could not take your dog!
As for the food in Germany, it was a feast for the eyes. Pastries, tarts and breads artfully made and beautifully displayed... and surprisingly affordable. Even in places that you would never think of buying food, like the Shell gas station. They had sandwiches there that blow away anything you could get at Subway! Crusty rolls, ripe tomatoes, German salami, all made with care. I told Brian I felt like I had to buy one because they were so beautiful!
We need to do a much better job in the US in offering some good foood for people on the go. How about it guys.....some bright entreprenuer could open up a whole new line of good food to go.
I'm hungry.
tell me something I don't already know :-)
Post a Comment