The Cologne train station is the worst that I have ever been in. It is very large and, since it connects to the metro, dirty and full of bums. The part of it where one can buy tickets is difficult to find, as it is tucked inconspicuously behind a corner, and it is so full of stores of sundry sorts that it would seem to have barely any connection whatsoever to trains. Finally, it is hard to tell which trains one can take and which ones one cannot, as the distinction between intercity and regional trains is not always clearly signaled, and the platforms are so large that one can miss a train entirely if one stands in the wrong area. It took me almost two hours to make the hour-long trip from Cologne to Dusseldorf because of the station's poor layout.
Dusseldorf itself was a pleasant surprise. At first, I expected it to be ultra-modern and hold no real historic interest, but it turned out to be exceptional blend of the old and the new. It is immediately clear when one arrives there that Dusseldorf is a city full of money and development: the train station is vastly cleaner, cooler, and more logically-organized than that of Cologne, and there is a whole line of banks and other financial institutions right outside of the train station on the boulevard leading to the city's historic center. It is a much more multicultural city than Cologne and has much more newer and more chic stores, yet it has the same churches, museums, and historically-important artifacts as Cologne with none of the latter's noise, grime, and roadblocks. Dusseldorf's city center is very easy to navigate by foot, and its waterfront is lined with benches, arbors, statues, and cafes. It is a city to which one could endlessly return, seeing something different every time. I had the pleasant sensation, as I left, of wanting more, rather than feeling completely done with it, as I usually do.
Essen, by contrast, was an abject disappointment. While I knew that it was smaller than Dusseldorf, I did not know to what extent its cultural import and level of development would be lower; I quickly discovered that it was, as an interlocutor at my hostel later told me, a small, industrial city. Its main sights were a splendid synagogue next to a church, its cathedral (which looked like a German cathedral), and its town hall, which I do not remember. It had very little development of any sort, and its city center mostly consisted of unadorned shops. I left it with the sober knowledge that one sometimes chooses duds that sound interesting in the travel guide and turn out to suck.
I do not know how I spent this evening or what, exactly, I saw, but I remember that the train ride was a little disappointing; the area to the north of Cologne is heavily industrialized and, as such, unbecoming to the eye. I would like to move on to my next post and have nothing else of note to say. Essen sucks!
Above: Cologne: A combination of terrible infrastructure and old churches.
Below: Dusseldorf: A happy marriage between old and new.
Dusseldorf itself was a pleasant surprise. At first, I expected it to be ultra-modern and hold no real historic interest, but it turned out to be exceptional blend of the old and the new. It is immediately clear when one arrives there that Dusseldorf is a city full of money and development: the train station is vastly cleaner, cooler, and more logically-organized than that of Cologne, and there is a whole line of banks and other financial institutions right outside of the train station on the boulevard leading to the city's historic center. It is a much more multicultural city than Cologne and has much more newer and more chic stores, yet it has the same churches, museums, and historically-important artifacts as Cologne with none of the latter's noise, grime, and roadblocks. Dusseldorf's city center is very easy to navigate by foot, and its waterfront is lined with benches, arbors, statues, and cafes. It is a city to which one could endlessly return, seeing something different every time. I had the pleasant sensation, as I left, of wanting more, rather than feeling completely done with it, as I usually do.
Essen, by contrast, was an abject disappointment. While I knew that it was smaller than Dusseldorf, I did not know to what extent its cultural import and level of development would be lower; I quickly discovered that it was, as an interlocutor at my hostel later told me, a small, industrial city. Its main sights were a splendid synagogue next to a church, its cathedral (which looked like a German cathedral), and its town hall, which I do not remember. It had very little development of any sort, and its city center mostly consisted of unadorned shops. I left it with the sober knowledge that one sometimes chooses duds that sound interesting in the travel guide and turn out to suck.
I do not know how I spent this evening or what, exactly, I saw, but I remember that the train ride was a little disappointing; the area to the north of Cologne is heavily industrialized and, as such, unbecoming to the eye. I would like to move on to my next post and have nothing else of note to say. Essen sucks!
Above: Cologne: A combination of terrible infrastructure and old churches.
Below: Dusseldorf: A happy marriage between old and new.
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