A Day in Düsseldorf (Our First Border Crossing)

Aweh, guys!

So, we have been having some more chilled out weekends, staying home and enjoying each other’s company and taking a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle. We have settled in, things are becoming easier and routine, but that leaves room for boredom and a lack of excitement. I asked Hubby what he wanted to do this weekend and I got the typical shrug and I jokingly suggested going to Belgium…

We went to bed, had a late lie in (to around 10:30) and then I suggested going to see a movie in Den Haag. Hubby was like “Why don’t we go to Düsseldorf instead?” Um, yes please! I found our passports, packed some essentials and raced Hubby to the car after he drew some cash (word on the street is that the Germans aren’t big on cashless payments).

We are about two and a half hours away from Düsseldorf by car and we were travelling to a restaurant famous for their eisbein (when in Germany). We really didn’t know what to expect and when we crossed the border it was like stepping into another dimension. The flat well kept land of the Netherlands melted away into hilly overgrown shrubbery almost instantly. The roads also became a lot rougher and each offramp was labelled with “ausfahrt” much to our amusement.

We crossed over a bridge leading into Altstadt and had some trouble getting to the parking garage due to roadworks, but we eventually found our way. The restaurant we wanted to visit was located in an entire restaurant district which had hundreds of options for different cuisines, vibes and fanciness. Unfortunately, our chosen restaurant had a queue out the door but noticed the restaurant across the street had a display case of pork, so we took a seat.

Prost!

The restaurant’s name was Manhattan Bar and Restaurant which doesn’t exactly conjure up images of German cuisine but they definitely weren’t lacking in options touting schnitzel and sausages. Unfortunately, eisbein wasn’t on offer but it’s unpickled cousin schweinshaxe was. It was incredibly tender with a crispy layer of crackling and a peppercorn sauce. It was served with chips and a fresh pickled cabbage salad. At €13.50 it was a steal! This was all washed down with a Frankenheim alt beer.

Once we were done, the question of “what next” played in our minds. We took a walk around the restaurant district and I wanted to go to a German grocery store but there wasn’t one nearby, however the the Kunstsammlung art museum was. It caught my attention because of the signage advertising works by Edvard Munch but that would only be an exhibit later on in the year. Nevertheless, we decided to head in.

It was €10 per person which was reasonable. We had to leave our bag in the locker area before going to the 2nd floor to start our artventure. I don’t pretend to know much about art but there were some incredibly famous artists represented like Picasso (most prominent), Matisse, Kandinsky, Warhol, Pollack, Mondrian and Dalí but my some of my favourite artists of the day weren’t even on my radar. My personal favourite was a collage of carpet by Nevin Aladağ called “Social Fabric”. There was also some, ahem, interesting video art where a guy was saying “lip synch” over and over upside down while out of synch and another of a guy slathering himself in pink paint… art for art’s sake I guess.

Henri Matisse “le goûter” 1904

Lyonel Feininger “Umpferstedt I” 1914

Nevin Aladağ “Social Fabric - Pink Bow” 2018

George Grosz “Construction (untitled)” 1920

Pablo Picasso “Grand Profil (Jacqueline)” 1963

Oscar Schlemmer “”Ornamentale Plastic auf geteiltem Rahmen” 1919/1923

Andy Warhol “Joseph Beuys” 1980/1981

Jackson Pollock “Number 32” 1950

Jean Debuffet “Paysage d’airain” 1952

With our tummies full and our artistic appreciation sated, we decided to head back home. We barely scratched the surface of what Düsseldorf has to offer, let alone Germany, so I hope that next time we are able to spend more time in the “travel destination”.