Here in Dusseldorf, it is often easier to take public transit than to circle forever in crazy traffic to find a place to park. Very few places have parking lots so you are usually looking for a place on the side of the road and parallel parking and I don't get along too well. Mostly what we take to get around is the U-Bahn. It is a cable car type train that runs through out most of the city and surrounding areas. There is a stop right in our neighborhood (one of the reasons we picked this house) and best of all it is a platform stop meaning you wait on a raised platform that is level with the train doors. Excellent for me as I almost always have a stroller.
But I'm not writing this to bore you with descriptions of public transportation, I want to introduce you to a few friends we made on the U-Bahn. First let me introduce you to Crazy Ferret Guy. We first met Crazy Ferret Guy at the Alta Land Strasse stop. He always wears the same old track suit, has long grizzely gray hair complete with beard and bushy eyebrows and he carries a ferret in his pocket. The first day we saw him we waited a long time for our train to arrive and it was just me and the kids and Crazy Ferret Guy. He kept circling around us getting closer and closer and at first I really wasn't sure what he had crawling around in his pocket but my mind went to my worst fear, a snake. As he got closer I could see it was a ferret which was a relief but still weird. We see him from time to time on the train and sometimes walking around as we drive the kids to school. He never really seems to have somewhere to go, he just wanders. At first he really freaked me out but then one day after seeing him I had a great shopping day (rare here) and decided that a Crazy Ferret Guy spotting means good luck!
Our next friend is Really Loud Cough Guy. We don't see him as much as we see Crazy Ferret Guy but that is ok. Really Loud Cough Guy has similar grooming techniques as Crazy Ferret Guy but he changes his clothes sometimes. Really Loud Cough Guy will get on the train with his enormous dog, really it looks more like a small bear than a dog, and he will hack and cough like he is about to die and then mercifully gets off the train usually two or three stops down the line.
Our last guy we have only seen once and I still can't decide if this sighting was really sweet or just kind of disturbing. This man looked to be about in his 70s and was sitting on one of the few two-seaters and had reserved the seat next to him with his backpack. Perched on top of his back pack was a photo of a woman. It looked like it had been taken in the 40s. It was black and white and she had really dark lipstick on her overly puckered lips and was posed like a movie star. She was probably about 20 or so in the picture and was beautiful. At this point, being the sentimental fool that I am, I started imagining their life story. I pictured them meeting while she was trying to make it in the acting business in Hollywood. They fell in love, had plans to marry and see the world together (particularly Germany cause who doesn't?) and then she was tragically run over by a bus before they could live out any of their plans. He never got over her and now many years later he is touring the world with her right beside him. Very sweet right? Well it was until he picked up the picture and started kissing it and I mean really kissing it with loud smacking sounds included. This went on for some time until we exited the train. We never saw him again. Maybe they have moved on to a more romantic place like Paris.
So there's a bit of our adventures on the U-Bahn. Not quite as interesting as people watching on Pearl Street but close!