We arrived at the Zagreb airport at 07:00 and our checking in went wonderfully smoothly with our bags being checked through to Düsseldorf even though the second leg of the flight was with a different company. However, the customs officers were very officious and grumpy and made us remove cameras and lenses from our camera bag and then x-rayed then separately. There were no smiles to be seen so it was nice to get through and continue on our way.
The flight to Copenhagen was on a Fokker 100 and took about three hours. On arrival we had a very long walk from the end of one long arm of terminal D to the furthest end of terminal B. Despite the short time interval between flights we were soon on our way to Düsseldorf on a Bombardier plane with a flight time of eighty minutes. Incidentally there was no security check on transiting passengers.
Düsseldorf airport is the third largest in Germany after Munich and Frankfurt and our luggage was to be collected from carousel 19 involving another major hike but luck was on our side as our bags were first off!
Within a minute we’d found Edel and there were many, many hugs and kisses after us not having seen each other for so long.
Edel drove us to her home in Hilden which is a town of around 25 thousand people about half an hour’s drive south of Düsseldorf. Edel’s house is effectively four storeys if you include the basement that she is presently having developed as a self-contained flat to lease out.
Our bedroom is on the top floor which is like an attic with one sloping wall along the roofline making it very cosy and comfy.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and reminiscing of our families, travels, Edel’s work and especially the wonderful times with Uwe which meant sad and emotional moments as well as very happy times too.
Before dinner, we went for a walk through the forest near Edel’s house. It is a very pleasant area with paths for people to walk, run, cycle and ride horses. We also came across a dressage arena where riders and horses were training.
Forest, Hilden
Corinne & Edel in forest, Hilden
We returned to Edel’s house to have a celebratory drink and prepare a meal. The night was made even more joyous as Edel’s and Uwe’s son Max joined us for dinner. Max is a delightful young man and we had a very pleasant evening together. For dessert Max used Edel’s Thermomix to make a chocolate mousse which took him only a few minutes to prepare and tasted superb.
By 23:00 we were all exhausted and headed for bed after a day of protracted travel followed by lots of catching up.