Wuppertal's Schwebebahn

On our one full day in Dusseldorf, Jenny, Doug and I walked around the city and through the Hofgarten and the altestadt (old town.) We enjoyed seeing all the baby ducklings and baby swans (cygnets) in the park and on the river. For lunch, we met another one of Doug's high school friends, Wolfgang Klauck. 

Then, a highlight of the trip so far, we (Jenny, Doug, and I) took the train to Wuppertal to ride the famous Schwebebahn of Wuppertal, or the hanging train. While this is not the only electric hanging train in the world (there's one in Japan and one in India), it is the oldest and longest running one. This suspension monorail began operation in 1901. Wolfgang jokingly called it Wuppertal's "Eiffel Tower." It runs for 13.3 km (8.3 miles) above the Wupper River, and connects the far reaches of this long valley city. It's not just a tourist attraction, but used extensively for local commutes, too.

To be sure, there's not much else to bring tourists like us to Wuppertal, but it's worth a side trip to ride the Schwebebahn.

One of many families of ducks in Hofgarten.

These baby cygnets are just 2-days old. So said the old man watching them with us. He has been watching them the last several days.

Wolfgang and Doug at lunch.

After the ride on the Schwebebahn and a walk beneath it, ice cream in the old town square hit the spot. Then we had to say goodbye to Jenny.