Dülken

We went to Germany to visit some friends. They were in Dülken, and so therefore were we. Dülken has: a nicely self-aggrandising civic motto ('Gloria tibi, Dülken'); a mad and voluble canary called Ludwig II;

connections with a host of desirable properties all over the globe;

a beautiful house full of large secret rooms which are themselves full of trinkets and remembrances and light and laundry;

a huge amount of excellent food;

well-maintained and surprisingly beautiful car engines, inside a number of well-maintained and designedly beautiful cars;





large numbers of well-behaved young women who lose their inhibitions whenever Germany beat Poland in a football match;

and, of course the real reason for our travels, a fairly pleasant church which was happy to baptise our friends' son.

It was a wonderful weekend: I strongly recommend getting to know people who will get their children baptised in Dülken. Or just go there on the off-chance of finding a baptism you can crash. Or even go there sans baptism, to enjoy everything else (not so fun, surely) Dülken has to offer: the Fool's Mill, or the Fool of the Flowers. Dülken has a great carnival tradition, but in my opinion you can keep it.