We started our morning by going to the ‘city center’ of Hilden–the ‘fussgangerzone’ [or foot-going-zone...sort of like our Fulton Mall for you Fresnans, and those things actually work just fine in Europe...] There was a grocery store, and whenever anyone of our troop went inside, they would emerge much much later wide-eyed ranting about the great price and exotic varieties of German chocolates.
strange goings on in the Hilden city center
file under: things are just a little bit different in Germany
Well settled into our hotel in Hilden, and with no gig or other band responsibilities until tomorrow night, Lauri and I decided to hspend the rest of the day together exploring the alt stadt (“old town”) in Dusseldorf.
We started off with a late lunch-early supper back at Die Schlussel (“The Key”) where we had eaten last night. This time I was going to try the Schweinhaxe (roasted ham hock or ‘pig’s knuckle’). It sounded weird to my very pedestrian palate, but after seeing them being served here last night, I wanted me one of them things! Get around a couple of bones, and you have the most tender pork roast you’ve ever had.
schweinhaxe mit kartofelbrei und rot kraut
Two stores we wanted to visit amongst the winding alleys of the old town were the spice shop, and a chocolate shop that had a name that just did not work in English–more than once I had heard one of our friends read it : “Gut and Gerne”?…[ the locals say it: 'gooot unt ger-nah'...or, as best as I can translate it, a store devoted to what is "good" and things we "like"].
The "Gut und Gerne" chocolate shop
check out the fountain of chocolate in the window!
Then it was a leisurely walk along the river to finish off our evening in Dusseldorf.
old town Dusseldorf along the Rhine
We closed off our night by taking the bus into the town center of Hilden to say “hello” to our host Stephen at his pub. We ended up on the other end of the ‘fussgangerzone’ from where we were yesterday.–a nice little walk down the way after they’d rolled up the sidewalks for the night. We came into The Irish Pub where Stephen immediately pulled up a chair and conversation fired along until it was time to get home to bed.—tomorrow: our first gig in Germany!
…and as Lauri and I had our evening together, the rest of our gang, roamed the night on the cobbled streets of Dusseldorf….
