Cologne 🇩🇪

The morning started with another big breakfast; a classy European feast in Funk Haus. Multiple plates of meats, cheeses, breads and fruit – what more could you want! The OJ was even served in wine glasses.

The first place you have to visit in Cologne is its magnificent cathedral; said to be Germany’s most visited attraction and the tallest twin spired church in the world. It’s free to enter so a walk around the inside is definitely worth it to see the impressive interior and stained glass windows.

The next must do in Cologne is walk across the Hohenzollern Bridge – the busiest railway and pedestrian bridge in Germany. Also famous for the ridiculous amount of padlocks attached to it! The views of the cathedral on the other side are fantastic. Whilst on this side of the bridge it is definitely worth heading up the Cologne triangle for 360° views of the city.

Due to no cafe at the top of the triangle, and us always being hungry, we headed to the Lindt cafe for a hot chocolate and cake. There is an option to go around the chocolate museum, however once you’ve done Cadbury World.. you’ve basically done them all 😉

It was then time to check out the markets, and Cologne has loads to offer as they are dotted all around the city. All of them offer something slightly different and there are plenty of activities to enjoy, such as ice skating and curling. This market experience was all about cheese – we had raclette and cheese and mushroom panini topped with sour cream. We were treated to a brass band playing Christmas music and it was just a lovely atmosphere.

As we were walking back to the hotel we heard some interesting music coming from a pub, so decided to head in to see what it was all about. It certainly was interesting! Papa Joe’s Jazz Lokal was full of bizarre pictures of naked women, quirky antiques and musical marionnetes that will play a tune for some cheeky Euros. We had no idea what was being played half the time, but the German’s were singing along and having the best time. Mark got his first stein of the trip, which was half froth! The perfect way to finish today was a trip to Maccies to add to our World Tour – shrimps and peppered chips. Absolutely delish.

We’ve really enjoyed Cologne! There’s enough tourist attractions to keep you going for a few days, loads of bars and restaurants, 100s of shops and the Christmas markets were just magical.