Has anyone ever been to Cologne, Germany?

[joeybee12]

Tell me about it!

Looks interesting, and I was thinking of stopping there for a couple days on my trip from Prague to Amsterdam!

Thanks!

[Squatch]

1. I hear it smells really nice

[Karenina]

7. It's the 4711.

Kölnischwasser. The stuff out of the tap is Kalk and hard as stone! ;-)

[Magrittes Pipe]

2. I've driven past Koln.

On the way from Dusseldorff to Paderborn.

I like Paderborn. Go there.

[joeybee12]

15. Is that accessible by train????

[Magrittes Pipe]

36. Yep.

[joeybee12]

37. Great! Now I'll have to look it up in my Lonely Planet--Germany book

Thanks!

[dave123williams]

3. Great, great beers; every pub has a different kind!

Very 'swiss' kind of attitude there, and super beer! Very tall, thin glasses, for some reason...

[CottonBear]

4. My friend used to live there.

It's more rainy than snowy in the winter. That's all I know. Take good waterproof outerwear. It is extra cold in Germany and Eastern Europe now.

[Karenina]

16. No it's not.

[Solly Mack]

32. It is?

:)

[fertilizeonarbusto]

5. "In Koln, a town of monks and wenches

I counted eight and sixty stenches..."
Or something like that.
In case you are curious, Samuel Taylor Coleridge

[rusty charly]

6. the san fransisco

of germany


http://www.globosapiens.net/travel-information/Koln-317.html

[joeybee12]

17. I'm assuming that's a good thing!

I love SF!

[da_chimperor]

8. I lived there for a month.

All in all, it's a nice town. It's not Berlin, but there are still quite a number of things to do there. A lot depends on the kind of things you're interested it. The Kölner Dom is a must, but then you should allow at least 2 hours of sitting around and drinking beer along the river after to recover. I'd say it's good for two days, but I think you could see most of what you want in only one. The beer is great! So is the food. You MUST go to früh am Dom and order the schweinshaxe, it's typical rhein cuisine, and it's great (if you're not a vegetarian). Let me know if you want more details.

[jmatthan]

9. Lived in nearby Leverkusen

in the early 1960's for about six weeks and commuted regularly to Köln.

Was a nice city then!!

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[joeybee12]

22. So...........where is Oulu?????

Not a name I'm familiar with!

[Woody Box]

10. I am from Cologne

and it`s definitely worth a stop if you are interested in art, culture or history. The oldest city of Germany (2000 years - Romans!).

The most interesting time to go there is carneval. For five days, the whole city is put upside down by the people. This year, I think, in the first or second week of February.

[joeybee12]

12. Are you there now?

I read about the Carneval--sounds wild. But it looks as if my trip will be a little after that!

[OldEurope]

40. Trier and Worms also

call themselves "oldest city of Germany".
:toast:

[lebkuchen]

11. The cathedral is fantastic, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site

If you arrive by train, the train station is just north of the Dom. There is a long shopping street that is fun to walk, and that is just south of the Dom. Everything is right at your fingertips.

The beer there is called Kölsch. It is served in little .2liter glasses, the only place in Germany where I have seen this. You can buy one of the glasses for a souvenir. I like Brauhaus Sion. It was fairly close to the Dom.

[joeybee12]

13. Yeah, it does look incredible--I was thinking that just seeing that

would be worth the trip!

[lebkuchen]

20. There's plenty of room in there to contemplate the universe

or meditate or whatever.

How much time will you spend in Prague? I've been there a couple of times, in Jul and Nov. The place is busy all the time. Try to get tickets to see an Opera at the Estates Theater, where Mozart debuted Don Giovanni. Bring something a little dressy for the occasion so you don't feel out of place. Jeans won't really do.

[joeybee12]

24. Two weeks in Prague--it's my fifth time there--thinking of moving there

and want to leisurely check everything out to see how feasible it is!

[lebkuchen]

39. You must be an artist.

:)

[Karenina]

21. The Amis BOUGHT Sion.

Früh is the BEST at the Brauhaus. I won't drink it out of a bottle. x(

[lebkuchen]

23. Früh am Dom is good, too. Cavernous, right?

Have you been to Brauerei zur Malzmühle? I had wanted to go...didn't make it.

When was Sion bought out?

[Karenina]

26. The place is HUGE

and it's a zirkus! The waiters are "special," cheeky beyond belief. YOU are there to drink and THEY will decide how much. ;-)

Sion got bought out early last year, I think. It was quite a scandal in the Express.

[lebkuchen]

38. I was last at Sion Oct. 2003

as I recall. I still have their .2L glass. I like collecting all the various shaped beer glasses Europe has to offer. They make good Xmas presents, too.

[giant_robot]

14. I lived in Bonn 1980-1983

I've been to several carnevals. The Dom is beautiful. Food and drink is excellent. I'd say it's worth a least a one-day stopover.


On edit: Bonn is only about 20km from Cologne.

[joeybee12]

18. What's in Bonn? I haven't researched that yet....is it

a do-able day trip or afternoon trip from Koln, or is there too much to see?

[giant_robot]

25. There's a couple things, but not a lot, really.

The house Beethoven was born is is in the downtown fussplatz. I guess the fussplatz is pretty good for restaraunts and shopping, too. There are two castles nearby. One is a pretty cool-looking one they turned into a hotel (the Bad Godensberger). The other (the Drachenfels)is not much more than a ruin, but there's a lot of legend behind the location. Supposedly it's the place where the legendary Sigfried slew the dragon. It's actually a nice little hike to the top of the mountain to see that one.

[joeybee12]

28. Thanks for the info....

...do you recall if the castles have buses or trains that run fairly frequently to them? I mean, not right up to them, but to the twon or wherever they're located? Sometimes you end up taking the train, catching a bus, etc., and tim would be of the essence in this short side trip!

[giant_robot]

30. The U-bahn (subway) goes directly from the Bonn train station

to Bad Godesberg. I can't recall how I got to the Drachenfels. It's such a popular tourist attraction that I'm sure there's some kind of public transportation.

I almost forgot about the Rhine cruises. They're pretty cool if you've got a day to kill. They go into wine country. Nice scenery and good wine.

[joeybee12]

33. Thanks--yeah, I've seen photos of those cruise--very scenic!

Not sure if I'll have time on this trip, though. :-(

[Karenina]

31. Not that much, but Beethoven was born there.

Museums are good. It's 15 minutes from Köln on a fast train but since the gub'mint moved to Berlin, Bonn is... well... I'd suggest taking a milk train down to Berg Rheinfels. It's this INCREDIBLE castle ruin and the train runs along the river. It is REALLY BEAUTIFUL.

[joeybee12]

34. Thanks--someone else suggested that castle, so it's got two votes going

for it!!!!!!!!!

[Kellanved]

35. No, there is not much to see

The Beethoven things, the German House of History and a some small change (sorry).

[bobbieinok]

19. was there years ago .... was fascinated by the history

--the cathedral is awesome

--I decided not to visit any church built later than the 1400s or rebuilt after WWII!!!!!

--being a young American at the time, I kept wondering how people could live in a city like Koeln with the cathedral overshadowing everything they did.......it would be like trying to live up to your super famous mother or father

[LynzM]

27. We were there

For Karneval in 2002... beautiful city, the Dom is breathtaking! Definitely worth a stop in if you are on your way through, and if you're taking the train along the river, makes the trip that much better!

[joeybee12]

29. Wish I could time it to coincide with Carnevale!

Alas!

[Karenina]

41. Begins 11/11 at 11:11

Ends with a city-wide drunken, costumed binge 6 days before Ash Wednesday. Kinda like a Fellini/Dali collaboration after several cases of Reisdorf...

[supernova]

42. Yes, but wished I'd had more time to spend there.

We only spent a day there. I did buy some 4711. It smells nice. :D

I recall the cathedral was lovely. That's about it. Definitely needed some more time to see the place.