Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is a city that I visited in one day during my vacation in Cologne in June 2019. This city intrigued me for many reasons; the first was the architectural works done by Frank Gehry while I had discovered other nuances of the city thanks to some “fashion” influencers that I followed at the time and who lived in Düsseldorf. These people used a part of the city as a background for their photos where they basically promoted small brands, however I was very struck by a tree-lined avenue that literally covered the two banks of a river giving a roof effect. Doing my research on the city before leaving, I realized that Düsseldorf was divided into three different parts: one was the marina part, a new area where there were buildings designed by Gehry, the panoramic tower, the tourist port and several parks. The other area was precisely the avenue I mentioned before which was called Königsallee, it was the central part and heart of the city and hosted the major fashion design shops. Altstadt, on the other hand, was the more classical part, where there was the Town Hall and the urban planning with narrow streets and older buildings.
Düsseldorf was only a 25 minute train ride from Cologne and my friend and I, who shared the ride, decided to reach it in the late morning and then return to Cologne in the late evening. We arrived at Düsseldorf station just before noon and although the city had a very efficient public transport service, I decided to explore it on foot. The city was neither big nor small but from the studies I had done using Google Maps, I understood that it was more practical to get around on foot.

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Rheinpark Bilk

Compared to the Düsseldorf station, the parts of the city to visit were more or less all at the same distance. However, apparently the modern part of the city seemed further away and I decided to start the visit from there. Out of the station we walked on Graf-Adolf-Straße, a very wide avenue that led to the river. The avenue was very clean and flanked by several buildings: some old but renovated and others of modern design. To tell the truth, of this last type only one struck me: it was made of steel and glass obviously but had a rounded sail-like design. It was a skyscraper like those you can see in Dubai except that this one in Düsseldorf could be admired perfectly because it was the right distance and was not surrounded by other buildings. The journey to the river bank passed quickly between the time dedicated to photos and the extreme attention we had to pay to cross those very large intersections. The arrival at the Rheinuferpromenade and the spectacle that opened up impressed me a lot. I had considered that area as a place of passage and as the best point to observe the Rheinkniebrücke bridge. That kind of park instead amazed me both for its simple beauty but above all for how it was enjoyed by the people. It must be said that that day was Sunday and around was full of people but at the Rheinuferpromenade people seemed happy and carefree and enjoyed that green area with a hilly appearance in a serene way. The park had no particular attractions, it was simply a hill that on one side dominated the main road and in the lower part reached the riverside. There were a couple of paths that cut through the area in the long part but they were informal, made of dirt. Probably with fewer people that place would have had a different appearance but the carefree way of how people relaxed and the simplicity of the park brought a particular calm to me too. Later I discovered that years before where the green park was, the main road with several lanes passed, then buried by a tunnel in order to give that green area back to the citizens. What disappointed me instead was the Rheinkniebrücke, a bridge with a minimal design, which did not make me perceive any depth and its appearance reminded me of a work that still needed to be covered with some other material. I had passed by there to see the bridge and instead I discovered a park that for some reason brought positivity to the people creating an incredible sense of community.
Through a pedestrian path, from the park we arrived right under the Rheinturm, the panoramic tower that could already be seen from various points of the city. From a design point of view, this tower was in line with the other towers present in German cities and very similar to the one in Cologne. There was no time to go up and admire the view from above and more than anything it was nice to take some photos and enjoy the beautiful green lawn that surrounded the tower. A little further on there was another work that to tell the truth I did not know, it was another bridge called Brücke am Medienhafen. It was pedestrian and had a modern but interesting design that recalled a particular symbolism. The pillars of the bridge that rested on the banks, started from the bottom to join at the center of the bridge, thus forming a pyramid design. The tie rods that supported the bridge platform were placed transversally with respect to the center and gave a very ambiguous figure. Looking at the bridge in profile in fact, the structure not only resembled a pyramid but looking carefully you could make out a famous Masonic symbol. The tie rods actually gave the impression of being sunbeams, except that in this case they irradiated the inside of the “pyramid” rather than the outside. Beyond these details, the deck was made of teak and, moreover, this structure proved to be perfect as an observation point. From there, in fact, you could see all of Frank Gehry’s works at a glance. It was a complete view thanks to which I also discovered other buildings such as a multi-colored residential building that I didn’t know.
After leaving the bridge, we went through the marina to see up close the three Gehry buildings known as Neuer Zollhof, Gehry Bauten and Red Gehry. The buildings were characterized above all by the design of the protruding windows, however the different colors and materials gave each building its own personality. The Neuer Zollhof and Red Gehry were more or less similar being made of concrete and differed only in color; white for the first mentioned, red for the second. The one that stood out the most in my opinion was the Gehry Bauten, completely covered in dark aluminum and with wavy shapes. These details combined with a play of reflections given by the aluminum, gave a more dynamic effect to the building that was positioned between the other two. The Gehry Bauten reminded me in particular of a section of the “Ray and Maria Stata Center” in Boston and was the building that I paid most attention to, both from a photographic point of view and from a practical one studying it closely. While the other two buildings, designed by Gehry, had a linear shape, the Gehry Bauten emerged from a post-apocalyptic future, where incredible energies, not yet known to us, had managed to almost melt a building that was perhaps entirely constructed of a fireproof material and not just covered in “banal” aluminum.

Rheinuferpromenade

Rheinkniebrücke

Rheinturm

Frank Gehry Buildngs

Brücke am Medienhafen

Gehry Bauten

Gehry Bauten

Königsallee

When I arrived at Königsallee, the thing that immediately struck me was the size of the area, personally I expected the place to be smaller. The canal was very wide as were the two streets on either side of it and also the green area dominated by very large trees. From some perspectives, more than a canal, it seemed like we were in a park with a river flowing, also because the trees themselves most of the time covered the buildings that faced the avenue. That day, the feeling of space and grandeur was amplified by the fact that the streets had been pedestrianized, from what I understood, that day in Düsseldorf there was a sort of city festival given the many people around and the many areas designated for pedestrians. Despite the size, I enjoyed walking from one side of the canal to the other, the two banks were connected by several stone bridges with a beautiful design. Mainly, I moved from one side to the other to see the fashion shops and the buildings in which they were housed up close. To tell the truth, the classical buildings didn’t impress me that much, as well as some of the fashion designers stores. To be honest, the building that caught my attention the most was the modern one that housed the Dior store. The building itself wasn’t very different from what you can see today, with lots of glass and a minimal style. The added value of that building was the intersection where it was located with a beautiful church that could be seen in the background on the right side street and above all the terrace that housed a restaurant. I found that corner to be a mix of styles; for the modern building, the terrace that with the restaurant changed tone and was less chic and then with the church with a totally different and articulated design. That was probably the intersection to which I dedicated the most photos.
Finally, still walking, we arrived in front of the building that I wanted to see with more interest; the one that housed the Hermes store and that many times the "influencers" that I mentioned at the beginning of the post, used as a background for their photos. The building was very large and had a style that recalled Art Déco. It was characterized by fairly simple perpendicular lines and right at the corner of the building, which served as the entrance to the store, there was the most complex design part. There were columns that broke the continuity of everything else, these combined with the sign and the prestigious Hermes logo, gave a more austere and important tone mainly to that corner rather than to the whole building. The annoying thing about it was its position in a certain sense "squeezed" in the middle of other buildings and in a narrow street with other buildings opposite very close. It was impossible to appreciate it in the right way and I must say that the influencers in their photos, had been good at cutting out the best part of the store making it seem much more beautiful than it actually was.
Königsallee was a succession of modern buildings next to classic ones, however the latter were not particularly beautiful or articulated. Before the end of the street I saw another one very similar to the one that housed the Hermes store. Compared to that one, this one was not surrounded by other buildings, it covered an entire block and you could photograph it and appreciate it perfectly. Contrary to my tastes, the one that subsequently impressed me the most was an ultra modern building that was right at the end of Königsallee. Looking at it, it seemed like a giant sheet of paper because its design did not give a 3D effect at all. It was made up of large dark windows that were set inside a facade covered in marble. This facade had geometric cuts that were not exactly symmetrical and the windows, which were of various widths, were however perpendicular. Depending on how you photographed or observed it, it gave the impression of being two-dimensional and with that design it seemed to me like a giant sheet of paper on which drawings had been made. Clearly the building was perfect for taking fine art photos, the only reason why modern buildings are worth photographing.
In the end, Königsallee surprised me for reasons other than what I expected; its size, much larger than I had imagined, and the alternation of classical and modern buildings. It is very strange that at the end of the visit I was struck more by the modern buildings and in a certain sense I wanted to analyze the reasons. I am of the opinion that there was a study in the way in which the modern buildings had been alternated with the classical ones. Probably the aim was to create a sort of new concept by mixing the two styles. What I perceived instead was the lack of a real style that personally led me to notice the modern works more. Classical buildings of a certain grandeur and style should have been enhanced in a different way and not mixed with modernity that had in fact brought attention to them. Königsallee was one of the few places that I liked even though I do not like those urban solutions, in my opinion in the future with some demolition that place could be enhanced in a better way.

Altstadt

The historic center of Altstadt was a few blocks from Königsallee and as an area it was not very large but definitely concentrated. We always got there on foot through blocks that respected the logic of Königsallee, with new buildings next to old ones. Our first destination was Burgplatz, a square that overlooked the river. As I said from the beginning of this post, that day Düsseldorf was full of people and in that context of narrower streets, this was more noticeable and made the city friendlier. Burgplatz was dominated by a large circular structure that today houses the Schlossturm Schiffahrt-Museum but which clearly in the past was a lighthouse. The square opened onto a staircase that arrived straight on the riverside and where there was the most beautiful view of the city of Düsseldorf. From there in fact you could see in a single glance the Rheinkniebrücke bridge that remained in the foreground, in the background the modern buildings and on its left side the Rheinturm tower. We stayed in the area for a while because not only was it beautiful but the cheerful atmosphere of the people gave a positive feeling and it was also nice to just laze around.
As for other points of interest in the neighborhood, there was only the Rathaus, which was a few blocks away. For the rest, I had planned to wander around randomly, perhaps discovering beautiful buildings that I didn't know. The Rathaus was a brick building with a slightly irregular plan. Almost at an angle inside the building there was an octagonal tower, it was a slightly strange building and difficult to capture with a photograph. In addition, that day there were stands along the entire perimeter of the building, which obstructed the view of the lower part and at the same time distracted attention. The entire square was full of people and the stands were full of people. I honestly felt a bit oppressed there and we left the area after a very short time. Not having a specific destination, we wandered around the narrow streets and the close contact with all those people was very nice because there was a festive and carefree atmosphere. Walking, we arrived at a sort of cove, a place where the water had a very bright green color and in general it was a quiet place. There I personally enjoyed taking photos to a bird and to a statue depicting a little girl with a capricious expression. Afterwards we left the area and I ended up having my last provocative photo taken with a poster depicting Bella Hadid. She was promoting denim items wearing shorts and a jacket under which she was not wearing a bra. She had her legs open and I used this pose to put myself right in the middle where with a finger I pretended to masturbate her. I have always loved this model and my act has always been an act of love, and I could have satisfied her like no one ever, even if she had been the same size as she was reproduced in the photo, a girl of about three meters tall.

Düsseldorf was a city that I visited more for fun and curiosity, on the other hand I discovered a place that I really liked. My comparison that day was direct with the city of Cologne where I was staying and although I liked the latter a lot, it surpassed Düsseldorf only for the part of the Rheinpromenade. Düsseldorf actually preserved an intact historical center, had a main road that was unique and a new part very beautiful and articulated. In addition it had many more green spaces, many of which I only glimpsed but could not visit due to lack of time. To be honest I did not believe that the city was so beautiful and varied and also having some nice nightclubs, it was a destination to take into consideration in the same way as Cologne. During my visit in fact my constant thought was that, Düsseldorf had its own personality and beauty and that it should be considered as a base for a future trip to that area. Unfortunately I didn't have the adventures there that I had in Cologne but I'm sure that used as a base, it would have been even better than Cologne because in the end, beyond the aesthetics of a place, it is also the night adventures with girls that make a place unique and unforgettable.

Schlossturm Schiffahrt-Museum

Burgplatz

Rathaus

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A.M.