We’d climbed up for the sundial, but found it surrounded by a pulsating sea of partying humanity enjoying deafening techno music, beer and picnics atop the Landschaftspark Hoheward.

We were high above Herne, deep in Germany’s Ruhr, the 60 km-long conurbation stretching from Duisburg to Dortmund. As the sun set, 140bpm defined the scene. It was festival night!

Though the music was frenetic under the summit’s spindly skyline arch, Roger Waters’ lyrics about sunset behind Krupp’s steelworks on the ‘outskirts of some German town’ filled my head. Except that, after a day in the Ruhr, his lyrical imagery simply didn’t compute.

Yes, old winding towers, wind turbines and power stations punctuated the post-industrial landscape. But our viewpoint, a beautified former slag heap – or ‘Halde’ – was surrounded not by smoky industry but by green, as far as we could see.

Our visit was to family in Gelsenkirchen, where coal was once king. We’d rented a small apartment on suburban Cranger Strasse, where the Bogestra – ‘Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Strassenbahn’ – rattled past relentlessly and Turkish ‘Merhaba!’ was as usual as ‘Hallo!’.

Stunning multi-use leisure spaces

It’s been decades since coal was mined here. Nowadays, former collieries – ‘Zechen’ – such as Gelsenkirchen’s Nordstern Park and Essen’s UNESCO-listed Zollverein have become stunning multi-use leisure spaces.

The ‘Ruhrpottler’ – as locals affectionately call themselves – have played a blinder by transforming former ‘big industry’ Nord Rhein-Westfalia into a tourism gem that can delight for much more than our three days. In Oberhausen, a skyline-dominating Gasometer reputedly houses Europe’s tallest exhibition space. It further proves how mighty industrial structures can be so impressively repurposed.

Restaurants, street art and galleries

And in Duisburg, still ThyssenKrupp’s hometown on the Rhine, though the latter remain there somewhere, we saw more green Lamborghinis than steelworks! The restaurants, street art and galleries around the now-gentrified Inner Harbour were far more interesting!

When we ate out it was mainly Italian: try Mosbacher’s or PURiNO at Stölting Marina by the Rhein-Herne Canal. But our culinary Grail was quintessentially German: mighty currywurst’s delicious sausage, fries and fiery sauce combo.

Currywurst nirvana

One evening, at Herne’s Die Currywurst, we experienced currywurst nirvana. The simple dish was as good as the restaurant’s name was uninspired. And the entertainment was terrific as locals with steel-lined bellies sweated their way through super-spicy servings while we enjoyed entry-level strength!

Whether for currywurst or to watch local soccer heroes FC Schalke, the Ruhr’s definitely worth visiting. But above all, you should go to see how Germany’s heavy ‘Wirtschaftswunder’ industrial sites have become engaging recreational destinations. Es war wunderbar!