Düsseldorf

Our internet-connection out in The Woods is never at all what we pay it to be, but now I've finally uploaded all the pics I wanted from our trip.

Okay, I would've wanted to show you all, but Sami is on half of them and I can't wait half a year for the computer to upload them. So:

On saturday the 29th we had to get to the airport really early, since our plane left at 7 am. Kind of a risk since we took our "car", relying on it to stay in one piece for the hour-long drive. Surprising both of us, it did!
We had breakfast at home before we left, and they served another one on the plane. Wen we got to Düsseldorf at about 9 am local time, my cousin Nico and his girlfriend Corinna served us a third one. Best way to start the day, huh?

On saturday we walked all over the old town, and a bit into the center of Düsseldorf, and shopped like crazy. We bought shirts, hats, a purse and some trinkets. Düsseldorf is one of my favorite cities and I really love the Old Town-parts. The buildings are really beautiful, and all the biergarten's add a special feel to it all. During these last few days of December, you could still sit outside and have a beer if you wanted to, because they had these huge heat-lamps right outside. We entertained the thought but eventually chose to walk around.In the evening we had dinne with a few friends of Nico and Corinna's at their place, and then continued to the biergartens. Cheapest beer I've ever seen, and the beauty of it is that unless you turn your glass upside down, they just keep serving you more without even bothering to ask. Love it!

My cousin and Corinna live in a penthouse, with a view that, among other things, comprehends the building opposite. You know how when it's dark outside, and you see into other peoples lit homes through their open windows, you kinda have to and hope you catch someone doing something they're not supposed to do? Well, at the dinner table, in front of the glass doors, we did.

We were collectively checking out people in the building opposite the dining room, particularly this one bald guy, who was working in his office although it was late on a saturday. Just as we were checking him out, he decided to lower the blinds and, you guessed it: love himself. No harm there, but let me tell all of you, even if you do lower the blinds, if the room is lit, your silhouette carries a long way. And that's not a nice way to disturb other peoples dining. Twice.

So Baldy, if you're reading this: good on ya!

On sunday everything was closed, so we went sightseeing. Even though I hatehatehate heights and I've been there before, I wanted to take Sami to see the Rheinturm.

Yup. All the way up that place we went. As when ever I'm in a really high place, my head started feeling light and when I tried too peek out the windows I thought I was gonna fall. Because if anything, this concrete structure has to crumble to the ground because of my weight. Sami, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it. You can see really far, but since it was a foggy day, we couldn't see much further than Düsseldorf. But on a sunny day you can see all the way to Cologne.

After that we went to look at the buildings in the Hafen. They have really great architecture there, and it's this new, trendy office-area. You could, for instance, rent a space here:

I love these houses and if you ask Joni, he'll remember who drew them and probably when. He's really into that kind of stuff. The fun thing about these buildings, and the white one on the left which looks pretty much the same, is that they're practically un-rentable. Because of the shape of the houses, the office-spaces have to be made out to be really small, and they're incredibly hard to furnish. Plus, you have to pay for a lot of squares that are unusable since they make out the sways and nooks of the building. But they're nice to look at.

Later in the day we went to a car-show wit my other cousin Michael and his wife Ayca. I'm not that into cars but the show was really impressive. I've never seen that many cars packed into one space, especially that many Ferrari in one room. The Alfa Romeos and Ferraris are so expensive that you actually have to buy a test drive if you're considering to purchase one. I would imagine that if you have enough money to buy the newest Alfa Romeo then 800 euros for a test-drive isn't that big of a stretch, but for me it seemed incredible. My favorite one was an old RR Phantom, with spare tires (somebody please tell me how that word is spelled!) in the side, and the side-view mirrors attached to them with leather straps.
Sami's favorite car? All of them.

Then we went to another biergarten wit Michael and Ayca to have some traditional german food. We had the Schweinhaxe, which is practically the whole leg of the pig, roasted for 3-4 hours on a slow fire. Gorgeous, even if I just couldn't eat it all. Sami however did, and helped me with the rest of mine, thus impressing the waiter. It's really a big, fat, lump of meat, but I strongly recommend it to anyone. Just make sure you're reeeeeeally hungry.

For dessert we had the best cheesecake ever (dessert goes into a different stomach, so there's always room for it).

On the 31st the shops were open until 1, so we did some last-minute shopping. We really bought a ton of stuff, but everything's so cheap compared to Thousandlakez. We topped of the madness by buying a few paintings. Yes, while realizing they were a bit larger than we expected, and while trying to pack the madness, I can admit that we probably didn't think all this through. We still got them back home safe, and here's a dodgy picture of one (2) of them in the gallery. If you don't like it, I don't wanna hear it.

For New Year's eve, we went over to my godfather's house. They weren't present because they were spending their new year in Finland, so my cousins decided to throw a party there. The house is incredibly large and beautiful, but I suspect the main reason is that it comes complete wit a bar of its own. And a fantastic view (again, on a sunny day, visibility all the way to Cologne)
Once again we ate really well and really much. I'm slowly starting to lose the "Kate Moss on crack"-look, which my brother calls it. We had a few drinks, chatted a bit with the others, and me and Sami even played some pool.