Golzheim: this is how you enjoy yourself in Düsseldorf's greenest district

Barely fifteen minutes from the city center, you will find an oasis of tranquility, where at the same time life is raging 

Goethe, the great one, simply knew what was what: "Good things are so close," he let it be known. Even if the Privy Councillor wasn't thinking of Düsseldorf's city center and Golzheim, which is only a few kilometers away, the statement by Germany's model thinker does apply to the neighborhood. You can reach Golzheim in barely ten minutes by streetcar, and it takes about 20 minutes on foot if you walk along the banks of the Rhine from the Altstadt. Why should you take a look at district one? Well, the list of reasons is long: Not only is it particularly green - Golzheim, which borders the Rhine, Pempelfort, Stockum and Derendorf, has several of Düsseldorf's largest parks. The culinary, cultural, fashionable and political aspects, as well as the fact that several ministries and the offices of many important clothing brands are located here, make the district a highly interesting one.

Life in the Rhine Park 

If you encounter a cobra, a grasshopper or a dog looking down (as yoga poses) as well as joggers preparing for the half marathon, amateur grill masters and future professional football players, then welcome to Rheinpark! On a fabulous 24 hectare meadow, directly on the Rhine and located between Cecilienallee and Robert-Lehr-Ufer, you can let off steam as you please, alone or in groups, with a variety of sports such as yoga, Pilates, baseball (albeit without a set field), badminton, boules or power walking. Or how about a game of Viking chess? The park also invites people to get together, so that picnics that began in the afternoon often degenerate into nightly evening rounds - in the most positive sense of the word. Excited parents watch their offspring take their first steps in the direction of the many chattering geese, lovers exchange glances as if Mr. or Mrs. Right were finally sitting in front of them, and old friends go round and round to talk about the ups and downs of their lives: The Rheinpark offers space for everything that moves us physically and mentally. In the spring, millions of crocuses bloom here, while in the summer the open-air cinema or circuses make a stop, and in the winter, with a bit of luck, you can even go cross-country skiing. As you can see, there is a reason to visit at any time of the year.  

Coffee, cake, cutlet 

If you're planning to shed a few kilos or are just finishing a diet, give the district a wide berth - or practice merciless self-discipline. Because in Golzheim, you'll be feasting like there's no tomorrow. On one of the main streets alone, Kaiserswerther Straße, you'll find a whole series of hard-to-resist eateries that will provide you with all the finer points of the culinary and baking arts, from the first rays of sunshine to the appearance of the moon. With "Kapust" (Uerdinger Straße 28) you will find what is, by his own account, the only still "real" baker in Golzheim, who prepares a large selection of bread, rolls, cakes and cookies in his parlor. Particularly recommended for its wide variety of coffee specialties (including affogato, or espresso with vanilla ice cream), the Café "Goldsheim" (Kaiserswerther Straße 239) also rarely leaves a table empty because of its dishes, such as fresh bowls and delicious sandwiches. Juicy steaks end up on your plate at "Marli" one building away, which you can also get at "The Ash" (Kaiserswerther Straße 215) in the direction of the city center. While you dine on culinary highlights such as crispy king prawns on red cabbage and ginger salad with sweet chili sauce or tagliata of Irish saddle of beef at the hotel Ashley's Garden (Karl-Kleppe-Strasse 20), you can take very tasty and inexpensive pizzas to the Pizzeria Venezia (Meineckestrasse 2) - for example, for the get-together in the Rhine Park mentioned above. 

Residential area with history 

The White Settlement of Golzheim proves to be historically interesting, albeit marked by a dark past. If you ever want to walk through the residential area (and sure, residents appreciate their peace and quiet), take a stroll and discover what the settlement, commissioned by Adolf Hitler in 1936 as an exhibition, is all about. Without exception, whitewashed brick buildings with pointed gables and dark roofs line up here on one property after the next. If you are equally fascinated by the idyllic setting directly on the Rhine, you'd better bring your Eurojackpot winnings with you when you go looking for a suitable place to live.All we can say is: If a home or gardening magazine were looking for motifs in Düsseldorf, this is where they would find them. By the way, the streets are named after resistance fighters who tried to prevent the evil of the Nazis. You should not miss a visit to the artists' studios in the middle of the settlement. With a little luck, you will catch a glimpse of one of the workrooms surrounded by a beautiful garden, where painters and sculptors turn their thoughts into works.

Always rhein there! 

As pleasant as (tourist) life in Düsseldorf may be, everyone longs for a little distance, for the big wide world. The breeze is blowing around your nose at the marina in Golzheim when your gaze wanders to the horizon. And even if you know that Duisburg and Neuss are waiting next, downstream and upstream, respectively (nothing against the neighboring cities, of course), a feeling of freedom still takes hold of you when you sit on the terrace of the restaurant "Haus am Rhein" (Rotterdamer Straße 40). The sunset is particularly spectacular here, which likes to shine orange-yellow-gold and is best presented beyond a cell phone screen. If you have a boat license, don't hesitate to rent one. Or join the canoe club, which sits just a few feet from the main building. Speaking of sitting: At any time of day, and sometimes night, you can let your thoughts run free while squatting on the quay wall. And since it's a well-known fact that fresh air makes you hungry, you can simply stop off at the yacht restaurant "Va Lontano" until 10 pm. House-pickled rhubarb salmon, fried fillet of gilthead, and linguine with fried shrimp will convince even fanatical mountain lovers to live by the sea - or, of course, by the Rhine.   

Beethoven sends his regards 

In the early evening hours, when the first quiet settles over Golzheim as families enjoy their sandwiches while the 7 p.m. news is on, you can sometimes still hear them from afar: the sounds from the campus of the Robert Schumann University of Applied Sciences (Fischerstraße 110). Sounds ranging from soulful strokes over violin strings, soft drumming, the varied playing of the piano. Since 1972, the university has been home to some 850 budding professional musicians in Golzheim, and time and again these same music lovers invite you to concerts. Do you enjoy extraordinary singing that guarantees goose bumps? Or would you prefer the classics from Beethoven to Rachmaninoff? In any case, check out the university's homepage(rsh-duesseldorf.de) to make sure you don't miss the current concert program. And before you know it, you'll find yourself in the audience of the Partika Hall - or even on the stage, if music doesn't let you go and you also want to walk on professional paths. 

Anticipation at the Fortuna kiosk 

Is your new dream apartment conveniently located? Then, in case of doubt, you should unfortunately refrain, unless you are bothered by the 24/7 noise of trucks thundering by and many, many cars. In the case of public properties, however, a location on the main road proves to be a great advantage, as evidenced by the Trinkhalle directly across from the Reeser Platz bus stop, for example. Quasi the little brother of the "Fortuna-Büdchen" on Joseph-Beuys-Ufer, fans of Daniel Thioune's team also gather here every second Bundesliga weekend to get in the mood with (professional) talks, chants and typing the outcome of the game. If you have not yet been able to get excited about the spectacle around the black and white ball, here men, women and children will infect you with their anticipation! One or two tasty Altbiers, a cool Coke or a mixed bag full of sweets later, it's off in the direction of the stadium, which you can reach by streetcar in around ten minutes or on foot in a good 20 minutes.

Title image: Düsseldorf Tourism