Adventure #2: Willkommen mit Dusseldorf
We had about 5 hours to kill, so we decided to head to take the train to downtown Dusseldorf and scope out the scene. After stopping at almost every information kiosk in the airport, we realized that a pair of ADD kids with a language barrier are not really a good team for getting directions. We eventually worked out a system where James would remember the first part of the directions and I'd remember the second. That went generally better. First, we went down to the Gepäckaufbewahrung to drop off my heavy suitcase. This is Pen Pen at the Gepäckaufbewahrung.
We hopped on the Sky Train, which is basically a train from the future, to connect to the main train line that goes downtown. We sang the Monorail song. This is Pen Pen on the Sky Train.
After much discussion about which direction to head, we bought our tickets (which no-one ever checked) and got on the S1 train. It turns out, that neither of us can understand any German at all. If I were to have a conversation using all the German I know, it would go like this:
Good morning. Speaking is forbidden. Attention, Jew: I do not understand, because I don't speak German. No. You, you hate, you hate me because I am a jelly donut. Submarine, superman, beautifulsixteenthbirthdaycake! Thank you. I love you.
Having learned most of my German from WWII movies, clearly I would be a big hit at parties. This is Pen Pen waiting for the train in the rain.
We went the wrong way. We ended up in Duisburg which is north of Dusseldorf. So we got off and waited for a train to come in the other direction. The schedule said there would be one within 5 minutes but we waited for almost 20. Clearly this dispells the myth that the trains in Germany run on time. Or James can't read a German train schedule. Either way. This is Pen Pen in Duisburg.
We finally made it to downtown Dusseldorf where it was kind of gross and raining, but having nothing better to do, we soldiered on. I guess Dusseldorf isn't much of a happening place at 9 on a Sunday morning. Most of the stores were closed and the streets were pretty much deserted. This is Pen Pen in front of Gay Sex World.
We wandered around for a little while and it started to rain harder. So we walked into a little cafe. The waitress spoke excellent English and we talked for a while. She told us where the interesting things were in the city, but that most of them were closed on Sundays. She's coming to New York soon, so we gave her our contact info. This is Pen Pen with our new friend Gap.
We walked up to the river where there was a lot of interesting sculpture. One of them looked like my dad. This is Pen Pen riding an eagle.
Around 11:30 we headed back to the train station. There was hardly any confusion at all about which train to take. We got back to the airport quickly and went back to the Gepäckaufbewahrung to retrieve my bag. Somewhere along the way, I lost the luggage tag. Oops. Luckily I had a picture of Pen Pen packing the bag, and could describe what was in it, so she let me take it. This is why I keep him around. He's always good in a bind. We checked in and waited for our plane. I registered this blog and made a few posts. This is Pen Pen doing graphic design.
Here's this song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.
The Last Time You Saw Me by nathanleigh
