Saturday, February 20, 2016

2014 Germany Trip - Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) (UNESCO World Heritage)

Location: Cologne, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:


To say that Cologne Cathedral is one of the most recognizable churches in the world is an understatement; it is a symbol of Cologne itself. It impresses onto visitors even before they stepped out of Cologne’s main train station, the structure dominating the view when one looks out of the glass wall. Check out the top sights of Germany on the Internet and it is not difficult to find it within any top 10 list of sights in Germany.

Exterior view of Cologne Cathedral

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

2014 Germany Trip - 1 Day Trip to Cologne (Köln)

Location: Cologne, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:


Of all the German towns and cities that I have visited during my stint in Germany, Cologne is the only one I frequented the most. Not even Frankfurt, the closest metropolis to my workplace came close in frequency. And no, it was not because I like Cologne. It was because that was the most convenient meeting point between my friend closer to the north and me who was stationed at the south.

I presumed that most people would link the perfume Eau de Cologne, which is also known simply as cologne, to the city. In fact it is more of a reason for people to recognize the city than the iconic Cologne Cathedral. Although there are more to the historic city than these two, they remained the most impressionistic.

'The' Cologne - Eau de Cologne. If you are wondering why the perfume is named so, this is the place to visit - Number 4711, the plot of shop which created this perfume in 1709.

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To the interested readers, here is my 1 day itinerary in Cologne - which could be done under 6 hours. Click into each link to visit the dedicated post to the place of interest.

Morning: 
  • arrive in Cologne Hbf (main train station) around 11 a.m. 
  • visit Cologne Cathedral, climb 533 steps to get a panoramic view of Cologne (1 - 2 hour, take your time here as it could be quite crowded sometimes) 

Noon: 
  • enjoy lunch in Haxenhaus (1 hour) 
  • stroll along Hohenzollern bridge, took some shots of the love locks and the rider statues (<1 hour) 
  • ride up KölnTriangle to get a panorama of Cologne (1 hour, maybe less, dependent on queue, may skip if you are not interested) 
  • took some shots of Cologne Messe-Deutz train station (<0.5 hours, may skip this) 
  • got back to cathedral side of the river bank, and strolled around the Altstadt (old town), although most of the buildings are no longer original (1 - 2 hours)
  • day ends and head back to my point of origin 

I did not visit the 12 Romanesque churches, but the interested tourist could look for the few closest to Cologne main train station. This could be a better alternative to most than my trip to the opposite side of the river to explore Panorama and Cologne Messe-Deutz train station since the latter were more of a personal exploration.
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