Adventures in Montpellier: Don't Taste Just Drink

So this weekend I headed to Dusseldorf, Germany to see the lovely Elli and Nina our AuPairs from when we were kids. There are no direct flights to Dusseldorf so I flew to Brussels from Montpellier and was able to spend the afternoon there before heading to Dusseldorf. Trying to cram Brussels into about 4 hours is no easy task but I had a Belgian waffle and of course some chocolate, saw the Grand Place and a few other monuments that made the experience worth while. It was also gorgeous weather all weekend which was a nice change from the rainy monsoon currently taking place in Montpellier and I especially enjoyed seeing the trees and leaves change color since we only have palm trees in Montpellier I have missed the typical signs of fall. But here are some pictures from my afternoon in Brussels.

Fall, Oh how I've missed you!

Waffles!

The Grand Place

On Friday in Dusseldorf I had lunch with Nina at Coca-Cola and I got to sample this drink called "The Spirit of Georgia" which is like flavored lemonade and Coca-Cola product that they only have in Germany. I also had a typical German lunch of Schnitzel and fries and this sweet bread for dessert because friday was a holiday called St. Martin's Day where people dress up in costume and sing songs kind of similar to Halloween. After Coke I explored Dusseldorf and went to the NRW Forum which had an exhibition of photos from the violence in Libya and Egypt which were very cool, and of course as in every typical European city I checked out a few old churches and walked along the Rhine River. For dinner, Nina cooked us a delicious spaghetti bolognese and then we went out! First we went to a brewery and had some traditional Alt beer, which is brewed right in Dusseldorf and then Tim taught me the phrase "don't taste just drink" because apparently this beer only tastes good until you have had 3 of them. I also learned that in Germany there is a regulation started in 1516 that in Germany beer can only be brewed from water, hops and barley nothing else is added which is why Germany has the reputation for such high quality beer. We also walked down the street which is the street with the most amount of bars in a row in all of Europe. It was so cool just to have bar after bar and the atmosphere was amazing I wish we had something like that in Montpellier because there are just so many more options of places to go out. After the brewery we went to a 90's dance party which was hilarious because every other song was backstreet boys or spice girls and everyone was singing along.

The Spirit of Georgia: Blood Orange Flavor

The NRW Forum

Enjoying some Alt Beer

Beautiful Fall Weather during my walk through a park in Dusseldorf

McDonald's where Nina was once kicked out

On Saturday Elli came to join us from Cologne! We had a delicious breakfast complete with Wekman which is a traditional German bread that looks like a big gingerbread man. Then we walked along the Rhine River enjoying a beautiful sunny day. We went down the road that Nina deemed "The Champs Elysees" of Dusseldorf which is basically where all the fancy and expensive stores are like Tiffany's and Prada although we did stop and get some Starbuck's on this street which I haven't had in so long and I savored that Caramel Macchiato to the fullest. After that we went to the top of the tv tower and saw views of all over Dusseldorf which was pretty cool. Then the highlight of the trip was our lunch at Friet Box. This place has awesome fries for really cheap with 25 different dipping sauces. We were instructed to try Jopee (spelling?) sauce because according to Nina this sauce is heaven on earth and it was indeed amazing it consisted of curry ketchup, mayo, honey mustard and onions and it was probably the best sauce I have ever eaten. Friet box needs to have some locations at college campuses in the United States because it would make so much money. After that we hung out, the three of us skyped my family in the United States and then Tim cooked us dinner with mashed potatoes by Nina as per my request because I love them so much and then their friend made us the most amazing drinks ever and taught me how to make them as well so get ready for when I come back to Villanova because I can actually make a good drink now!