Out on the Dussel

Dusseldorf is Germany’s fashion centre. Yes, really! Berlin might be edgy and über trendy, but it’s D-dorf – capital of North Rhine- Westphalia, that boasts one of Europe’s most elegant shopping boulevards – Königsallee – where designer boutiques jostle for attention from the city’s glamazons.

Money – lots of it – oozes out of every manicured street. From the Media Harbour, where starchitect Frank Gehry built three stunningly asymmetric bastions of modernism, to the quaint and characterful old town – Dusseldorf is the affluent Grand Dame of Deutschland.

Its gay scene, unfortunately, is a bit like the poor relation – consisting of a mere handful of generic Eurotrash boy bars. But as the German government continues to invest in projects such as the recently opened LGB youth centre (http://www.puls-duesseldorf.de/), it’s surely only a matter of time before the city’s young lesbians demand something more. And in the meantime, who doesn’t love a night dancing to Kylie and watching dudes in leather disappear into a dark room?

Thankfully I was in Dusseldorf with one of my best gay boys, Sam – a guy who matches his socks to his underpants, and neckerchief, and insists on carrying a scented fan with him at all times. If Dusseldorf wasn’t exactly the gayest of German cities when we arrived, it sure was by the time we left!

We were staying at the ultra fabulous Breidenbacher Hof, which couldn’t have been better located, in the central shopping district – a Manolos throw from Königsallee.

The hotel is all gilt, satin and black marble – truly sumptuous and gloriously camp. The fact that a hot lesbian couple from Brooklyn were staying at the same time as us makes me confident in declaring 

Breidenbacher Hof officially dyke-friendly. And goodness gracious the service was EXCEPTIONAL – friendly, efficient and really personal. A hand-written note from the hotel manager welcomed Lotte 

Jeffs, not Mr Jeff, which is how I’m often inexplicably referenced in the world of hospitality.

After a super-quick easy-jet flight from Gatwick, we were picked up from the airport by one of Breidenbacher’s beautiful boys in a beautiful black Mercedes. Pulling up outside the gold doors of the hotel, where a bunch of Dusseldorfians were huddled sheltering from the (sadly relentless) rain, we couldn’t help feel a little bit special as we sashayed in.

After a quick outfit change for Sam, who when from jet-set cas’ to citybreak chic, while I just slapped a bit more wax in my hair and wondered if my sensible shoes were sensible enough, we major gay clichés hit the town.

First stop was the Media Harbour – which is cool, and a bit like London’s Southbank. Design-lovers will get their kicks from the Frank O Gehry, Vasconi and Chipperfield stuff. I liked the giant inflatable rat, that was part of some kinda festival happening at the harbour ‘cos he looked a bit stoned.

From the top of Media Harbour's Rhine Tower, a dizzying 240.5m high, you can see 360 degrees of Dusseldorf. The most impressive thing is how damn NEAT it looks from above. The Rhine weaves its way through the city and because it’s against the law to build anything directly on the banks of the river, there are all these luscious green meadows you long to skip over hand-in-hand with a girl in a dirndl.

Wandering around the old town some more - and after a very strange encounter with a local man and a water pistol – Sam and I headed to the trendy Fligern area. This is the edgiest, most young, cool and consequently queer bit of the city.

Beethoven café is a must for lattes and cheese cake, http://www.beethoven-flingern.de/, Hausfreund sells cool kitsch knick knacks – great for gifts – and there are loads of quirky little design shops up and down Ackerstrasse to explore.

Before our big gay night out we stopped for a couple of hits of the local specialty spirit Killepitsch – made from 90 different fruits berries, herbs, and spices – at the bar Et Kabüffke Killepitschstube in the old town. It set us up for a looong night.

Nahkorbchen i(karins-naehkoerbchen.de) is a fun gay café/bar to start the night. K1 Club (http://k1-dusseldorf.de/) plays pop music and mainstream RnB and Club Musk is where to get jiggy with Germans in a back room. Lesbians, you’ll have to wait until the monthly Frauenschwoof women-only party (zakk.de/frauenschwoof) rolls into town before getting your chance to grope German hotties.

Five hours and fifty Alt beers later we were back in the hotel bar drinking martinis. Morning rolled around pretty quick and after some espressos, Asprin and eggs benedict we were whisked off to what I consider Dusseldorf’s major selling point – its incredible modern art galleries.

K20 and K21 http://www.kunstsammlung.de/ contain an eclectic mix of modern masters – some great Pollocks, Rothkos and Jasper Johns – plus intriguing works from more up-and coming artists, all displayed in wonderful bright, open and impressively large gallery spaces.

If you want to hook-up with lesbians I’d say the best time to visit Dusseldorf is for Christopher Street Day (3-5 June 2011) where this chic city gets its gay on. In the meantime go, enjoy the art, the shopping, oh – and the Japanese quarter which I’ve not had time to mention. It’s an upmarket, interesting spot for a citybreak – just don’t forget to pack your gay best friend.

VISIT http://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/ for more info

Visit GayGermany.co.uk - the official gay and lesbian site of the German National Tourist Office Videos are at YouTube.com/MyGayGermany
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