Yeah, this is certainly one for the trainlovers about because there aren't many of them around. In…read morefact, this is one of the first, and I also believe to be the longest. Actually, come to thing of it, it is probably what draws everybody to Wuppertal.

I took the Schwebebhan (suspension railway) several times during my intracity excursions while…read morevisiting Wuppertal, the city in which this railway is located. Wuppertal is a semi quaint (in some sections) though fully modern European town/city. This quirky infrastructure definitely adds to the interesting, dare I say cool, feel to this location. The Schwebebhan began operation in 1901 and is comprised of 20 stations, according to my research it has a daily ridership of 82,000 in average (as of 2014). To the best of my knowledge it is the only railway of its type in the world and is defiantly a source of pride for the locals. It is also a terrific space saver because in many places it straddles the river that traverses the city it serves. Be sure to ask about the young Elephant who had an unfortunate incident while attempting to ride the Schwebebhan during a publicity stunt. This happened when the circus was in town in 1950. The elephant who became known as "Tuffi" fell through the bottom a car and landed in the river (Tuffi is Italian for "waterdive). The floors are certainly built stronger now (probably even surpassing baby elephant standards) especially since there was a "complete modernization"in 1997. If you find yourself in Wuppertal, Germany be sure to take a ride on this very interesting conveyance,especially if you want to get some place quickly and for only a couple of euros. If you ask any of the locals, they seem to become instant historians as this source of local pride seems to have that effect on people as it did with me. -KS.

The first time when I was visiting Düsseldorf, because of the timing, I missed the Medienhafen and…read morethen later I saw this place full of weird looking buildings online, I decided next time I would like to pay a visit. When I see a cool architecture, I just like to take my time to appreciate it. So here I came again to visit this city again, this time I wouldn't miss it. Medienhafen isn't so close to the other tourist attractions, well, quite close to the Rheinturm, I walked from the old town to this area, it took around 30 minutes. The thing is I didn't just walk straight here, It was more like a visitor, checking things out. The walk was great, I really like it. So there couple of the buildings in medienhafen, they were all really similar style. The main different people could just spot at once was the color. They got white, red and sliver. I like the sliver one realy, looked really modern and cool. There was a café around, great for visitor who just wants to sit down and enjoy the view. Around this area also got couple other cool buildings. Although I am not so sure what some of the buildings really for, this is sure one of the place that visitor should not miss when they in the city. It's really modern and beautiful here. I was glad that this time I got the chance to see it with my own eye and touch it and the view here just brilliant.

An area which has sprung up since our last visit to town. History and architecture mix well in this…read moreswanky new addition to the hotel, dining and bar scene in D'dorf. Lovely terraces for al fresco dinners. A must see for all visitors.

All in all, this is a very pleasant little boat ride on a rather impressive boat (a catamaran,…read moreactually) for 10 Euros. It's a very leisurely sojourn south on the Rhine, for about half an hour, and then passing the launch point on the return trip to head a ways north. It's a smooth ride, and I promise that your beer won't even ripple. There is a canned narration in both German and English, which is really nice, language-wise. The narration spent way too much time talking about subjects like the uber-expensive soccer-star condos along the shoreline, and not nearly enough time talking about the extraordinary bridges the boat crosses under. The varieties are suspension, truss, and concrete pier. Not one word about those marvelously engineered and absolutely necessary adjuncts to modern civilization. I might be asking too much. It's just a tourist thingie. Just do it.

This is a great choice to fly in and out of. It's smaller and easy to get through, plus there are…read moremany bars, restaurants and shops to keep you busy until your flight leaves. If I have a choice, I will choose to fly into Dusseldorf instead of Frankfurt, but Frankfurt does have a lot more options. I have been through here many tomes over the years, and it has always been a pleasant experience.

Dusseldorf airport is one of my favorites. It's clean, people are friendly and the ADA services top…read morenotch. Security is good. Just had a little hiccup with regard to a medical device. In my case my cooling vest and ice packs. Security, TSA, Police all were called and after explaining what it was and showing a letter written and signed by my doctor explaining what it was and why it was needed, a few swipes and some tests and we were good to go. Hot tip: bring a doctors note for ADA medical devices etc. It just might get you out of a jam.