Dusseldorf, Gemany

Andy had some training the last week of August and we decided to tag along. I mean we'd been home for a whole week from our UK trip and we were getting antsy! :) So, we drove to Dusseldorf on a Sunday afternoon and then came home on Friday. I'm sure all of the classes Andy got to attend were lots of fun! Rachel and I enjoyed the nice, free hotel. The weather was pretty crummy, but we did explore a little bit. We found a park close to the hotel that Rachel enjoyed. We also headed into what's called the "Old Town" of Dusseldorf. It just had lots of shops and restaurants. So, Dusseldorf wasn't the most exciting place but it was a nice, relaxing vacation. I didn't have to cook and clean for 5 days, so it wasn't all that bad. And we (meaning Rachel and I, sorry Andy) got naps every day! :) I'm sure Dusseldorf is more exciting during the holidays when they have their Christmas markets. We didn't take a single picture of Dusseldorf. We should have at least took a picture of the Rhine River, but alas we never seemed to remember to take the camera out of the safe in the hotel room. Rachel did enjoy watching all the big boats going down the river. Every time I go to other European countries, I am ever grateful that I currently live in Holland. You see, the Dutch don't dub over movies, sitcoms, etc... that are based in the U.S. or the UK (except for cartoons). However, the Germans (and many others) are a bit different. They dub over everything. It's weird to be flipping through the channels and come across U.S. shows with the actors speaking in different voices and in German. It's quite odd! I'm sure the Germans appreciate it though! Luckily we did have two BBC channels (UK based) and CNN. I think I read at least 2 books that week and Rachel became quite addicted to BBC cartoons. Another thing I learned (the hard way) was that the German word for jalapenos is pepperoni. Kind of weird... I seriously thought I was ordering a pepperoni pizza. To my surprise I got a pizza covered in jalapenos. Fun stuff! And then the following day at a totally different restaurant I ordered another dish (with an English menu) that was supposed to be pasta with pepperoni and shrimp. I thought it was kind of an odd combo, but nothing else really looked good. Well, it ended up being pasta with jalapenos and shrimp. I guess the Germans like jalapenos or they just like tricking pathetic Americans! :)