World Tour of Germany: Dortmund - Sunday and Monday
Continued from Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday. Walking shoes at the ready, we finally get to do the City Tour! Don't forget to click on the images for a larger version.
Sunday, June 1st
My plan today was to do the long-awaited City Tour, have dinner at Das Dog which specialises in American style hot dogs, get pudding from Wonder Waffel, and then later on have tea from dean & david again. It was actually quite a good day to do the City Tour, firstly because it wasn't raining and secondly because the city centre was pretty much dead. Germany still does the shut down completely on a Sunday thing.
The tour started off at the Dortmunder U which is just across the junction from the hotel. It was originally built by the Union Brewery but has now been turned into a centre for modern art. The gilded U on the roof has a layer of 450g of gold leaf and is a much-loved landmark of the city. Renowned Dortmund film artist, Adolf Winkelmann created the films on the exterior façade of the top two sections. That U and the films are on ALL NIGHT and I could see them and their light very clearly in my hotel room.
Dortmund has quite a lot of churches, there's 5 in the main city centre alone. The one on the left is the St Petri Church, a Gothic hall church built in the 14th century. Its claim to fame is a huge altar created by the Antwerp Lucas guild (ca. 1522) and known as the Golden Miracle of Westphalia. The church on the right is the Propsteikirche, a three-bay Gothic hall church from the 14-15th century which was destroyed during the Second World War. It was rebuilt between 1953 and 1956.
I have no idea what the first building is but it looked so nice that I just had to take a photo. The second photo shows the Friedensplatz [Peace Square] with Peace Column and the Old Civic Hall. The Civic Hall was designed by Dortmund's master builder Friedrich Kullrich in a Neo-Renaissance style and officially opened in 1899. The Peace Square contains the Peace Column (on the left of the picture with the gold ball on the top) and was inaugurated on June 16th 1989. The Peace Column features the word 'peace' in gold lettering in the various languages of Dortmund's twin cities. I think the different languages is a really nice idea.
The Gauklerbrunnen (Juggler's) Fountain was created by Professor Eberhard Linke and built in 1982. It's 472km to Berlin, I've got a full bottle of iced tea, half a packet of Polos, it's bright and I'm wearing sunglasses. The Adlerturm [Eagle Tower] is a former watch-tower from the 14th century which was reconstructed in 1992.
I'd been quite glad that there was just no one around at all because it meant I could take my time looking at the interesting buildings as well as taking lots of photos without have people wonder what I was doing. When I got to the Adlerturm, I crossed the road to get a better shot and while I was waiting for the traffic to clear, a man on a bike came along and stopped to talk to me. I couldn't understand what he said initially, I think he'd asked if I was from the area, so I said, "Ich verstehe nicht." He then asked, "Sprechen Sie Deutsche?" so I just said no. He then said something else that I didn't get except the "Alles klar!" [a multi-use phrase which here means 'say no more!'] before getting back on his bike and riding off. And up until that point, I thought I was just being overly paranoid about taking photos!
The Europa fountain in Kleppingstraße was designed by the architect Jürgen Schmettau.
More churches! Marienkirche [The Church of St Mary] was built as a three-bay vaulted basilica with three naves between 1170 and 1200. It was completely destroyed during the Second World War and the reconstruction was completed in 1959. The second church is Reinoldikirche, the city's main church which dates back to the 13th century and is named in honour of the city’s patron saint, Reinold. Partially destroyed during the Second World War, the renovated church was re-consecrated in 1956. The last picture is of the Reinoldikirche church bell, showing the hole in it that was sustained during the Second World War. When the church was re-consecrated in 1956, the bell was placed outside the church.
The brass fountain in the Old Market. In the 12th century, merchants and craftsmen would meet here for business transactions. The brass fountain with statue depicting a horn player, was created in 1901 as a drinking trough for animals. From this photo, Maximilian was directly behind me with Karstadt to the left. It was a nice little square, very Continental when the sun was out.
This is the Museum of Art and Cultural History. It's not exactly the most welcoming entrance, is it? It looks very severe and I thought it looked more like a bank than anything. And apparently it used to be a bank! Which would explain it. The eagle above the door is Dortmund's crest.
These last three pictures show the Central Library, designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta and officially opened in 1999; Dortmund Hauptbahnhof [central train station] with the very nice decorative windows, and the Steinwache [stone guard] former police and Gestapo prison.
As I'd taken my time going round, I was ready for my dinner when I'd finished. Before I went back to Das Dog, I decided to check its opening times in my notebook and discovered that it didn't open on Sundays! Neither did Flavya or dean & david! Wonder Waffel did as did my old stand-by, Maximilian. I knew I'd not have room for a waffle after eating there so that was a shame as it looked amazing. So back to the Old Market it was and sure enough, Maximilian was open. I'd considered having a chicken burger but when I saw that it was practically €10, I changed my mind.
Another mountain of chicken nuggets and curly fries!
And that was pretty much my Sunday. All the shops were closed, the only things open were museums which was bizarre, but I'd seen them all by this point! I went back to my hotel room and spent the rest of the day watching Captain America: The First Avenger and doing a bit of packing.
Monday, June 2nd
My last day in Dortmund *sadface* I had until 11am to check-out and then I didn't need to leave for the airport till after 1.30pm so I had plenty of time. I spent the morning getting the last of my packing done and cramming it all in my case. For my flight out, my case weighed 14½kg but going back it weighed 18½kg! I blame all the chocolate I bought. And possibly that jar of carrot salad for my mother.
All packed and ready to go :( The blue bag contained my tea for on the plane and some bottles and cans to be recycled. And a last shot of me taken in the hotel mirror just before I left.
I checked out just before 11 and was able to leave my case at Reception while I had a last wander round the city centre. I'd got a couple more bottles to recycle so I went to do that first. I'd got a last can of Arizona iced tea to have en route to the airport and decanted it into a bottle for ease which meant that I'd miss out on 25 cents. However, the Snapple bottle couldn't be recycled so there I was in the middle of the shopping centre, pouring iced tea from one bottle to another so I could get the extra 25 cents! It was a bit annoying because the Snapple bottle was glass therefore heavier but on the other hand, I now had a full Euro to spend, rather than €0,75. I got a bar of Milka :P It has a marzipan filling so I couldn't resist!
When it got close to 12, I went off to dean & david for dinner, and this time I ate in!
Another Land and Sea salad with fresh bread and an Orangina Rouge.
I still had some time after I'd finished so I decided to go to Eiswerk on Kleppingstraße and treat myself to an ice cream. I'd heard that they did really unusual flavours but they didn't look much out of the ordinary really. I got a scoop of Joghurt-Erdbeer-Schokolade [yoghurt strawberry and chocolate] which was very nice! It was like extra creamy ice cream with a strawberry purée sauce and chocolate flakes on top. I ate that while strolling back to the hotel where I picked up my case and went off to the train station.
The timetable for the train back to Düsseldorf. The one I want is the 13.45 NRW-Express. Rather disconcertingly, this doesn't list all the stations the train actually stopped at!
When the train arrived, I didn't notice anything unusual about it at first until I got inside...
It's a double-decker train! I've never seen anything like this before at all! On entering the carriage there were two short flights of steps, one to go upstairs and one to go down. I wanted to sit upstairs but thought I'd hold people up struggling with my case so I went downstairs instead. I still had to struggle up the stairs when getting off but I had more time then.
It took me just 45 minutes to get to the airport and I was first in the queue for checking-in. I went through security after that which was another x-ray machine and then I had over an hour to wait before boarding. The plane back to Manchester was rather full but it landed early. I made good time going through Passport Control and getting my case, so I made it to the platform in plenty of time for my train home. Except that's when it all went pear-shaped. For some reason, the train was cancelled from Manchester Airport so I had to quickly jump on the next train to Piccadilly and pick my original train up there. When I got to Piccadilly, I found that the train was delayed by 20 minutes which meant that it would be cutting it close to make my connection for the train to the village. As it turned out, I managed to make it as that train was also delayed because - get this - they were waiting for the conductor who was coming in on yet another delayed train from Northampton! WTF. Well, at least that meant I was able to get on it so I suppose that was okay. By the time I got home, it was about 8.30pm and I was exhausted.
So that was my nostalgia trip to Dortmund! I managed to cram a lot in, although I never got to go to Hagen Open-Air Museum which was a shame. I never got to try as many restaurants as I'd hoped either, I ended up going to the same places but they were such nice ones. And other than the visit to Subway at the train station on the way to Westfalenpark, they were all German restaurants too. I don't know if I'll go back, other than Hagen, I did do most of the stuff I wanted to so there's not much else to do in Dortmund itself; I'd have to travel further afield instead. But it was definitely an experience and I think, on the whole, it was a good one.
Sunday, June 1st
My plan today was to do the long-awaited City Tour, have dinner at Das Dog which specialises in American style hot dogs, get pudding from Wonder Waffel, and then later on have tea from dean & david again. It was actually quite a good day to do the City Tour, firstly because it wasn't raining and secondly because the city centre was pretty much dead. Germany still does the shut down completely on a Sunday thing.
The tour started off at the Dortmunder U which is just across the junction from the hotel. It was originally built by the Union Brewery but has now been turned into a centre for modern art. The gilded U on the roof has a layer of 450g of gold leaf and is a much-loved landmark of the city. Renowned Dortmund film artist, Adolf Winkelmann created the films on the exterior façade of the top two sections. That U and the films are on ALL NIGHT and I could see them and their light very clearly in my hotel room.
Dortmund has quite a lot of churches, there's 5 in the main city centre alone. The one on the left is the St Petri Church, a Gothic hall church built in the 14th century. Its claim to fame is a huge altar created by the Antwerp Lucas guild (ca. 1522) and known as the Golden Miracle of Westphalia. The church on the right is the Propsteikirche, a three-bay Gothic hall church from the 14-15th century which was destroyed during the Second World War. It was rebuilt between 1953 and 1956.
I have no idea what the first building is but it looked so nice that I just had to take a photo. The second photo shows the Friedensplatz [Peace Square] with Peace Column and the Old Civic Hall. The Civic Hall was designed by Dortmund's master builder Friedrich Kullrich in a Neo-Renaissance style and officially opened in 1899. The Peace Square contains the Peace Column (on the left of the picture with the gold ball on the top) and was inaugurated on June 16th 1989. The Peace Column features the word 'peace' in gold lettering in the various languages of Dortmund's twin cities. I think the different languages is a really nice idea.
The Gauklerbrunnen (Juggler's) Fountain was created by Professor Eberhard Linke and built in 1982. It's 472km to Berlin, I've got a full bottle of iced tea, half a packet of Polos, it's bright and I'm wearing sunglasses. The Adlerturm [Eagle Tower] is a former watch-tower from the 14th century which was reconstructed in 1992.
I'd been quite glad that there was just no one around at all because it meant I could take my time looking at the interesting buildings as well as taking lots of photos without have people wonder what I was doing. When I got to the Adlerturm, I crossed the road to get a better shot and while I was waiting for the traffic to clear, a man on a bike came along and stopped to talk to me. I couldn't understand what he said initially, I think he'd asked if I was from the area, so I said, "Ich verstehe nicht." He then asked, "Sprechen Sie Deutsche?" so I just said no. He then said something else that I didn't get except the "Alles klar!" [a multi-use phrase which here means 'say no more!'] before getting back on his bike and riding off. And up until that point, I thought I was just being overly paranoid about taking photos!
The Europa fountain in Kleppingstraße was designed by the architect Jürgen Schmettau.
More churches! Marienkirche [The Church of St Mary] was built as a three-bay vaulted basilica with three naves between 1170 and 1200. It was completely destroyed during the Second World War and the reconstruction was completed in 1959. The second church is Reinoldikirche, the city's main church which dates back to the 13th century and is named in honour of the city’s patron saint, Reinold. Partially destroyed during the Second World War, the renovated church was re-consecrated in 1956. The last picture is of the Reinoldikirche church bell, showing the hole in it that was sustained during the Second World War. When the church was re-consecrated in 1956, the bell was placed outside the church.
The brass fountain in the Old Market. In the 12th century, merchants and craftsmen would meet here for business transactions. The brass fountain with statue depicting a horn player, was created in 1901 as a drinking trough for animals. From this photo, Maximilian was directly behind me with Karstadt to the left. It was a nice little square, very Continental when the sun was out.
This is the Museum of Art and Cultural History. It's not exactly the most welcoming entrance, is it? It looks very severe and I thought it looked more like a bank than anything. And apparently it used to be a bank! Which would explain it. The eagle above the door is Dortmund's crest.
These last three pictures show the Central Library, designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta and officially opened in 1999; Dortmund Hauptbahnhof [central train station] with the very nice decorative windows, and the Steinwache [stone guard] former police and Gestapo prison.
As I'd taken my time going round, I was ready for my dinner when I'd finished. Before I went back to Das Dog, I decided to check its opening times in my notebook and discovered that it didn't open on Sundays! Neither did Flavya or dean & david! Wonder Waffel did as did my old stand-by, Maximilian. I knew I'd not have room for a waffle after eating there so that was a shame as it looked amazing. So back to the Old Market it was and sure enough, Maximilian was open. I'd considered having a chicken burger but when I saw that it was practically €10, I changed my mind.
Another mountain of chicken nuggets and curly fries!
And that was pretty much my Sunday. All the shops were closed, the only things open were museums which was bizarre, but I'd seen them all by this point! I went back to my hotel room and spent the rest of the day watching Captain America: The First Avenger and doing a bit of packing.
Monday, June 2nd
My last day in Dortmund *sadface* I had until 11am to check-out and then I didn't need to leave for the airport till after 1.30pm so I had plenty of time. I spent the morning getting the last of my packing done and cramming it all in my case. For my flight out, my case weighed 14½kg but going back it weighed 18½kg! I blame all the chocolate I bought. And possibly that jar of carrot salad for my mother.
All packed and ready to go :( The blue bag contained my tea for on the plane and some bottles and cans to be recycled. And a last shot of me taken in the hotel mirror just before I left.
I checked out just before 11 and was able to leave my case at Reception while I had a last wander round the city centre. I'd got a couple more bottles to recycle so I went to do that first. I'd got a last can of Arizona iced tea to have en route to the airport and decanted it into a bottle for ease which meant that I'd miss out on 25 cents. However, the Snapple bottle couldn't be recycled so there I was in the middle of the shopping centre, pouring iced tea from one bottle to another so I could get the extra 25 cents! It was a bit annoying because the Snapple bottle was glass therefore heavier but on the other hand, I now had a full Euro to spend, rather than €0,75. I got a bar of Milka :P It has a marzipan filling so I couldn't resist!
When it got close to 12, I went off to dean & david for dinner, and this time I ate in!
Another Land and Sea salad with fresh bread and an Orangina Rouge.
I still had some time after I'd finished so I decided to go to Eiswerk on Kleppingstraße and treat myself to an ice cream. I'd heard that they did really unusual flavours but they didn't look much out of the ordinary really. I got a scoop of Joghurt-Erdbeer-Schokolade [yoghurt strawberry and chocolate] which was very nice! It was like extra creamy ice cream with a strawberry purée sauce and chocolate flakes on top. I ate that while strolling back to the hotel where I picked up my case and went off to the train station.
The timetable for the train back to Düsseldorf. The one I want is the 13.45 NRW-Express. Rather disconcertingly, this doesn't list all the stations the train actually stopped at!
When the train arrived, I didn't notice anything unusual about it at first until I got inside...
It's a double-decker train! I've never seen anything like this before at all! On entering the carriage there were two short flights of steps, one to go upstairs and one to go down. I wanted to sit upstairs but thought I'd hold people up struggling with my case so I went downstairs instead. I still had to struggle up the stairs when getting off but I had more time then.
It took me just 45 minutes to get to the airport and I was first in the queue for checking-in. I went through security after that which was another x-ray machine and then I had over an hour to wait before boarding. The plane back to Manchester was rather full but it landed early. I made good time going through Passport Control and getting my case, so I made it to the platform in plenty of time for my train home. Except that's when it all went pear-shaped. For some reason, the train was cancelled from Manchester Airport so I had to quickly jump on the next train to Piccadilly and pick my original train up there. When I got to Piccadilly, I found that the train was delayed by 20 minutes which meant that it would be cutting it close to make my connection for the train to the village. As it turned out, I managed to make it as that train was also delayed because - get this - they were waiting for the conductor who was coming in on yet another delayed train from Northampton! WTF. Well, at least that meant I was able to get on it so I suppose that was okay. By the time I got home, it was about 8.30pm and I was exhausted.
So that was my nostalgia trip to Dortmund! I managed to cram a lot in, although I never got to go to Hagen Open-Air Museum which was a shame. I never got to try as many restaurants as I'd hoped either, I ended up going to the same places but they were such nice ones. And other than the visit to Subway at the train station on the way to Westfalenpark, they were all German restaurants too. I don't know if I'll go back, other than Hagen, I did do most of the stuff I wanted to so there's not much else to do in Dortmund itself; I'd have to travel further afield instead. But it was definitely an experience and I think, on the whole, it was a good one.