Today we explored the city. Our youth hostel is located just a bridge walk away from the city center which is much more convenient and scenic than the 20 minute train ride in Munich. Dusseldorf, unlike Munich, is located right on the water front. Where Munich had the Isar, Dusseldorf has the Rein. The Rein River is the major artery of Dusseldorf and runs north to south with scenic views of royal palaces and castles all along its banks.
Although a much smaller city than Munich, Dusseldorf maintains the same environmental initiatives. In the picture to the right you can see a flock of sheep along the Rein River. They are like a natural lawn mower! Why every place doesn't do this is beyond me; it is so simple, cost affective, and ecological.
Being here is so interesting to me because of that main quality. Many of the simple solutions to environmental issues that we see here, would not even be considered in a lot of places in the US. How is it allowed in these cities? Do they worry less about the liabilities of human safety and sanitation? Especially from the environmental perspective, there are so many solutions to simple problems like mowing the lawn or conserving energy (as seen with the Isar River in Munich) that the United States should adopt to correct their own land issues.
I hope to encounter more of these qualities in the German landscape and learn how to apply them in my future designs for the United States.
- Michelle
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