Blogs from Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe - page 6

Besides visiting the Christmas Markets, having a good sleep (now that we could, without the kids...), spending some money at the shopping streets, we also strolled around in Cologne and did a little sightseeing... First, we visited the Cathedral and its environment. We crossed the Rhine at the Hohenzollern Bridge. The bridge itself was full with love padlocks, symbolizing the everlasting love . After a walk to the Chocolate museum, we tasted there the delicious chocolate cake in the adjacent Chocolate Grand Cafe. We also went to the Rudolfplatz and saw the home of "Eau de Cologne 4711" I especially liked the fact that there are so many outdoor shops in Cologne. One of them was four floors high. In the basement you could even test canoes... in the water...... read more

Cologne is our first stop within Germany and the weather has not disappointed! Less than 24hours here and already it is snowing,excellent! We arrived in Cologne and as has been tradtion so far, jumped on a City Tour to get an introduction to the city. From this tour, we discovered Cologne had 6 Christmas Markets, all looked interesting and we were excited to see them. After spending 90mins on the bus, we headed back to the hotel for a nap before hitting the markets. Feeling refreshed, we headed back out and we shouldnt have bothered. Tip number one for visiting the Christmas markets in Cologne- DO NOT go at night, especially a weekend night. It was insanely busy and not enjoyable at all as you spent all your time dodging the crowds and not looking at ... read more

Hope all went well on your departure from Oz! Bernie and I are on the tail end of the cruise and have docked here in Cologne for the night. Today we visited the Floriade in Venio, and tonight we sail for Amsterdam! Will be hard leaving the boat and having to fend for ourselves again after being so spoilt on board.... read more

Well we've set off and Day 1 was a complete success! We safely arrived in Cologne at 16:30 after three trains and a short walk The day started early for a Saturday as my train to London left at the ungodly time of 07:20 but it was an uneventful journey and a standard tube trip across to St Pancras. There I met John and we checked in and passed through security - we think one point we thought we spotted Gary Linekar but neitherof us were100% sure it was him... The trip througth the tunnel was was equally uneventful though we did arrive our a few minutes late into Brussels Midi meaning a jog through the station to catch our connecting German ICE train to Cologne - all those lunch time at the gym have paid ... read more

Hoi zäme Kurze Nachricht für heute. Höckle in einem netten Kaffe in Köln, bin hier am Nachmittag angekommen und die Stadt gefällt mir! Habe mir den Dom angeschaut, bin auf einen Aussichtsturm und auf der Hohenzollernbrücke sind tausende Liebesschlösser am ganzen Geländer über dem Rhein angebracht. Total schnusig. Die Zeit verflog wie im Fluge und zu mehr reichte es nicht. Wie immer ein paar Fotos. Morgen habe ich vor, nach Fécamp zu fahren - ist in der Nähe von Le Havre. Guter Wind ist angesagt, das ändert jedoch fast stündlich. Bin gespannt, ob ich mich ins Tiden-Meer wagen werde mit dem Surfbrett. Machets guet!!!... read more