Dusseldorf

Let me start off by saying that from a very young age I have always LOVED Dusseldorf. 

At 15 I was lucky enough to go on a school exchange to a town just out of Dusseldorf for 6 weeks. It was on this trip that I experienced many firsts. It was the first place where I got drunk, illegally drank in a bar, was away from my parents for more then a few nights, lived with another family who didn't speak the same language as me (well almost), and where I gained my first taste of independence. 

So when I heard I was going back there on one of my flights I was beyond excited.

Over the years I have managed to keep in contact with my exchange partner, Sandra, as well as my friends exchange partner, Ann. So with such short notice (I only got told about my roster last week) we were lucky enough to arrange to all catch up for a bite to eat and a couple of drinks. 

Although I had been to Dusseldorf a few times before, I had never managed to find the main city center. So before meeting up with the girls I decided to walk around in search of a few shops close to the main train station. Once again I found it impossible to find the main shopping strip (however I did manage to come across a homewares shop and I was able to score the sweet daschund cushion for my bed). It wasn't until later when I met up with the girls that they told me the main part of town is a train ride away, and that was where I had been going wrong all these years! 

So after a quick train ride to the Old Town we emerged to a group of shops, restaurants and bars all along the river Rhein. It was so beautiful at night with all the cobbled stone roads and the foreshore all lit up, it really felt like Europe. 

We had such a lovely dinner and it was so good to catch up with everything that had been happening in our lives. I am so excited to get more trips there in the future!

Thats one good thing that I realised about this job, and that is that you get to catch up with friends that are spread out all over the world and for that reason I love what I am doing!!!

The flight home was great as we had a half load and the passengers on board were so friendly and polite.

Next up Columbo!