düsseldorf

Our visit to Düsseldorf was too short and was made even shorter by the fact that Leah spent our first day there in bed with a fever. But she recovered soon enough to give us a chance to, among other things:

• explore the neighborhood which was the home of many shops and markets as well as cafes and bakeries and a local library
• visit Schloss Burg, a medieval castle about 45 minutes drive from Düsseldorf
• shop at an open air market where local farmers were selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and locally-produced honey, jam and different types of wurst
• go to the races (the adults did not bet but the kids rode ponies and got their faces painted)
• take a short walk to see the Rhein River
• and, of course, we made time to play in the neighborhood playgrounds (we found three within walking distance)

In case you're wondering, the trips to and from Düsseldorf were surprisingly smooth despite the many transfers and modes of transportation.