Düsseldorf to Duisburg by Bike

It's cold and breezy, particularly by the Rhine. I'm wearing a coat, a hat and gloves, so covered up pretty well, but the wind still bites on my face and nose. I head over to the harbour, then follow the river down through the Altstadt till I get to the Rheinpark.

Stopping for a moment in the Rheinpark, I take a picture of the courts with my bike in the foreground. Düsseldorf and the Rhine area had been occupied by Napoleon and were part of the French empire. At the treaty of Lunéville, however, Napoleon surrendered Düsseldorf and it was returned to German hands. With Napoleon still on the throne in Paris, an eagle was erected on the court building, facing towards Paris and serving as a symbolic deterrent from further invasion.

Anyway, I turn 180 degrees to face the river, and there passes a small German ferry flying a large French flag with the Eiffel Tower peace symbol that has gone viral since the attacks in Paris two weeks ago. How Europe has changed since Napoleon, and how it can never be allowed to revert back!Read more