Day 1

– a day earlier than originally planned (due to the “mega-strike” on 27 March), an extremely early train ride in utterly miserable weather, a visit to the excellent K20, and then to the fitness room and pool in the hotel (trying to keep up some kind of daily exercise routine in addition to walking), and finally a really good lamb curry in nearby “eatdoori”.

Day two

– walkabout in ever-changing weather to Rheinufer (briefly, due to a strong, icy wind), then Hofgarten, and on to Ackerstraße (not as interesting as it is hyped up to be, but seems to be under development and has potential). I did find one nice café: Oma Erika.

Day three

– in beautiful sunshine, but very cold, K21, Lorettostraße (another up-and-coming street much less hyped but in my opinion more interesting than Ackerstraße), Rheinufer, Medienhafen, Kunst im Tunnel, and some more parks. Dinner in a very good, and clearly very popular, vegan Vietnamese restaurant – “To1980“.

Day four

Overcast and slightly misty but dry and warmer than in previous days. Daniel Libeskind’s Kö-Bogen (an upmarket shopping mall), I like most of his buildings but am not so sure of this one although I took and am posting too many photos of it :-); more parks, an aborted visit to NRW Forum (several school classes queueing to get tickets), Nordfriedhof (in the hope of some bird photography despite less than ideal light conditions – I did see some chaffinks and some treecreepers). On the way back, discovered Golzheimer Friedhof, now a park full of ancient gravestones and other cemetery ornaments.

Day five

– the main purpose of the trip: Art Düsseldorf, an annual art fair which has long been on my wish list. It takes place in another repurposed industrial area.

But first: the Schauspielhaus, by Bernhard Pfau (b. 1902), opened 1970:

Day 6

– Altstadt, NRW Forum (renewed attempt). Also took a quick look at a new oasis in Düsseldorf – the central library with an art forum and a good café. Return to Berlin.