Stadt in Überblick: Düsseldorf

Although I left Germany over a year ago - and I've never lived here - I really want to talk about this city because it's one of my favourite places on earth. Well, at least in Germany. Since Firu moved to Nordrhein-Westfalen in 2012, we've been going back and forth to this city, be it just to pass by on our way elsewhere or to actually spend our time there together. Every year we came here at least twice, and it's always been such a pleasure to witness the changing of the seasons in this city. Although, of course, since I left the country, I had to say goodbye to this lovely place as well. I'd be lying if I say I don't miss it.

What attracted me to Düsseldorf was this fact: it is the Japanese community central in Germany! As you should notice, I am a Japanese culture enthusiast. And, having to live far away from the Country of the Sun, a place like this became a sort of haven for me. The place itself is divided into around 3 areas: the metropolitan district, the old town and the Japanese/East Asian quarters. When you walk through the Oststraße, you can see dozens of Japanese stores/restaurants/café lining the street, packed with Japanese workers, housewives and students - even cosplayers on a daily basis! The history dates back to the 1950s, due to some business collaboration between Japan and Germany in the field of ores and machinery. Over the years, the number of the Japanese population grew, turning Düsseldorf into the biggest Japanese haven in Germany, replacing Hamburg after World War II. Every year in May, the city holds a Japanese festival called Japantag, located by the Rhine riverbank, which celebrates the Japanese community throughout the city.

Unlike Karlsruhe, Halle or Kassel, Düsseldorf - or Düssi for short - is a big city. However, it 's a city which lives side by side with culture. It has tons of museums, art gallery and theatres with immaculate architectures. Saku-chan once introduced me to K21 Ständehaus - which is huge and incredibly awe-inspiring - and Kunstpalast Museum - which has an amazing collection of Japanese artefacts. There was a time when I was going to apply to the Kunstakademie here but, since they focus more on fine art than design, I hesitated. The old town is also quite remarkable - and packed with people -with local restaurants and stores. The best view in town is overlooking the River Rhine, especially during sunset. Like I said, I've never actually lived here but I have a fondness for the city. Here are the few places I've become accustomed to in Düssi:

Location: across the street from Hotel Nikko

The one thing that attracted me to this café is the amount of gorgeous cakes and pastries displayed on the store window. Just look at them! They're marvellously appetising! They also have some more cakes in the fridge. Incredibly tasty, I must say. Aside from dessert, they also provide savoury meals, such as curry rice, pasta and other family restaurant-type dishes. The drinks are also quite delicious. My favourite is the matcha latte. It's so rich in taste and also a treat for the eyes. Although, I must warn you: it can get quite pricey. But the ambience makes up for it. The interior actually reminds me of antique cafés I've seen in Japanese dramas, complete with one hunk of a waiter/master. It is also a favourite spot for young women to hang out and chat.

Location: right next to Relax Café & Bar

One of the most popular restaurants in Düsseldorf, especially among businessmen - Japanese and otherwise. Takumi has the best ramen in Germany! Their noodles come straight from Sapporo, Hokkaido, which is also known to have the best ramen noodles in Japan. Mostly, their most popular menus have meat. But, if you're a vegetarian, they also offer vegetarian options. The interior is exactly like a run-of-the-mill ramen place in Japan, complete with free refillable ocha per table. They don't take cards of any kind, so make sure you come with cash handy - and a full group - in order to get seated right away. Otherwise, you'd have to wait by the door or outside. It gets pretty packed around lunchtime. Also a little pricey, to be frank.

Location: one traffic light after Hotel Nikko in the opposite direction from the Hauptbahnhof

When I was living in Germany, one of the biggest heartbreaks I had to go through was not being able to cook takoyaki. Luckily, Shochiku sells frozen octopus balls. Firu and I loved buying their takoyaki whenever we were in town. We could just pop them in the oven and eat them while they're hot - for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The place is packed with tons of Japanese products, including Ramune. We tried it out for the first time here and it was super delish! We kept coming back for more Japanese goodness. It felt almost as if we were actually doing groceries in Japan whenever we were inside. It felt almost like home.

Location: four doors down from Hotel Nikko

This is the first and only bubble tea café I've ever been to. Yes, I like bubble tea and I purchase them practically by the carton, but the places I've been to are nothing in comparison. Sphere Bay has an amazing customer service and immaculate plating. The warm bubble tea is served in a jug almost the size of a beer jug, on a Japanese wooden plate. The place is actually rather small but put to use in such an efficient way. They provide the customers with papers and coloured pencils, in case they want to draw something and let it get hung on the walls. They also serve snacks, such as onigiri or cupcakes, as a side dish to your bubble tea. Needless to say, the taste is also top-notch!

It's not often that a town gets a special place in my heart, without having to be a hometown for me or my loved one(s) for some period of time. Düsseldorf has become just that. It's introduced me to a lot of culture I wouldn't've otherwise known. It's become the location for some of my dearest memories. And I just couldn't stay away...until now. I think a part of me will always long for this town, even after I've gone to Japan someday. We have a weird relationship, where I always come back but I never stay for good - and don't think I ever will. But distance works best for our relationship. Alas, I must bid you farewell, old friend. Maybe one day I'll come back to Germany, just for you. But, until then, I wish you well!

Symbolic Japanese Temple

♫ Another Believer - Rufus Wainwright ♪

Last weekend was Japantag! Firu and I went there again because, obviously. The weather was lovely, though, so it actually brought more people and we could hardly breathe in the sea of humans. We didn't stick around too long. After we made Japanese name cards at the Japan Foundation stand and I bought a small pouch for my yukata, we bailed the river bank. But we didn't leave the town just yet. We visited my new favourite bubble tea café, Sphere Bay, and went to check out the Japanese temple on the outskirts of town. It was so gorgeous! There was a zen garden, a huge bell to ring in the New Year, a small Buddha statue and holy water well. However, I think this temple garden is more symbolic than religious. It's probably more a place for the Japanese to feel at ease in than for a place to actually pray. Maybe they also celebrate New Year's here, ringing the bell and all. But I don't think they actually come here to pray to the gods. Much to our disappointment, there weren't any omikuji, omamori or ema being sold there. But it was a lovely place nonetheless. Not many people understood the zen concept and traipsed all over the grass, though. Such a shame.

thrifted denim jacket + purse // tailor-made batik dress // Converse sneakers // photos of me by Firu

Afterwards, we went to an Indonesian event to eat. I didn't take any pictures there for some reason. It wasn't all that interesting. We came late too so we probably already missed out on all the good food and fun performances. Firu and I stuck around until the end, though, because we didn't want to waste the 3€ entrance fee we already paid. The only reason we came at all, aside from our need for food. was to see some 'friends' who told us to come. In the end, we didn't see much of them after all and we ended up just leaning on the back wall, enduring the last few hours of the event. We kind of regretted not staying at the Japantag instead. It would've been packed with people so going back there was out of the question. I felt stupid being excited by actually wearing batik to the event. At the end of the day, we were exhausted and it definitely felt so good to be home. The next day, I fell sick and stayed a night longer. So I guess, it was all a blessing in disguise ♥

Romance Fades but Love Must Go On

"People tend to idolize the honeymoon period and when things evolve, instead of acknowledging 

that growth, they try and get back to those moments, which don't exist anymore. 
They've changed." - Anton Yelchin

Happy belated Independence Day to all Indonesians! It was yesterday, in case you're wondering. As a commemoration, here I am wearing this batik dress - which is my favourite batik dress, by the way. I've never worn it bare on the blog before and I just want you to take in its raw beauty. Its baby doll structure is very adorable! Definitely suited for a hot summer day, which it definitely was on the day we took these photos. Galuh and I practically dragged Firu to Düsseldorf. This is one of my favourite cities in Germany. It has everything that I love: Japanese district, metropolitan quarters and artistic venues. Though I am content in my small town, being a born-and-raised capital city girl, having constant access to a place such as this is a necessity. It was too hot to do anything and so we mostly stayed under shades, save for snapping these shots and going to this beautiful art supplies store. Heavens on earth they truly are. By the way, I've been loving petal and plume blog - I'm sorry, I don't know the author's name. She actually found my blog first and commented on one of my posts so I visited her blog. Her photographs are so lovely and her words are like strings of poetry! So beautiful that I just had to share!

Hand-me-down batik dress // vintage penny loafers + purse // photos of me by Firu + Galuh

I used to have this friend who I chatted frequently with. We're two hopeless romantics so obviously we talked about the romantic notions of life. We were so excited to be in a relationship and talk about all these things with each other. But romance fades. It does and people tend to mistake it for love. It's not. Not just in a relationship, in life it fades. For instance, I had this romance of first living in Germany. It's dissipated and I learn to live here like a normal person. I can get real tired if I see things romantically all the time. In my relationship with Firu, well, romance has pretty much grown smaller and smaller. I don't even feel all that giddy, romantic feeling of hanging out with his sister or hearing him introduce me to his friends as his girlfriend or seeing his family on Skype. It all just comes naturally these days. People tend to mistake romance for love and when it dissipates, they thought they don't love each other anymore. So strange. That being said, little romances still remain. Hey, I don't know everything about Firu just yet and Galuh is putting the pieces together. Life is so good right now.

Among the Cosplayers and Football Fans Alike

Before I start, I've got to tell you guys: these pictures don't do justice to the whole event and the blast that we had. So yeah, let's begin. Last weekend I went to Düsseldorf with Firu to attend this year's Japantag (Japan Day), an event held once a year by the Japanese community in their quarter in Germany. It was really huge! It was like going to a convention, except that this was actually held by actual Japanese people. The city was overflowing with cosplayers and kimono-wearing ladies. It's kind of weird seeing Westernes - instead of Asians - cosplaying, though. You know, except for western-looking characters like Cloud of Final Fantasy VII, per se. There were a lot of awesome cosplays, though, and we quickly felt out of place by now cosplaying. We're so doing that next year! The event itself took place just around the banks of the Rhein river. The obvious stuff were there - anime merchandise, yukata, japanese knick knacks - but there was also a stand from Wacom, giving everyone a chance to draw using two different types of pen tablets and two inklings. Wow! Everyone lined up! I'm just a bit disappointed there was no Cintiq. We also watched a little bit of Taiko. It was incredible! There was also this clothing line, making buttoned-up shirts in the pattern of kimono fabrics. We even saw two Akita dogs! One was actually being walked by a girl cosplaying. So envious!

Firu ♥ Visya: Make-Believe Japan

Is it totally lame to still celebrate - even with just tiny squeals in your heart - your monthversaries when you've gone way past 2 years already? Is it totally lame to celebrate monthversaries at all? Haha, to hell with that. I am putting on a party hat and dancing in the moonlight because today is Firu's and my 33rd monthversary! Yaay! (In case you're too lazy to count, that means we've been together for 2 years 9 months). Though we're not together RIGHT NOW, I have yet a date story I haven't shared of when we were together two weeks ago. This day may also be called the day we went broke. All my life, I've always wanted to go to Japan. Since that has yet to come true, I have to settle with the Japanese quarter in Düsseldorf. One day, we went there to hang out at Café Relax and enjoy Japanese delicacies. We both ordered Matcha Latte and Curry Rice - croquette for Firu and chicken teriyaki for me. As for desserts, I had the Matcha Chiffon Cake while Firu enjoyed the Strawberry Berry Cake. He enjoyed it so much that he wanted to make it at home - which I doubt he can do. Afterwards, we also bought the takoyaki and ramune I wanted to buy the other day and raided a bookstore. We saw many Japanese and I was so awed by how pretty the girls look. They always look so cute!

Scalloped-collar blouse via Kleider Kreisel // Lustre dress via TK Maxx // Firu's Jack & Jones cardigan // H&M tights // Deichmann chelsea boots // Typo satchel // Photos of me by Firu

Finally, the one post I have been dying to do! This dress was bought a long time ago - in January. But I wanted to wait for the perfect moment to wear it on the blog. I haven't even worn it until I came to visit Firu this time. This was the most perfect dress I have ever laid eyes on. First off, the cut is just my favourite, what with the dainty skirt and all. The semi-backless detail also attracts my eyes. But what got me totally hooked was the pattern on it. It was like wearing a painting on your body, oil paint-like and floral too! Perfect for spring, no? When it's gotten a little warmer, I'd like to wear this dress bare and show you all. By the way, the weather was playing with me that day. When we took off, it was damn cold so I borrowed Firu's cardigan but later on, it got warmer and warmer and I ended up sweating instead. Rawr! Make up your mind, weather! But that might mean that spring is finally taking over. About time now.