Cycling from the train station to the hostel yesterday, I noticed Düsseldorf is actually anything but the industrial town I had expected. So this morning I decided I'd stay an extra night. I needed to do some shopping anyway; contact lens fluid and a lens container, essentials that I forgot to bring. I eventually scored these items at the Karstadt warehouse, but the morning had passed into the afternoon by then. My Koga Miyata Traveller looked attractive without its bags attached, so I took it for a ride through the city. And I rode like I would have in Nijmegen: furiously. Without the stuffed pannier bags, the bicycle felt as though it didn't weigh anything at all. I raced up the Rhein bridge so fast that I managed to get both wheels off the ground where the road leveled out again.. Or maybe that's just how it felt. The riverside in Düsseldorf is nice too, with pubs and benches to take in the view.. It features a cycling path too, the tiles of which are spread out in a wave pattern. At some point I had to stop and stand still for a bit, not to get so dizzy as to throw up. Düsseldorf is a pretty town though, really. The youth hostel is on the West bank of the Rhein, where cute white houses somehow made me feel as though I might be in Brighton again. When I called my mother from the hostel, she was surprised I was still no further than Düsseldorf though. She's right, it's time I show more ambition.

Labels: travel