We arrived in Cologne by car from Brussels. I love road-trips. One of the reasons I love road-trips, besides driving, it’s getting to see green fields with cows and horses, lakes and rivers, camping areas, bridges and you get to enjoy so many things on the way and on your own time better than by train or plane. Well, maybe if you go by bike it’s a different story. Oh! and in this case in particularly, the fact about the speed limit as soon as we arrived in Germany, looking at all the Audis, BMW and Mercedes going much faster than us when we were driving around 140kph. I’m from Venezuela, we don’t care about the speed limit, but we have so many damaged roads that it’s difficult to speed… in Germany: great roads no speed limit! (no limit in some areas though).
Getting to know Downtown
Once we checked-in, we walked by a pathway by the river Rhine. Nice view with boats of all kind, the famous Hohenzollern, a bridge only for pedestrians and trains and to a side, the beautiful Cologne Cathedral, or Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria. (be thankful I’m not talking, just writing)
We toured around Alter Markt, a square where we had a typical lunch at one of the restaurants.
We visited the cathedral after having lunch. Free to enter, rare to see a cathedral this size, gorgeous and very important, and we don’t have to pay to see it. And if you want to see it from a different point of view, take a stroll by the bridge Hohenzollern. You not only get to see the cathedral, but also the river and part of the city!
Cologne is also famous because of its Eau de Cologne, 4711, so we visited the museum and store, The House of Fragrance in Cologne.
From there, we kept walking, with some friends from the area, to a famous bar, where I found out the story behind the beers and how its being serve in Cologne, well, thanks to our local friends. This is the only city in Germany where the beer is being served in a cylindrical glass, continuously without asking for more and on a round tray with all the filled and empty glasses, and the waiter/waitress marks, with a line on the paper coaster, how many beers you are having. Isn’t it easier? Loved it!
After few glasses, more walk as usually, we went around the city until we reached a restaurant where our friends made reservations, although it wasn’t local food and it was a restaurant we are very familiar to… A brazilian churrasqueria, rodizio style, which it’s very famous in Cologne. And it was REALLY good!
Last day
After having breakfast, we went to the tran station, next to the cathedral and close to the hotel. Just to get to know it since people said it is pretty. I found it okey.
From there, we took the car and drove first to an old prison, which it used to be a nazi prison. The only bad side, everything in the museum was in german. Ok, it’s located in a German city, but I think it’s a place where people from all over the world will go and at least, I think, there should be some explanation in English. I believe it was a very interesting place, but obviously couldn’t understand anything.
Then, we visited a building, on the other side of the river, the Köln Triangle, where we’ve got to see Cologne from a highest point. For a great price, €5 for 2 people, you get to see details of the city and take amazing pictures. And with a gorgeous view, we said good bye to Cologne.
Remember to keep the cities clean! 🙂
