the hidden town - Krefeld - TravBuddy

Krefeld, Germany, located right outside Duesseldorf, is one of those towns no one ever sees on the map. When looking at a map, your eyes tend to glance at the larger cities like Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, and maybe even Duesseldorf, but never the out-of-the-way town of Krefeld. This "town", however, is one that must be visited. It is one of those few that has not been overrun by tourists, and the people that live there slowly run their own lives without worrying about having to hit a large man with a camera who accidentally forgot to cross the street at the crosswalk. I did a foreign exchange to Krefeld this summer, and it was one of the most life-changing experiences of my life. I am used to living in a middle-to-large city where traffic and noise are just background music, but being able to spend some time away from the average American city and to live in a quiet town was awesome. Downtown Krefeld is one of those places where you can get lost easily, and your adrenaline starts to pump because you don't know where you are, but sometimes it's alright to let that happen because it is a huge culture shock, and you may do things you had never planned. A large portion of the city is Turkish-run, with cheap clothing stores on one side of the street, and the smell of Doener kebaps wafting past your nose on the other side. If you ever get a chance to visit Duesseldorf, maybe swing by Krefeld and give it a chance, sit down for a coffee at Cafe EXTRABLATT, eat a Doener at an authentic Turkish kebap house, or just take a stroll through the unending alleys of downtown Krefeld; it's worth it.