the return of beer on a boat!

If you ever do anything with your life, you should go find yourself a boat and enjoy a beer on it. And if you just so happen to be in the Düsseldorf area, I've got just the boat for you. 

My history with the beer on the boat is a long and sometimes heartbreaking one. But about 5 minutes after experiencing the bar on the boat for the very first time, I swore right then and there that I would be back! And that's exactly what Katharina and I did a few weeks ago.


If you've talked to me at all in the past month you've probably heard me whining endlessly about the weather. For the past 3 weeks it's been cold and rainy. COLD! like 14ºC/57ºF. In June!! Talk about seasonal affective disorder much? But before the summer cold set in, there was one glorious weekend that was both appropriately sunny and warm enough for the season. So Katharina and I jumped on a train to Düsseldorf, headed for the Rhine, found the bar on the boat, and claimed a corner with a view as our own. 

We had such an amazing time - as one is wont to do with a beer at a bar on a boat - that it only took 2 days for us to return to that magical place. So if ever the weather gets nice again and you can't find me at home (or on Facebook), you'll know where to look! 

The Birthday Beer Crawl

While my brother was visiting, he had his birthday (no, I'm not going to disclose his age, it's depressing enough for him, without me posting it all over the internet!). So we decided to spend the day in Düsseldorf sampling some beers. 

Beer in Düsseldorf? I thought all the good German beer came from Bavaria!

Oh, dear reader, strike these stereotypes from your mind. Germany brews good beer everywhere (well mostly everywhere, I would suggest avoiding Rauchbier in Bamberg). And in Düsseldorf, they're known for a special type of beer called and "Altbier." This literally means "old beer" and is so called because it's an old method of brewing (pre-lager, for beer nuts out there). And during the whole game changing Rheinheitsgebot (purity laws) of 1516, the Rhineland people were just like "hell no, we're keeping our beer the way it is!" 

There are 5 Altbier breweries in Düsseldorf that also double as pubs, so we made it our birthday goal to hit all five. But, of course, before any Altbier was to be drunk, I had some old scores to settle with Düsseldorf and therefore started our Birthday Beer Crawl with a Beer on a Boat! And yes, if you must know, the beer on the boat was everything I'd hoped it to be. And so much more. We enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we decided to stay for a second beer. I also informed my roommate that we would be heading back to Düsseldorf every weekend just for a beer on the boat. 

Our first actual Altbier brewery on the tour was Uerige. This was also one of my favorite beers. We chose a seat inside since we were a little chilled from the boat and the walking and sightseeing in between. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly - as, I suppose, any beer hall's is, really. If I get anymore visitors, this place has definitely been added to the list of to-dos in Düsseldorf. 

Altbier number two was Schlüssel. Here, we opted to stand with the masses outside under the tents. 

From there, we headed to number 3, which was our first one that wasn't actually at the brewery. Instead, we enjoyed a Schuhmacher Alt at their well-known old city stand-alone pub location. The real brewery/pub is a little bit outside the old city, so we decided not to strain ourselves. Not going to lie though, this was our worst experience of the day. The waiter was incredibly rude, and not just in a this-is-Germany-and-there's-no-costumer-service kind of way. So we had one beer and booked it out.

For number 4, we actually broke away from the original list of 5 and opted for an Altbier that, though still brewed in Düsseldorf, does not have the actual brewery in the city center, as with the others. But we still enjoyed our Frankenheim Alt, as well as some Currywurst and Pommes (fries).

The 5th beer was at Kürzer. When we arrived at the brewery, we were the only people there, but slowly more people filled in. As a brewery/bar, this was definitely my favorite. Not in a touristy way, but in a I would totally come hang out here if I lived in Düsseldorf kind of way. I guess the best way to describe it was a little bit trendy. It was very enjoyable and I plan on visiting again when I'm back in the 'dorf. 

The 6th and final beer was, well, pretty much a stretch. We didn't make it to the brewery at all. It was dark and we had no idea where it was. But on our way back to the station, we found a normal bar that served the the type of Altbier we were looking for. So we ducked in and ended our night with a Füchschen Alt. 

11.11.11

Remember that time I said that Germans didn't understand Halloween the way Americans do? It turns out I was wrong. They just do it at a different time of year. 

Karneval is a festival leading up to Lent. It's kind of like an extended Mardi Gras. If this sounds familiar, it's because I posted about it last year, but in the south they call it Fasching instead of Karneval. Although the main festivities of Karneval happen the week before Ash Wednesday, the Karneval period begins every year on 11/11 at 11:11am. And of course this year was a once in a century opportunity the celebrate on 11/11/11.

The elfte elfte (that's German for eleventh eleventh, which just a quick way to say the eleventh day of the eleventh month) just happened to fall on our last day in Düsseldorf, so after we were released from official conference duties, we made our way into the city center to check out the festivities. And what we encountered can only be described as Halloween meets Oktoberfest. 

The costumes were exactly what you would see on Halloween in the US. 

Some were intense

Some were hilarious

 Some weren't even really costumes

And the indescribably uniquely traditional German pop music (After much thought, that's really the best way I can describe it) was very reminiscent of my time spent in the beer tents at Oktoberfest.

It was a great party, but really only the precursor to the festivities that await in February! 

The bar on the boat

Last week a conference was held in Düsseldorf for all the language assistants in my region. We were a group of around 80 people from Australia to Russia and everywhere in between (if you go west to east, that is...). From Wednesday to Friday we had the unique opportunity to meet people from all over the world, visit the NRW parliament building (I know "parliament" sounds super British, but I can't really think of a better translation...), and get a closer look at the workings the position of language assistant within the over all school system. We went on tours, learning about and seeing first hand the history of Düsseldorf and the industrial region known as the Ruhrgebiet. 

But all I really wanted was to get a beer at the bar on the boat!

On our first evening set free in Düsseldorf, we passed this bar on a boat and I was immediately obsessed. you might think it's because of my love of alliteration, and you wouldn't be completely wrong. I also just thought it would be awesome enjoy a drink on a boat on the Rhein. What can I say, I'm easily pleased.

This could have been my view, see the appeal now?

Unfortunately, after we spent the last hour of sunlight we had left getting quick look at the impressive altstadt of Düsseldorf, my dreams were crushed. We returned to the bar on the boat shortly before 7 only to be shoo'ed off the entrance plank for closing time. 

For the next two days, the hopes of enjoying a beer at the bar on the boat became increasingly distant until I found myself on the train back to Dortmund having missed my chance completely.


So it's settled, Düsseldorf. I'll be back for my beer at the bar on the boat.