#190. ladies in windows

A car to SFO, a plane, an underground train, a train, a train, a train, a little train, a plane, a taxi, a train, a Malcolm, a train, a train, a train, a bus, a plane, a little train, a bus, a train, an underground train, a train, a plane, a car home.

Our mini European inter-rail was quite fun. After leaving London, we thought we might as well spend a couple of days in Düsseldorf on the way to visiting Malcolm in Holland. Unbeknownst to us, the field that Ryanair drop you in is actually closer to Nijmegen than Düsseldorf. Nevertheless, Düsseldorf is a great place to visit. From having a beer and authentic Bratwurst in the Altstadt to walking down the promenade on the Rhine, the city is quintessentially North German and, as the city was hardly touched during WWII, the classical architecture of the Karlstadt survives and impresses. Impressive also are Frank O Gehry's white, metallic and brick blobs and the Stadttor in the New Media Harbour area — something which the IFSC so easily could have been. The public transport seems reliable, frequent and complete compared to London's Underground (in which we almost partook in a derailment at Camden Street Station).

From there to Nijmegen, which seemed like a sleepy little university town in comparison. It was indeed a good place to observe genuine Dutch culture — i.e. lots of bicycles, automatic sausage machines and cheese shops, and only a handful of coffeeshops and ladies in windows. Amsterdam, of course, was abundant with the latter two, but also with museums, canals and architecture. Of course.

Kudos to Malcolm for providing a couch to sleep on (and for the sunbed that one night). Also, we very much enjoyed the novelty of eating out of your fridge.

So, anyone fancy a pint?