Lufthansa German Airlines
I made careful preparations for my trip as always and I departed for Germany in mid-June.
My flight was with Lufthansa German Airlines and it was the same airline as last time. In addition, it was my second time to visit Germany so I had a good sense of self-composure.
But as you can see, there was something largely different to usual. My friend, H-san traveled together with me! However it was only for the first week of my trip because she is a busy worker, unlike me, and she couldn't take a long time off.
The round-trip airfare to Germany was 109,500yen. The fuel surcharge and taxes cost 31,490yen and the total was 141,520yen(about 1,132 euros). The price was inexpensive for my 26-day trip but it was rather expensive for my friend!
left:
My fright was operated by ANA(All Nippon Airways) so they served Japanese brand beer while in-flight. How depressing! I expected German beer....

We arrived at Frankfult Airport, which is the largest airport in Germany, at 4:30p.m.
There are two railway stations at the airport. One is for regional trains and the other is for long distance trains. So I think it is the best convenient gateway into Germany from Japan. But there were lots of maze-like passageways with poor signs inside of the building and I didn't like its confusing layout. It looked like the result of random expansions of the building over again and again. It became like a maze-like airport building.

Duesseldorf main train staition
After an hour and a half train trip from Frankfult Airport, finally we arrived at our first destination, Duesseldorf.
Our flight from Japan got off the ground early afternoon and we arrived at Duesseldorf at 8:00p.m. There is a 7-hour time difference between Japan and Germany and when checking-in at our accommodations, it was after 3:00a.m. Japanese local time. I was awfully tired. Sure enough, Europe was another distant world from Japan!

The old town in Duesseldorf is well-known for its numerous pubs, restaurants and nightclubs. I heard that a small area of the old town contains over 200 pubs, restaurants and nightclubs! Above all, some streets are particularly densely-packed with pub-style restaurants, so the series of several blocks of pedestrian walkways are called, "the longest bar counter in the world"!

In spite that it was after 3:00a.m. Japanese local time and my sleepless night, we went out for dinner. The town was fully alive with people. I couldn't keep up the cheerful atmosphere and I almost had a heart attack!
center, right:
German beer, Brinkhoff's. My first German beer on this trip.

Unwisely, we ordered a dish for two people! That reminded me, I had been always served with a mountain of food during my Germany trip in 2008. It looks like I haven't learnt anything from the experiences!