FRANZISKA OUT AND ABOUT

After that much exciting art, lunch was in order. Finding a good restaurant was a little more difficult than expected. After a while, I found the perfect place, though: the terrace of one of Düsseldorf’s top hotels at the end of Königsallee (King’s Avenue), Düsseldorf’s posh shopping street. And guess what, they were also serving oysters and that in a very classical arrangement. So, what are you seeing her in this picture: four French oysters, two pieces of lemon, wrapped in a lemon sleeve, red scallion vinaigrette, rye bread with cheese, and a glass of bubbles – a pink crémant. To me, that all makes sense, and it tasted just wonderful. I spare you the cultural and nutritive background of this combination, though. The mini French baguette is a little misplaced here, but it was good anyway. Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). In German, we tend to combine words into one. According to the Guinness book of records, the longest German word is Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswe...

If you have read my previous posting, you know what to expect: lots of pictures of Franzi in front of art. I love posing in front of art. It is like becoming part of it. The Class of 2024 of  „Kurfürstlich Pfälzische Akademie der Maler-, Bildhauer- und Baukunst.“ (Electoral Palatinate Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture) or short „Düsseldorfer Kunstakademie“ (Academy of arts Düsseldorf)  presented its graduation assignments. Between 10:15 and 11:00 am it was still pretty slow and fairly empty here, but then more and more visitors showed up and, eventually, also the graduates. The building itself is very impressive for its size, as you have seen in my previous posting. There are lots or rooms and staircases. And apparently there must have been a party recently, because the open balcony was covered in trash and empty, as well as shattered beer bottles. Students! I know what I am taking about. I assume he is dead, that guitarist. Drugs, suicide? You never know. Unfort...

This Sunday was the last day of Franzi’s overall fourth weekend trip crossdressed within the last two years. After checking out at the hotel and skipping breakfast again, coffee (Kaffee) was in order, followed by arts (Kunst). Portrait of the day At a French bistro, enjoying a freshly squeezed orange juice and a café o lait. I was wearing this wonderful light blue silk wrap dress that is also featured in my most popular blog post, called “Weekend trip crossdressed: Perfect weather, perfect dress, perfect day” from 2022. Most of my “weekend trip crossdressed” posts seem to be very popular. The plan for this morning was to visit the museum “Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.” Franzi arrived at 10 am sharp, only to find out – bloody hell – that they only open at 11 am. Who would have guessed that. As I strolled a little further to kill some time, I found this imposing Neo-renaissance building, the “Kunstakademie” (college of arts) with the inviting sign over the door “Sommerrundgang” (Summer Walkabou...

After the change of outfit – pants to LBD – there was a little time left to kill before heading to the Düsseldorf opera. And as the hotel had a – not very spectacular – rooftop bar, there was little better to do than to pay a visit. On the left, you can see a glimpse of the river Rhein, flowing north towards the Netherlands and the “Oberkasseler” bridge crossing it. The area below the bridge is the “old town” of Düsseldorf. At the opera house … … enjoying a drink before the performance. I love this red blazer. It is a very, very bright red. Let’s talk about what happened on stage that night. “The Flying Dutchman” is a legend about a ship’s captain who was cursed to stay on board of his ship, without being able to make a port or for the captain to decease. “Flying Dutchman” is the name of his ghost ship. The story is supposed to have originated in the 17 th  century during the Golden Age of the Dutch East India Company and was first documented in 1790. Richard Wagner’s opera „The Fl...

This having been a chilly morning, Franzi went back to her hotel room to change into a different (and warmer) outfit. The next step was lunch, being the first bite to eat that day. Maintaining my target weight (...) requires certain sacrifices and breakfast is (just) one of them. Lunch – pasta with truffles – at an Italian restaurant. Service was great – and very attentive 😀 . I love attentive waiters. And you might have noticed that more than half a Saturday went by without any shopping, yet. And exploring different (local) stores and boutiques is one of the great benefits of travelling en femme. A staple to any visit to Düsseldorf was to follow afterwards: a visit to “Et Kabüffke“ to have a “Killepitsch.” “Killepitsch” is a digestive liquor, consisting, apparently, of 98 different secret ingredients from all over the world. And there it is, Franzi’s “Killepitsch” Cheers! And as this is the capital of “Altbier” and the aforementioned brewery is located right across from “Et Kabüffke”...

What an AI failure! I had asked to create a funny headline for this posting by using its keywords. I will revert to writing them myself. That’s decided. Saturday morning and ready to hit the town. Düsseldorf has a reputation for stylish clothes. So this was a great opportunity for my wonderful scuba dress to make a showing again. Portrait of the day “Die Streitenden” (bickerers) or “Auseinandersetzung” (dispute) are names for this well-known sculpture in Düsseldorf’s Mittelstraße (Middle Street). The figures are also called “Der Dicke” (the corpulent one) and “Der Dünne” (the skinny one) – no wonder. “Das Schnuckelchen” (the cutie) is what my wife would call the one in the middle. I hope you agree! And then I found a lovely little café where I stopped for a Café Latté. Further down my path through the city center, I came along a small patch of green around Neanderkirche. If you remember my reference to Neandertal (Neander valley) in an earlier posting, you might now think that this chu...