Weekend trip crossdressed: "Ja sind wir im Wald hier? Wo bleibt unser Altbier? Wir haben in Düsseldorf die längste Theke der Welt … "

After the welcome drink at the hotel lobby, Franzi headed up to her room to unpack. Unpacking my suitcase is almost as much fun as packing it at home. Whenever I travel – be it vacation with my wife, be it business, or be it Franzi out-and-about, I unpack all major items after having arrived at my hotel room and put them in the cabinet. Besides the practical aspect that the clothes can straighten out after having been crammed in a suitcase, I like to remind myself what I have and when I am planning to wear it. Each item had been carefully selected and combined with all it needs to form a complete outfit. And there is a plan what to wear when. Hey, cute or not, I am still an engineer.

Portrait of the evening

Tonight’s plan called for this wonderful multicolored pleated dress, which you might have seen before. I find it adorable and I love wearing it.

Because it was a little chilly for this time of the year, I wore this plain brown leather jacket with it, as well as a matching scarf. You remember that I love scarfs, both with my male and my female wardrobes.

The first place Franzi hit was Düsseldorf’s Old Town, which I reached heading north to Carlsplatz, a former farmer’s market that – over time – developed to offer a whole range of products and services, as well as food and drinks. This is one of several small monuments along Carlsplatz.

From Carlsplatz, Franzi headed to one the best-known local Old Town breweries to enjoy a glass (or two) of Altbier. Düsseldorf is the capital of Altbier, although not the only place where that type of beer is brewed. I grew up close to here and started drinking this fantastic brew before I reached legal drinking age already (which, in Germany, is at 16 for beer and wine).

In pubs and breweries in Düsseldorf, you do not need to order your drink, a simple nod is sufficient. Everybody (men and women alike) drinks Altbier and shortly before you put down your empty glass, the next one arrives. Heaven on earth.

Altbier is a dark top-fermented beer with an original gravity between 11 and 12%. Its name “Old Beer” refers to it being brewed following an old (historic) technique. Just like in Cologne, the local brew is being served by your “Köbes.” In the picture below, you see two Köbes or Köbesse. Köbes is the nickname of Jacob in local dialect and all waiters are called that. That makes it easy, don’t you think?

Prost!

In conclusion, let me share with you what the title of the post means. It is part of the refrain of a very popular late 1970s carnival song from Düsseldorf. And carnival is big in Düsseldorf, I can tell you that, as I have been here for carnival several time when I was a teenager. The text translates as “Are we in the woods here? Where is our Altbier? We have the longest bar in the world in Düsseldorf...” In Düsseldorf, they believe that “pub density” in its Old Town is so big that you can view it as one long bar – the longest in the world. Pooh-pooh.

Serious warning to potential visitors: DON'T EVER ask for an "Altbier" when you visit Cologne and DON'T EVER ask for a "Kölsch" when you visit Düsseldorf - NOT EVEN AS A JOKE!