Germany Part 2

I made my second trip across the pond the third week in January to attend another HR functional meeting. We stayed in Heiligenhaus, a bit west and north of Dusseldorf. It was a working meeting, so we stayed in a small hotel for three full days. We were together as a group from 7 am to 10 pm, with no time for entertainment. I won't go into details because you wouldn't be interested unless you were in HR.

 In the bathroom near the conference room was the cooliest sink I have ever seen.

It had a flat porcelain top, and the water ran over the sides. It was freaking cool.

 World's smallest bathtub.

It was a bitch trying to wash my hair though.

Sloping ceilings and a beautiful pillar in the middle of my room.

I only hit my head four or five times over the course of three days.

By the time Thursday afternoon came around, I was pretty stir crazy to get out of that hotel (eat, sleep, work in the same spot for three days, without a break and you would have been too). It was a great conference, but it was time to move back to Dusseldorf.

I was expecting the same glorious brickwork, the majestic old buildings, the sense of history and sorrow and enduring and growth that had made Hamburg fun. Instead, I found a run down 1950's housewife with peeling paint and bad sidewalks. It was drab and depressing. We walked down to the shopping district (the BIG attraction in Dusseldorf) and discovered a huge outdoor shopping mall that sold Levi's, Tesla, Apple, Timberland, North Face, et al. All at about 25% more than US prices. It was like being at a mall in Cleveland. Plus, the trees along the promenade were filled with starlings screeching like wailing banshees in both the dark and the rain. WTF? First bird I've ever known to make a ton of noise after dark. The trees were loaded with them.

I found out when I got back to work on Monday, talking with some of the Germans I work with, that Hamburg is a tourist town and is quaint and beautiful, also being a harbor city. Dusseldorf is the exact opposite.

Friday we wandered around looking for Dunkin' Donuts and then moved hotels. During our wandering we did find a wonderful Catholic church to wander through, but that was about it.

One of the few buildings with any character.

 Roman Catholic Church

 One of only two buildings I saw with any brick

 Wrought Iron Door

Sinners out? Or angels in?

 The Pipe Organ though.

Amazing.

It was silent while we were there.

 Blinded by the gold.

Drawing of the church in 1943

Other than the shopping mall, there was very little to do in Dusseldorf. I found an antique car museum (where all of the cars are for sale, so more like a very old car sales lot) that we could tour for free, but it was a 40 minute train ride and a 20 minute walk. It seemed more prudent to sit in the hotel lobby until lunch time, wander into the airport to eat lunch at KFC and then check into the room. We did dinner in the hotel restaurant, and then went to bed. Lamest visit to a foreign city, ever.

The next morning I headed to the airport and while I was waiting to check in, I met a dog. I think this breed might be the next dog I get, although they are very rare and will probably cost me an arm, leg and housing, but I don't care. I was smitten.

Alpenhutehunde
Alpine Shepard

Flying into Reykjavik

Edge of Iceland