Dorfy Day Trips - Intro and Zons

A visiting friend asked us what there was to do in the Dorf. I almost began but stopped myself – we were already drinking alt bier in one the Altstadt's brewhouses. What else was there to do in the Dorf? 

Now, to be fair, I was only in the city for two months at that point. I now know there are some fantastic art museums. The promenade along the Rhine is lined with bars and gets plenty of afternoon sun. If you're into shopping, there's fancy, pricey Königsallee.

I try to look at the positives of the Dorf. It's a tremendously liveable city, it's safe and has a great transit system. The winters are mild and the summers are sunny, sometimes.

I'm hard on the Dorf because I unfairly compare it to Budapest and Berlin, cities where I have spent a great deal of time. Plain, old liveability aside, Dusseldorf's serious draw is the amount of stuff there is to see around it. 

Castles, medieval towns, Roman ruins, forests, palaces, Gothic cathedrals, coal mines, yes, coal mines are worth visiting here.

In an effort to redeem myself in the eyes of any grumpy Dorfers, I will be posting about the Dorfy Day Trips I've been able to enjoy because I live in an okay city in a pretty cool neighbourhood of Europe.


Zons

This is a walled town that made its living on extracting tolls on boats passing up and down the Rhine. This was the only game in town, and was a good business until the river shifted east – yes, it does that. The river was now a few hundred yards away, making toll collection a little more challenging.

The town pretty much died, and this is where the story should end, but Zons has taken on a second life as a well-preserved walled medieval town. It's close enough for Kata and I to drop by for an afternoon, eat flammkuchen (German-style thin crust pizza with creme fräiche instead of tomato sauce) and drink riesling on a patio that overlooks the plain where the river used to be (which is kind of sad when you think about it) and eat ice cream as we wander the streets.

It's a pretty place and sadly, because I was probably too engrossed in my ice cream, I only snapped photos of a door and a window. Oh, well. It's close, so we might return.

A door in Zons.

A window in Zons.

If you go:
For fantastic flammkuchen, a great local riesling, and a patio with a pretty view, go to Torschenke in the old town. A shout out to Jill for recommending this spot.