On the way to Joseph Beuys

My journey begins in Kleve, where many things also began for Joseph Beuys. His home on the Lower Rhine left its mark on him, but he also left visible traces. In the former Kurhaus in Kleve, now an art museum, his first studio can be seen alongside his early work. For seven years, from 1957 to 1964, Joseph Beuys worked in the then run-down Kurhaus.

Art and artistically designed objects can also be found next door in the former Kurhotel. The largest collection of works by the important Beuys teacher Ewald Mataré can be seen here. Just outside the door, the baroque gardens of the former health resort invite you to take a stroll. I can well imagine myself strolling here as a fine lady with a distinguished hat and parasol.

Our first destination is Alexanderplatz 5, just a few minutes' walk from the railway station. Beuys lived in this pretty but inconspicuous old building with his parents for a short time as a baby before they moved to Kleve. No staging, no museum, just a plaque commemorating the town's famous son.

A short walk later, there is further evidence of the connection between Beuys and Krefeld: "Joseph-Beuys-Platz" can be read on a street sign. Behind it towers a palatial building - the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum. Behind its doors awaits a Beuys original: a pile of dead bees, animal bones, glass bottles and a felt mat - all sorts of things gathered together on a double wooden shelf, plus a work desk and a chair. This is the "Barraque D'Dull Odee", an installation that is part of the only room ensemble by Beuys in North Rhine-Westphalia that can still be viewed today exactly as the artist set it up during his lifetime.

It's a 20-minute walk to the next destination in the inner harbour. Oh no, I'd rather get on the bus at the railway station and travel to Hansegracht. From there, it's just a short walk through the harbour before I reach an impressive building: the former warehouse building with its brick façade has been transformed into a modern cultural building by Swiss star architects Herzog & de Meuron. The Küppersmühle Museum is worth seeing both inside and out and forms the end of Duisburg's inner harbour, which offers plenty of reasons to visit with its restaurants, cafés, modern and historical architecture and many places to sit by the water. Works by Beuys can also be seen here from time to time, but even if not: the museum is a great work of art with a roof terrace and a versatile photo spot. An additional floating attraction is a walk-in submarine, which is anchored in the harbour basin as part of the permanent exhibition. I don't dock here any longer, however, but make my way through small streets and the pedestrian zone to the main railway station. Next stop: Düsseldorf.

I have met Joseph Beuys on other occasions in Düsseldorf: From a mural in the Flingern district, the artist gazes attentively at what is happening in the street. The painting by Orticanoodles shows the man in the hat with a quote: "If you don't want to think, you're out." Today I prefer to stay in the city centre, but I briefly stray from the art course on the way to the old town. My appetite for sushi, mochi and ramen takes me on a little detour to Asia, or more precisely to Japan: Little Tokyo is the name of the neighbourhood to the left and right of Immermannstraße. There's a lot to see and taste here, I pick up a few mochis. Joseph Beuys probably ate hearty home cooking, I suspect. In any case, the Ohme Jupp and Zur Uel pubs were among his favourite haunts.

Before I reach the two pubs on Ratinger Straße, however, I find another trail. On one side of the Kunsthalle and diagonally above the entrance to the Kom(m)ödchen cabaret theatre, a public artwork by Beuys protrudes from the wall: a stovepipe. It is called "The Black Hole" and has been installed here on Kay-und-Lore-Lorenz-Platz since the early 1980s. Directly opposite, the K20 art collection on Grabbeplatz also regularly exhibits works by Joseph Beuys.

Joseph Beuys first learnt sculpture himself at the art academy before returning later as a lecturer. Here he consistently pursued his idea that everyone can be an artist, right up to a major conflict: because he wanted to give more people access to the academy, he clashed with the management and politicians - which ended with his dismissal in 1972. There is no sign of any of the excitement today; instead, a respectful calm prevails in the wide and high corridors of the building. I wonder if the students are inspired by the Rhine. In any case, I take a detour to the promenade and cross a large, multi-lane road: Joseph-Beuys-Ufer: check. It's beautiful here by the water, the view stretches far up and down the river and to the meadows on the opposite bank. The sculptor lived there somewhere, in the Oberkassel district, with his wife and children. The former studio and home at Drakeplatz 4 can be visited on certain days during exhibition periods. But unfortunately not today, so I take the underground back to the main station and set my sights on the last destination of the Beuys journey: Mönchengladbach.

A fishing waistcoat on, a cigarette in his mouth and eyes gazing into the distance: If you look up at the huge mural on the façade of the building on Johann-Peter-Bölling-Platz, you will realise how present Joseph Beuys still is in Mönchengladbach today. The artist celebrated great success in the green city on the Lower Rhine with his first comprehensive exhibition, which he organised in 1967 in the former museum on Bismarckstraße. It was here that he cemented his friendship with Hans Hollein, the internationally acclaimed architect of the Museum Abteiberg, who can be recognised right next to him in the mural.

On a tour of the Abteiberg, another trace of Beuys can be discovered at the Basilica of St Vitus: in 1972, he wrote the word "Exit" on the portal of the cathedral during an action. The lettering can still be seen on the portal today; someone has carved it into the wood again. The idyllic Abbey Garden, just a few metres from the cathedral, is also worth a visit. Here, several sculptures by important sculptors are waiting to be discovered on the green spaces.

Finally, if you enter the Museum Abteiberg itself and look for works by Joseph Beuys, you will quickly find what you are looking for in this architectural masterpiece: Today, many objects and sculptures by Joseph Beuys belong to the institution, which specialises in modern and contemporary art.