Day 2 was a “buffer day”, in that we didn’t need to travel anywhere specific, so we decided to do a round trip to nearby Düsseldorf, cycling there on EuroVelo 15 (mostly) and taking an S-Bahn train back. A multimodal day made possible by Germany’s excellent cycling infrastructure and transit!
| TABLE OF CONTENTS >>
| RIDE STATS | |
|---|---|
| Distance (Monheim to Düsseldorf) — 27.5 km | Average Speed — 18 km/hr |
| Distance (sightseeing in Düsseldorf) — 10 km | Time in Motion — 3 hr 17 mins |
| Total Distance (including train) — 59 km | Total Trip Time — 6 hr 52 mins |
MAP: Monheim → Düsseldorf
NOTE: The reason for the unnaturally straight line from Düsseldorf to Langenfeld is because I paused the Komoot app while we were on the train — didn’t want to cheat and say we were biking at train speed! As a result, the app simply draws a straight line from the last place we were to the place we restart the ride.
In mere minutes, we were out of the town of Monheim and in the surrounding countryside. That’s how it seems to be in Germany. As opposed to Canada, where cities and towns are surrounded by miles of suburban sprawl that can take hours to escape.
Also note that even in the German countryside, there is public transit!
And because this is a bus stop outside of Monheim, it is Goose Girl themed.
There’s also tons of signage for the multiple bike routes in the area.
Because there are so many options, we didn’t follow EuroVelo 15 the whole way to Düsseldorf and instead took a couple shortcuts.
We came across even more signs at the Fleher Bridge!
The last bridge we cross under before cycling into Düsseldorf is the new Hamm Railway Bridge (Hammer Eisenbahnbrücke). Beside it are the ruins of the old bridge’s “security fort”, which date back to the 19th century, a time when bridges evidently needed military security!
Düsseldorf Sights
EuroVelo 15 took us into Düsseldorf via a huge pedestrian/bike bridge that connects the harbour to the main city centre.
Media Harbour (Medienhafen)
In keeping with the German tradition of naming things literally, Medienhafen is the former harbour and current home of many media companies.
An impressive urban revitalization project, Düsseldorf’s old commercial harbour was transformed by architectural heavyweights into a tableau of avant-garde buildings. The most famous is probably Frank Gehry’s Neuer Zollhof, a trio of sculptural high-rises sheathed in stainless steel, red brick and white plaster.
Another famous one is William Alsop’s Colorium with its kaleidoscopic glass facade.
There’s even this mini-Bean behind the Hyatt Regency Hotel that appears to be a spa.
And since Google told us that a good (and reasonably priced) place to get currywurst in Düsseldorf is in Medienhafen, we ended up eating lunch right across from the Gehry Buildings.
For us, Medienhafen was the most interesting area of Düsseldorf. Highly recommend!
Rhine Promenade (Rheinuferpromenade)
After touring around the Media Harbour, we returned to the Rhine Tower to start our cycle up the Rhine Promenade.
FUN FACT! Prior to 1990, this area was dominated by a 6-lane highway! But the city buried the highway and created the Rhine Promenade – yay!
It was Friday afternoon and locals were clearly starting their weekend, because there was a festival of some sort all along the Rhine Promenade. There were kids bouncing on trampolines, sliding down waterslides, driving pedal-powered go-karts, and participating in many other sports and games. I didn’t get any photos, but I did record some video as we cycled past. (See the VIDEO at the end of this post.)
At the northern end of the Rhine Promenade is Burgplatz, a square in the Old Town (Altstadt) dominated by the Castle Tower (Schlossturm), the only remaining part of the former ducal palace. The tower now houses The Maritime Museum (SchifffahrtMuseum) rather than royalty.
From here we made our way across the old city to…
The “KÖ” (Königsallee)
This is Düsseldorf’s shopping district, which isn’t something we do while cycle touring (no sense in buying stuff that’ll just add weight to our packs), but we came to check out its famous Triton Fountain (Tritonenbrunnen) in Königsallee lake, which is really just a canal.
In the background is the Galeria Kaufhof, a modern department store with an art nouveau facade.
S-Bahn + Brompton
We could have cycled the whole way back to Monheim, but since the Bromptons make it super easy to catch a train, we did that instead.
The S6 train leaves Dusseldorf Central Station (Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof) every 20 minutes. The closest train station to Monheim is in the neighbouring town of Langenfeld, a 22 minute train ride from Düsseldorf Hbf. From Langenfeld, we could have taken a bus to Monheim, but the bus takes 22 minutes and cycling only takes 15 minutes! Plus, with a fully separated bike path running alongside the highway from Langenfeld to Monheim, cycling was faster and safe.
Next up… The Scenic Train to Switzerland!
4 comments
It’s great to see that you’re enjoying cycling across Germany so much.
Have fun!
Thanks! Such a fantastic country for cycling. We wish Canada had even a fraction of the amount of dedicated cycleways that Germany has.
As always, it’s a question of perspective. We Germans would love to have even half as many bike paths and cycling infrastructure as our neighbors in the Netherlands. ☺️
Ha! True. But Germany has many more bike paths than Canada! In the urban enclaves of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, the cycling infrastructure isn’t too bad, but it disappears as soon as you leave the city. The Waterfront Trail along Lake Ontario is an exception, though it too is patchy, requiring cyclists to share the road with cars in places.