Not the Village of Fools (Dusseldorf)

In old German, Düsseldorf means “Village of Fools” - but Dusseldorf is anything but. Famous for its shopping, nightlife and fashion shows, Dusseldorf is the capital of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, the rich industrial region in West Germany that is the powerhouse of the country, and home to over 18 million people.

A rivalry with the larger Cologne in the south means that the “villagers” in Dusseldorf were forced to find something other than Cathedrals to do, and they have done so spectacularly. With quirky modern buildings at Medienhafen designed by architects such as Gehry and Chipperfield, and the beautiful tree lined streets of the old town, as well as the “longest bar in the world” - the Alstadt, Dusseldorf’s citizens have a strong claim to be able to best those in Cologne. But the pride of the city is the Königsalle - the King’s Avenue.

Located between the Tofgarten in the north and Gustav-Adolf-Strasse in the south, the Ko is the “remains” (if you can call it that) of the old city moat, and was designed by Napoleon after he conquered the city in 1802. Envisioned to emulate Paris’ fine boulevards, the Ko is today considered the most beautiful and luxurious street in all Germany, and one of the finest in Europe. On the west side of the street, financial institutions have taken up residence, but the east side is devoted to the fine life - fashion, jewellery, good food - everything!!

We walked up this luxurious street to the Tofgarten, the city gardens, before arriving at Ratinger Tor, the old city gates. A walk through the old town gave us an insight into what old Dusseldorf was like, having experienced modern Dusseldorf earlier on. Numerous bars and pubs dot the old town, and in summer, they spill out onto the streets, with the Altstadt (Old Town) making a name for itself as “the longest bar in the world.”

We followed the cobbled streets to the Rheinfurpromenade, but seeing as it was not only extremely windy, but also extremely cold, this was not as inviting as we perhaps would have liked. But the walk did give us an opportunity to see the enormous Rhine River, which flows through Dusseldorf, and gives the State its name.

I was eager to see the modern architecture on display at MedienHafen, a modern day development that is home to many of Germany’s media companies, as well as banks and corporate offices. Mum was a little overwhelmed by Gehry’s buildings, and found it hard to understand why the windows were not just “in their place.”

The girls were getting pretty hungry by now, so we walked back to the Altstadt for lunch at a bakery (these are numerous in Germany), before walking back through one of the shopping areas to H&M - where Mum declared that there was no way she was spending the afternoon shopping. We retired to the hotel, and mum promptly hopped into bed with a book, while the rest of us set off to explore the sartorial pleasures of Dusseldorf by ourselves. I can’t speak much for the girls - but I’ve never seen shopping like this before. Every store is simply packed with people, clothes and sales - and those that aren’t are luxurious and discrete boutiques, art galleries and restaurants, where the stylish citizens of Dusseldorf spend their paychecks after a hard days work. It was not uncommon to see bags from Burberry, Gucci and Prada all on the arm of the one woman, as she emerged from another shop. But what was nice was how these shops were mixed against those of the more affordable variety, as well as those that were German, which sold things were weren’t going to find back home. I was able to find a scarf and a coat, which will hopefully keep me warm for the trip ahead!!

I retired from the shopping after about 3 hours, as it’s not much fun looking at stores where you either can’t afford anything, or have already spent all your money, so even if you could have once afforded it, you can’t anymore. After a late afternoon’s rest, we walked back up the Ko to an Italian restaurant (which I was a little saddened by - that we were eating Italian in Germany - but everyone else agreed that we would have plenty of time to eat more German).

The Ko at night is even more beautiful than during the day - but I don’t have the photos from Emily’s camera - so you may have to wait a little while before I can show you some photos from the evening!!