Finally - Sunday

9AM
Well, I'm sitting here in Koeln Station waiting for the train to take me to Dusseldorf.  30 min. 

Last night, about 10, a new roomie came.  Missed her name, but she's from Japan and doesn't speak English any more than the first one (name of Katie from St. Petersburg, Russia).  This morning I got up, got dressed, checked email and left.  Grabbed a bagel-looking thing and a hot chocolate from a little cafe I saw yesterday.  That was one of the best bagely things I have ever eaten.  The hot chocolate, on the other hand.... Well, it was chocolate, but that's the only thing going for it.  I got to the train station and bought my ticket from a kiosk and got confused.  Hopefully I will end up in the right place.  More later, once I've seen Dusseldorf.

930AM
I really, really hope this is the right train.  Pretty sure, but don't know.  Anyways.

They seem to be obsessed with American food here.  Much more so than in Brussels.  Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, and, of course, Micky D's are all in the train station.  Plus more, I'm sure. But I grabbed an egg and an awesome mixed white and milk chocolate bar and stat to wait for the train.  My butt is frozen, but I talked to this girl from Canada who just finished a semester in Brussels and is on her way to Berlin for an internship. 

What's really weird to me about trains is that there's no security.  They don't even check your ticket.  You walk up to the train and get on.  No security, no nothing.  It's super easy to get on the wrong train, sit in the wrong seat, and get off at the wrong place.  Very different from any mass transit system in the States.  But, I'm on my way.  Dusseldorf, here I come!

1230PM
Oh. My. Word.  Getting here was a disaster, but I'm finally here in MediaHafen, eating lunch.  It's a nice place and I got looks for coming in here with my backpack, but oh, well. 

So.  The story of how I got here... Well.  I took the train and got off at Dusseldorf Banhoff.... Dusseldorf Bahnhof which is NOT Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof, which is the main station, where I needed and wanted to go.    Dusseldorf Bahnhof was dingy and scary and empty and tiny.  I'm talking Rockland Airport tiny.  I nearly started to cry.  Luckily, this guy saw my distress and explained how to get here.  I caught the next train and all was fine.  I finaly got here and walked, and walked and walked, down to the Rhine, where I went up the Rhineturm - the really really tall (168 meters was the "bottom" floor) with 360 degree views of Dusseldorf.  Then I walked a bit more and tried to take some pictures, found my camera to be broken, and came in here to eat some lunch. 

I have no clue what I'm going to do for the next four hours that I'm here because I've seen everything I planned and wanted to see and it's snowing outside, heavily, so it's a bit cold to wander.  I'll figure something out.  They have a whole lot of museums and and aquarium, so maybe that's where I'll go.  Toodle-oo for now.

545PM
Whew.  What a day.  I am on the train back to Koln - should take 30 minutes, then I have an hour to kill before my train back to Brussels.  I still wish I was going home, but Brussels will have to do for now.  Today was fun, though. 

After lunch, I walked in the snow and the sleet to the shipping museum, which was housed in the last standing section of the original castle built in Dusseldorf.  There were really cool sailboat models and things.  I think I got lucky because they video with the history of the Rhein and Dusseldorf was in English.  It was actually really interesting. 

When I left after an hour and a half or so, I asked where to go and they sent me to a glass museum, a film museum and a ceramics museum.  I passed on the first two, but only after walking to them.  I pretty much wandered around and stumbled upon them.  I also got fries while walking around, and, while they were served in the same fashion as those in Brussels (cone and tiny fork), they were not nearly as tasty as the ones in Grand Place.  I then ended up at the ceramic museum and got in free because it was 430 and they closed at 5.  It was kindof cool.  Pretty amazing how pots that are over 4000 years old managed to survive and not break during their lifetime. 

Then I walked back to the train station, got my ticket, and killed time by going to Starbucks.  I know, horrible, isn't it?  But it was cool because they had no paper cups - they were all ceramic, and it was very much a "sit and stay" experience.  I enjoyed my book for a bit.  The most interesting yet annoying part was that the drinks are different, but the food looks exactly the same. (And I bet it tastes the same, too.)

Oh, look, they just checked my ticket.  Huh.  Glad I got mine even though they didn't on the way in.

1212AM
Finally home. Back in the apartment.  Mental note to always get first class and take computer on train rides.  Uneventful trip getting home.  The usual problems with my sucky internet.  Tomorrow is a day to rest and recoop.  Marketing test Tuesday.

Goodnight world.