Rockin' it out in Düsseldorf

I had some visitors come see me one weekend and I did my best to be their tour guide. I realized I didn't do a very good job because I only really know the hot spots that everyone else knows about. I haven't discovered many 'insider' local places like I did in New York, but we still enjoyed the beautiful weather and masses of people. One of my visitors was the same student I met in Koplenz, and the other is a native German from Kassel, who studies medicine at the University of Aachen. He was an exchange student for one year at a small high school in Ohio, which was the same high school that my good friend and fellow architecture classmate went to, and last summer in Cincinnati, this same good friend of mine got a visit from the 'ol exchange student, and that's when we met, whew... anyway, I'll talk more about him later. The weekend consisted mainly of walking, and little sitting. I hadn't seen so many people in the city before, and we couldn't find a good place to sit anywhere, unless it was in front of some fancy restaurant. We simply wanted the cheap little cafe with outdoor seating; and no, we were not going to be lame and sit indoors! So I lead the way walking quickly and stubbornly until we found a manageable place away from the hubbub, which meant we couldn't indulge in one of the best social activities ever invented: people watching - it's almost as fun as watching good TV, but I would put it at the same level as reality TV - just kidding. Anyway, we only had our own private conversations for entertainment, but it was a good way for Anthony and I to practice German and for Mo to practice English, so it actually became productive!

So besides nice weather and the weekend, what else can you add to bring Germans to the city? A marathon! After being overwhelmed by people on Saturday, imagine three times that on Sunday. The marathon was like a festival, complete with vendor tents, ad tents, beer tents, brat tents, shoe tents, massage tents, and a little concert stage featuring some rock/pop band from the U.S. Anthony almost signed up to run but decided it wasn't very efficient to pay 50 Euro for something you could do for free (he's an engineering student). I, at least, showed some support and bought a sporty-looking hat to protect my sensitive dome. Many of the runners, after completing the race, joined their friends in celebration for a round of beers, gulping down their glory between panting breaths. It reminded me of Rocky when he chugs down raw eggs: instant power!