CENTRAL AND WEST GERMANY MAP
Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), which stretches from the North Sea to the hills of central Germany, has foggy marshland and broad agricultural plains inland. Just south of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia is the most heavily populated and economically powerful area in Germany. While the region’s squalor may have inspired the philosophy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the area’s natural beauty and the intellectual energy of Cologne and Diisseldorf inspired the muses of Goethe, Heine, and Boll.
As Germany’s fashion hub and multinational corporation base, the rich city of Diisseldorf (pop. 571,000) crawls with German patricians and would-be aristocrats. The nation’s “Hautstadt” a pun on Hauptstadt (capital) and the French haute, as in haute couture is a stately metropolis with an Altstadt that features the best nightlife along the Rhine.
TRANSPORTATION AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION. Trains run to: Amsterdam (2hr. every hr. 39); Berlin (412hr. every hr. 93); Frankfurt (212hr. 3 per hr. 32); Hamburg (3!4hr. every hr. 63); Munich (6hr. 2 per hr. 98); and Paris (4I4hr. 7 per day, 87). Diisseldorf s S-Bahn is integrated into the mammoth regional VRR (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr) system, which connects most surrounding cities. For schedule info, call s 582 28. The S-Bahn is the cheapest way to get to Aachen and Cologne. On the public transportation system, single tickets cost 1-7, depending on distance traveled. The Tagesticket (6.35-17.50) lets up to five people travel for 24hr. on any line. To reach the tourist office, Immermannstr. 65, head straight and to the right from the train station; look for the Immermanhof building. It books rooms for a 4 fee. ( 172 02 22. Open M-F 8:30am-6pm, Sa 9am-12:30pm.) The post office, Konrad-Adenauer-Pl. 40210 Diisseldorf, is just to the right of the tourist office. (Open M-F 8am-6pm, Sa 9am-2pm.)
