Going Cologne 29/3 til 2/4 this year, anyone been, any recommendations at all? FC Koln are away that weekend, but Bayer are at home to Wolfsburg, is Leverkusen close enough to get to easily? Thinking of going Cologne Zoo too, and the girlfriend reckons they have a couple of decent museums out there (perfume and chocolate apparently) anyone shed any light on this at all?
Thanks in advance
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Also check Schalke, Gladbach and Dortmund.
Cologne Zoo has a very good reputation but unfortunately I was too hungover to visit when planned.
The hotel on the other side of the Rhine to Cologne cathedral was where I used stay which central to the city.
Leverkusen and gladbach are really easy to get to. German matches always have a good atmosphere and you can have a beer whilst watching the game.
It's tragic what happened on NYE there, it happens I was there on spot, and the police have an awful lot to answer for. But that's for a different discussion I guess.
NYE is probably the reason we've got the flights etc so cheap, girlfriend coming with me she's already been told to carry pepper spray and an alarm, but I'd imagine police presence is up since the incidents.
Thanks for the info everyone, just need to convince the better half that a trip to Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg is the best way to round off her birthday trip!
Don't expect a "pretty" town packed with lovely old buildings (say like Barcelona). As we drove from the airport to the city, my wife gave me one of those withering looks that means "why the hell have you brought me here" as we went past many 1960s concrete eyesore buildings. It dawned on me later that the reason for this is, of course, that we flattened the city in the war. (See the postcards you can buy in the shops that show what the city looked like in 1945).
That said, it's a nice place to visit. If your girlfriend enjoys shopping, there are some really nice shopping streets to visit. (Make sure you take your credit card!). And the chocolate museum is worth a visit. And, of course, the Cathedral is a must visit. (There is a very good tourist information office near the Cathedral - worth popping in to get info on things to do etc).
Can't really advise you on restaurants or bars as we spent most of our evenings at the markets, eating and drinking there.
Finally, as Prague says above, not going to start a debate here about what happened in Cologne over the New Year but I will say I was absolutely shocked to hear about events then. When we visited, the markets were packed but I never felt any concerns about my wife or daughter being accosted. And it actually felt really safe walking back to our hotel late at night. It is thought provoking that things have changed so much in 2 years.
The fact is Domsquare is always a hotspot on an Event night ( I passed through there on Haloween too, as it happens), but you will be as safe as houses because the Cologne police have finally woken up to the fact that it can tend to kick off there ( and is sod all to do with asylum seekers because it always has been like that)
Think I'll give that place a swerve.
They dont like it up em
Hitler has only got one ball
And the RAF from England...
Enjoy the trip
The Dom (cathedral) is fantastic and you will love it lots of tourists as you can imagine. If you go there dont forget to take your hat off when in there. There are also loads of buskers outside that will amuse you.. Sometimes they are open till late and its worth a visit then also.
Dont be put off by the incident on new years eve, i have been on that square outside the station hundreds of times and in the early hours and never had an issue, there may be the odd beggar about but that happens everywhere.
Chocolate museum is great and they have a great cafe there.
Bayer Leverkusens grouund is about a 25 minute rail journey from Cologne on the RE7 i think. If you go Leverkusen Mitte is the station you want. I ts about a 20minute stroll from rthe station.
When going from the airport to cologne buy a return ticket that will cost just over 5 euros. Whenever you travel by train always validate your tickets at the little orange franking machines. Your ticket isnrt valid until you do. Inspectors are in plain clorthes and a fine is spprox 50 euros.
When earting out try maredos steak houses there are 2 close to the dom and sre reasonable priced.
Shopping try hohe strasse that starts to the left ft of the tourisrt info across trhe road from the dom. Its a narrow high str rettr but fun.
There are plenty of nice bars but i would recommend the corkonian thats in the altstadt. Wear your charlton shirt and thet will probably mention me when in there.
There are some great day trips. Try koblenz, dusseldorrf achaan and bonn.
Lastly if you use public toilets or toilets within cafes etc.. You are expected to tip the cleaner so take plenty of change. Most public toilets cost a euro.
Enjoy.
What I saw were a lot of low life kids, and yes, a lot of them not speaking German, and the main thing they were doing (both years) was messing with fireworks in a way likely to cause injury to innocent people. That was the only reason I retreated behind the glass window of the station. Rockets fired horizontally across a crowd? No thank you. But there were no police to stop them. They same shit used to happen in the 90s in Prague NYE, and the main culprits then were Italian kids. They weren't seeking asylum. They were and are little tossers who could see that nobody was around with the authority to stop them behaving like tossers.
Here is my foto of Domsquare last Tuesday just before 11.
The whole thing would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.
Based on everyone's advice it looks like we've chosen a good place to go and get a mix of culture, history, football, beer and hospitality.
They guys that serve the Kölsch are called Köbes and they will keep on bringing the Kölsch until you say stop. Then they bring the bill and you are expected to leave pretty soon afterwards to make room for the next lot of customers. They can appear pretty gruff or surly, but that is only because they have to deal with pissed-up people for 7 days a week.
There is famous rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf so don't antagonise the locals by asking for an Altbier, which is what you drink when in D'dorf.
Just get stuck in and enjoy the atmosphere.
Here are some of the better breweries:
www.frueh.de
www.gaffel.de
www.muehlen-koelsch.de
www.paeffgen-koelsch.de
Enjoy.
Off topic but Cologne have amazing support. Saw them away at Munich 1860 a couple of years ago and they must have had 10k plus lots in the home end for a Sunday lunchtime game in the 2nd division. Incredible.
Shame on the Cologne police for seeking innocent scapegoats for their own incompetence and in the process ramping up the anti-refugee feeling across Europe, just to get themselves off the hook.
Cologne prosecutor Ulrich Bremer said 73 suspects have been identified so far — most of them from North Africa.
Awful 'journalism', the sort of thing you'd see in The Sun.
"They have various legal statuses, including illegal entry, asylum-seekers and asylum applicants," he said of the foreign suspects. "That covers the overwhelming majority of suspects."
Can't really call a direct quote awful journalism. Bremer clearly means most of the perpetrators are recent arrivals from the refugee crisis, most of which are economic migrants.