Düsseldorf & Köln

Altbier. Kölsch. Cathedral.

Cheap tickets on EasyJet took us to Düsseldorf & Köln for the summer solstice.  Located about 500km downriver on the Rhine, Düsseldorf is Germany's wealthiest city (the only city in Germany not currently in debt) and is known for fashion (the Königsallee is Germany's busiest upscale shopping street) and partying (the old town has the "longest bar in the world" - home to more than 300 bars).  We arrived late Friday night and the streets of the old town were filled with people enjoying the summer night and the city's famous Altbier (served out of small wood barrels).  Very crowded and we saw a *lot* of stag parties!

On Saturday it didn't take us long to explore the city (it's pretty small).  After walking through the old town in daylight and enjoying a pastry & coffee, we walked along the Rhine past the Rheinturm (a large communication town) to the harbor, recently renovated with cutting edge architecture.

 

We spent the afternoon window shopping along the Königsallee, enjoying the mix of high end shops and more reasonably priced options.  Kate managed to find a casual dress from a Japanese store called Muji, shrink wrapped into the size of a large ring box!

To celebrate the solstice the city set up the "longest table" along the Rhine, a continuous table spanning multiple city blocks with food and drink vendors lining one side.  It was nice to sit along the river eating good food and enjoying cool drinks.  Wish it was warmer, but at least it didn't rain.  (STILL waiting for summer over here!)

On Sunday we took the train to Köln, about 30 minutes from Düsseldorf.  Known mainly for its cathedral (the most visited landmark in Germany), the old town feels a bit more modern than Düsseldorf (95% of the city center was destroyed during WWII). 

Köln & Düsseldorf have a fierce rivalry, with each city producing their own style of beer (the darker Altbier from Düsseldorf and the lighter Kölsch from Köln). We tried both, and keeping with our Swiss residency we have decided to stay neutral on which one we like best - they are both good!

Altbier

Kölsch

Overall not one of our most exciting weekend getaways, but still an enjoyable time.

Liechtenstein

Summer finally arrived in Basel this past weekend so we decided to do some hiking and visit a new country at the same time.  Liechtenstein is about 2 hours Southeast from Basel, and while an independent country it feels like a part of Switzerland (they use the Swiss Franc and there is only a small sign indicating you are entering the country - no formal border crossing).  The country is only ~15 miles long by ~4 miles wide, bordered by the Rhine on the West and the Alps on the East.  Matt found a hike that started up in the Alps and then continued to go upwards to the top of a ridge.  On our drive up through multiple switchbacks we passed lots of cute chalets, all extremely well maintained (a Swiss colleague of Matt's even made the comment about how well maintained Liechtenstein is, even compared to Switzerland).  As is typical in Switzerland there are cows (with bells) all over the mountain fields providing a pleasant "tinkling" soundtrack to our hike.  At the top there were beautiful views of the small towns below and the snow capped peaks of the Austrian and Swiss Alps.

Kate or Heidi?

On the way home we drove down the main strip through the country to view the famous Liechtenstein castle (where the ruling monarchy still lives).  Other than lots of banks and a small pedestrian area there isn't much to see... oh well, we can check another country off our list.

Art Basel

Art Basel was in town this past week so we decided to see what all the excitement is about and attended the show Saturday afternoon.  Art Basel is the world's premier international art show for modern and contemporary works, featuring around 300 leading galleries from around the world displaying works from over 4,000 artists (some established, some up-and-coming).  The show is held in the Basel convention center and includes an area for "over sized" works (our favorite space) as well as booths for all the different galleries.  Overall we enjoyed the show, even if we didn't quite "get" all the pieces.  
 

Best name of a piece of art at the show!

Porto

Port. Pastries. Tiles.

We headed to the Atlantic Coast and Porto for the weekend.  We left early Saturday morning and arrived to overcast skies (this hasn't been the best spring/summer in terms of weather).  Porto is Portugal's second largest city, located at the mouth of the Douro river.  While part of mainland Europe, Porto's architecture is very different from the other cities we have visited, with its colorful tiled covered houses and churches.  Amazing!

On Saturday we started with a typical Portuguese breakfast - coffee and pastel de nata (a delicious pastry filled with some sort of custard).  After filling up we walked around the city center exploring side streets and churches.  At mid-day we joined a walking tour and visited popular sights, lookout points and old neighborhoods, including Ribeira, an ancient quarter just uphill from the Douro River full of of twisty alleyways, laundry-laden balconies, and lots of stairs.

After the tour we took the historic tram line 1 out to the ocean.  The ride was scenic and the tram authentic - unfortunately it was a bit cold for the beach and it was pretty quiet.

On Sunday we ventured to the opposite side of the Duoro into Vila Nova de Gaia, the capital of port wine.  We started with a visit to Sandeman to take a tour and learn about how port wine is made and then to try a few types.  Afterwards we went to Taylor's, another port wine lodge for another tour and tasting.  Yum! 

After a couple of tastings it was time for lunch.  We also tried to visit photography museum but found it wasn't open until later in the day.  Instead there was a pet market, mainly filled with birds for sale ?? (we made it to the museum later, which is housed in an old prison).  We spent the rest of the day exploring the beautiful city.