We had originally planned to go to Munich to experience Christmas markets, beer and German food. Unfortunately, a Lufthansa pilots' strike meant that our flights were cancelled - the day before we were due to fly out. Luckily, after some frantic Googling and booking, we managed to get some affordable flights to Cologne - to experience Christmas markets, beer and German food.
This was a short trip - we'd both run out of annual leave at work, so it was a Friday evening to Sunday evening trip. And Cologne (Köln in German) didn't disappoint.
First, Cologne Cathedral is gargantuan and impressive. It's one of the tallest cathedrals in the world, with its spires reaching 157m into the sky. It took several hundred years of on again, off again construction to finish it, from the 1200s to the 1800s. And with its dark stone it looms quite imposingly over the whole city.
The Christmas markets were really impressive and we visited seven of them scattered throughout the city centre. Its only when you get to Germany that you fully appreciate that Germany is the home of Christmas. The markets were spectacularly lit up and you couldn't help but feel the Christmas spirit - even (or especially) when the dark spires of Cologne Cathedral towered above.
Being Christmas, mulled wine (gluhwein) was in order. Each Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) had its own design of gluwein mug, and if you wanted to forgo your 2 euro deposit for the mug, you could take them with you. So we now have a collection of seven mugs in our kitchen for mulled wine, coffee or anything else.
The markets also had some amazing food. We had: bratwurst, currywurst (bratwurst covered in curry sauce), schupfnudeln (thick noodles with cheese and sauerkraut), apple strudel, potato cakes with apple sauce, and lebkuchen (tasty gingerbread).
Thanks for a great weekend, Koln!
This was a short trip - we'd both run out of annual leave at work, so it was a Friday evening to Sunday evening trip. And Cologne (Köln in German) didn't disappoint.
First, Cologne Cathedral is gargantuan and impressive. It's one of the tallest cathedrals in the world, with its spires reaching 157m into the sky. It took several hundred years of on again, off again construction to finish it, from the 1200s to the 1800s. And with its dark stone it looms quite imposingly over the whole city.
The Christmas markets were really impressive and we visited seven of them scattered throughout the city centre. Its only when you get to Germany that you fully appreciate that Germany is the home of Christmas. The markets were spectacularly lit up and you couldn't help but feel the Christmas spirit - even (or especially) when the dark spires of Cologne Cathedral towered above.
Being Christmas, mulled wine (gluhwein) was in order. Each Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) had its own design of gluwein mug, and if you wanted to forgo your 2 euro deposit for the mug, you could take them with you. So we now have a collection of seven mugs in our kitchen for mulled wine, coffee or anything else.
The markets also had some amazing food. We had: bratwurst, currywurst (bratwurst covered in curry sauce), schupfnudeln (thick noodles with cheese and sauerkraut), apple strudel, potato cakes with apple sauce, and lebkuchen (tasty gingerbread).
Being Germany, we of course had to try some beer. Germany is famous for its beer purity laws called Reinheitsgebot dating from 1516 onwards, which limit beer to four ingredients: malted grains, hops, water and yeast. While in Cologne we had a lot of Kolsch, a type of beer specific to the city. It's a very light, crisp lager, served in tiny, light 200ml glasses so you always have it fresh. In the beer halls the waiters will constantly refill with a fresh glass, marking the number of glasses you have on your beer mat, and you pay at the end.
We managed to squeeze in four beer halls which served their own brewed beer: Fru am Dom, Brauerie zur Malmuhle, Brauhaus Sion, and Lommerszheim - where we also had an exceptional meal of delicious, rich pork knuckle. And we had a couple of kolsches in the markets too.
Thanks for a great weekend, Koln!
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