Side trip from Brussels to Koeln or Dusseldorf?

Hey,
within the EU, you won't find a boarder when driving - there is only a sign saying that you're in Germany (and that there is no speed-limit on the Autobahn, if not extra indicated)

If you are used driving in Brussels, Düsseldorf or Cologne won't be a problem for you. Dense traffic through the rush-hours, but not too bad. Take GPS - this helps a lot finding the correct streets. But it also will work without one.

The public transport in both cities is great, so if your hotel is not too far away from a tram (Straßenbahn) oder underground (U-Bahn / Stadtbahn) -station, you don't have any problem getting to the beer-spots.
If you have the whole day, you can stay in one city, drink beer there and use the train (30min) to the other (and back in the evening). This works pretty well.

If you nee further help, let me know - I live 20min/30min away from both cities

 

I imagine you are not interested in the ICE? If you are willing to consider it, I believe it runs direct between Köln and Bruxelles-Midi. Of course Köln to Düsseldorf would be no problem at all with public transit. Traffic into Köln can be pretty tough, at least it was the one time I drove from HD. We ended up parking under the cathedral, which I'd advise against only because of the volume of people who had the same idea.

Either way, the border crossing should not be a concern. I definitely encourage a Düsseldorf bar crawl, which is another argument for public transit. Those pubs are a destination in and of themselves.


(Inside Brauerei im Füchschen - the lanterns are for St. Martin's Day)


(outside of Uerige, I don't have any good interior shots)

 

I think a litre is ~€1.35-1.40, so x3.785 for a gallon cost and then x(todays exchange rate).....

 

@Bierman9 has it pretty much the way I remember it when I was last there - the exchange rate at the time was terrible, 1.40x or so, and gas was the equivalent of $6.00 - $8.00 per gallon. Luckily everything is close together.

Chipped cards are probably OK. It varied from place to place, but generally speaking vendors would not take "American" (non-chipped) debit cards, and credit cards were iffy. As long as your AMEX has a chip in it, I think they'll be OK with it.

 

Btw, the exchange rate is better than it's been in quite some time.... about $1.10/€ for the bankers rate.... Figure~ +2-3% higher for the general public.... Prosit!

 

If the card has a chip, it should work at the petrol stations. But as AmEx is not very popular here in Europe (we "mostly" have Visa or Mastercard) you should ask before you start filling the tank (here in Europe you don't have to pay in advance). But I remember having seen the logo at the lagre chains like Esso, Shell or BP/Aral.

Probably you can get a Diesel-car. Diesel is around 1,10€/liter, "normal" 95 petrol 1,40€/liter, the cheaper (and worse but for a rented-car ok-fuel E10 for 4¢ less). Belgium is a bit cheaper in Diesel, "normal" petrol about the same like Germany.

 

What, they don't call it Benzine anymore? Always liked that.

Oh, and here in the US you don't always have to pay in advance either... only in the dodgier areas.

 

Then I've always been in the wrong areas for refuelling

Benzin here "was" the 92-Oktan version, that was stopped a few years ago. We still say it when we mean "Super" - the 95-Oktan version to differ between Super-Benzin and Diesel

 

I haven't seen a pump in years that didn't require prepayment.

 

Wow. My preferred station, right down the street from home, allows me to fill and pay inside afterward -- and gives me a 5¢ per-gallon discount if I pay with cash. Must be some untrustworthy types in the Show Me state.

 

Saw this in the paper today and thought it might be helpful.
http://eedition.chicagotribune.com/Olive/ODE/ChicagoTribune2/LandingPage/LandingPage.aspx?href=Q1RDLzIwMTUvMDgvMTY.&pageno=Nzg.&entity=QXIwNzgwMA..&view=ZW50aXR5

 

did you find other things to do in Dusseldorf besides drink? Good for walking? Food? History/architecture/things to do, for, let's say, a wife/girlfriend? I'm thinking a similar trip.

 

Yes it's good for walking (like most German cities). You can walk from the main train station to the main shopping street, then over to the art museum and up to Füchschen for a pit stop, then down to Schumacher and Uerige, then along the river to the Frank Gehry buildings. There's more to see and do in Köln but Düsseldorf is definitely worth a visit. It's maybe my favorite city in Germany to have a drink.



Somewhere in the German forum is a NY Times article "36 Hours in Düsseldorf" that is most definitely worth the read if you're thinking about doing something like that.

 

RE paying for gas - best bet is to use the ATM and with draw cash. In Europe, for the most part, cash is king

Plus the German ATMs give you a better exchange rate than a lot of US banks