Germany, Day 2 - Oberhausen/Duisburg w/pictures

Today I get to experience a Christmas market thats open.  Actually, I will be taking a day trip to two cities to two Christmas markets.  Im starting to feel festive already.  After breakfast, I took a stroll before heading out of town 

Germany, Day 1 - Dusseldorf, first full day w/pictures

 Speaking of being up at 3am, Friday night became Saturday morning and the party didnt end until the some came up.  Alot of bars and restaurants were open late for the weekend funseekers.  The fast food chains dont close until 1am.  I could still hear the music from a club at 5am.  Today is forecast for some rain in Dus and I am going to explore this little corner of the city.  I had breakfast in the hotel.  Some meats and cheeses with individual liverwurst of 4 types.  Breads and cereal were on offer too.  Tea and most importantly coffee was on hand.  

Germany Arrival w/pictures

This started with the week of Thanksgiving selected for vacation with no particular plans in mind.  As time approached, I found some information on German Christmas markets.  Some locations had early opening dates that coincided with the time I would be off from work.  So, I began to plan the trip with some early research.  My itinerary changed as the info was updated up to the time I was in Dusseldorf. 

I flew out on Scandinavian Airlines, SAS, with a short layover in Copenhagen, CPH.  Legroom on the A330 was shorter than most, I felt.  I have short legs so take that into consideration.  Landed in Dusseldorf(Dus) early in the evening.  

Germany Departure

 I got up well before the sun and my alarm to make my way to the airport.  It was so early there was no one at the reception desk to check out with.  I got to the airport way too early.  About 3 hours before departure, I spent half of that waiting for the ticket counter to open for check in and bag drop.  Afterwhich, and you know th drill, security check.  Relieved that I didnt have to take off my shoes, I was pretty confident of getting through easily.  But, the full body scanner flagged something.  What could it be?  Turns out it may have been the metal buckles on my shoes.  So, I had to take them off anyway.  This would be a short hop on City Jet to Copenhagen  where I would transfer to my final flight 4.5 hours after landing.

After landing, I went to the SAS lounge.  I had purchased access through their app the day before for $28.  Previously it was $35 at time of booking.  Good thing I waited.  I opted for the lounge because I didnt want to exchange currency or put an extra charge on my card.  Plus, I didnt want to pay for the expensive airport fare.  The main lounge was pretty full but not crowded and I found a seat quickly.  Then on to food and drink.  Theres a cold salad bar and a crock of cauliflower soup with some bread nearby.  Sodas, beer, wine, and coffee were available as well as some cookies and potato chips to snack on.   The soup was more cream than anything else with a whisper of cauliflower.  I enjoyed 3.5 bowls over the span of time.  I chose the coucous salad, rice salad with chicken, bean salad, and a side of pesto.  The chicken in the rice salad was the only source of protein against the backdrop of hard rice.  I put it to good use by warming it in a bowl of soup.  The automated coffee dispenser did its job well while I paired its offerings with some assorted cookies.  I spent the time on my tablet while partaking of the kettle style chips.  Before leaving, I grabbed 3 tangerines for the flight.  All in all, even without having any alcohol, it was money well spend for access as it helped passed the time and filled my belly before the flight.

The walk to the E terminal was quite long from the lounge in C terminal.  Once I got to passport control, I was flagged for random security check.  Went through it without any issue, as I expected.  On to the plane where I was happy to find I had both seats to myself.  Unfortunately, for the second time, I was not sleepy throughout the flight.  What a waste of space.  On the initial leg, I could have used the room as the seats seem narrow with even less legroom than most other carriers.  I enjoyed the chicken with rigatoni that was served as the main meal.  They served a nice crusty roll which was similar to the ones I had throughout myt trip.  Didnt bother with the carrot and cabbage salad that was only dressed with olive oil.  The snack before landing was a warm smoked turkey smnoked gouda sandwich.  If I hadnt read the package, I thought it was ham and cheese.  The plane departed before sunset.  We chased it halfway around the world while falling behind in some places and catching up to it before getting to the west coast.  By the time we were at the gat around 6ish pm, the sun had set.  All that was left was to head home and have Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks for sticking it out this long. In the days to come, I will repost with pictures.  In the weeks to come, I will add links for videoes.

Germany, Day 5 - Last full day

 Today will be my last full day in Germany.  Taking the opportunity to tie up loose ends and take it easy before flying back in the morning.  Went to the Rewe supermaket to get some eier liqour, specifically the Verpoorten brand.  Unlike the gluhwein, I was able to identify the brand sold at the Christmas market in several locations.  This is like an eggnog.  I got some later to taste it and to get the Verpoorten frosted glass as well.  20% alcohol by volume is what it says on the bottle.  There were other brands but they were not available for sampling.  Nearby I went to a place tha served saurbraten.  Beef rounds in a sour sauce with some sweetness from raisins.  Potato dumplings were bouncy and elastic like the ones I had on my last trip to Germany.  They are not boiled potatoes and pretty tasteless.   I always love the braised red cabbage.  The was dry in spite of the sauce.  The applesauce really saved the beef with added moisture and flavor.

After a quick nap, I strolled to the Schadowstrasse area.  There were still a few markets, though not open, I had not seen yet.  There was the small Ko Bogen market near a small pond with an inclined grassy area.  From there I went back to Schadow Markt.  I was here a few days ago in the rain.  Its a row of huts along a pedestrian walkway lined with retail shops.  I believe I also walked by the Marchen Market.  I think that rounds out all the markets in Dusseldorf.  I passed by Engelchen, sternchen, and Altstadt once again as they were in the stages of getting ready to open the next day.

Schwan is a restaurant near the ferris wheel.   I had seen a review on Youtube but I can remember the content provider.  I had the veal schnitzel jeager style,  with a brown mushroom sauce with fries.  Theres alot of  wurst places that include fries.  Theres standalone frie places that offer different toppings.  Oddly, these are my first pomme frite of the trip.  Like everything else, I thought the portion was large.  Although I finished the schnitzel, there was 1/3 fries left on the plate.  With some coin euro to burn, going to see what I can use them on before getting some sleep and early wakeup.