OT: Europe Trip

[Beorn]

If anyone wants to visit Eastern Europe, excluding Russia, slavic Balkans and former Czechoslovakia pm me. IF I have the time and desire I will post short guides later in the summer here, but it's far from certain

[HurricaneKid]

I'm going to Europe for work in July. My week-long trip will end in the Dusseldorf area and then I was planning on staying the weekend somewhere before heading home. Any recommendations on where I should go for quick weekend visit? As I mentioned, I will end the work trip in Dusseldorf on Friday, so would prefer to limit my visit to somewhere within 3-4 hours of there (by train preferred). Would also like to be near a somewhat near a major international airport for cost. So I figured my options are Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Frankfurt and just staying near Dusseldorf/Cologne. Haven't been to any of those cities, but for reference I have been to Prague and Budapest and loved both of those. I am really into craft beer, I like history/architecture and experiencing "authentic local culture", and not really into super touristy things/sites. Appreciate any input. Thanks!

Edit: Also not interested in drug scene or red light district of Amsterdam... still worth going?

I spent a semester abroad and a group of us spent a long weekend in Dusseldorf. One of the people in the group had a friend in Dusseldorf that "showed us around" and would tell us how awful Cologne (Koln) was. We were bored out of our minds and ended up going to Cologne without him for a day and had a blast. The Koln Dome is really impressive and a great hike if you can manage your way to the top. We were ANGRY that someone had, out of some sick sense of local rivalry, told us not to go there and basically spent the rest of our time in Cologne. They are quite close. I would MUCH rather have spent the time in Munich/Vienna/Prague/Budapest but at least Cologne had a notable and worthy site to see and a pleasant modern vibe. Amsterdam is a must see. Its timeless, beautiful and you can see worthy museums or just people watch in the red light district. I wasn't going to get mixed up in anything at the time but was really impressed by the city. I kinda hated Brussels. INSANELY expensive and more of a financial center than a tourist spot. Not an ideal location for day trips.