A Dusseldorf Daytrip- (15/12)

At 6.40am I was waiting with 2 good friends at Centraal Station for a coach to Dusseldorf still not 100% sure where it was on the map let alone what to expect from  the place.

However the journey of 3.5hrs placed us a mere 10 minutes from the thick of the Christmas Market (or should I say markets) so it wasn’t long before I found out. There were 6 strategically placed markets each with a particular attraction for instance Marktplatz had a 100 year old merry go round, Heinrich-Heine Platz a music pavilion and Gustaf-Grundgens Platz an ice rink. The latter was a lot of fun.

All the little wooden huts, nostalgic of times gone by, were surrounded by Christmas lights and decorations from giant baubles in a giant Christmas tree to life size craved nativity scenes to motion window displays.

Dusseldorf itself stood beautifully under a clear sky and later under a spectacular sunset. Under the wooden roofs were stalls stuffed full of pancakes and honey pots, handmade pottery and jewellery, chocolates and candles, huge cookies and roasting chestnuts, tree decorations and trinkets, sweeties and scarves, mulled wine and meats. Something for everyone. It was comforting to hear so much Dutch being spoken and we even stumbled upon a British singer songwriter performing on the corner of one of the markets. He was truly amazing, well worth the large crowd that formed around him. Rupert Blackman. We had to tear ourselves away from the guy in order to catch the coach back at 5pm. Great way to round off a pretty successful little daytrip. Hopefully the first of many!