COLOGNE, GERMANY

I spent 10 days in Koln in August 2008 and although I never thought of Germany as a vacation spot( I was there for medical treatment) I found the city welcoming friendly and lovely. EVERYONE gathers on the steps of the cathedral for coffee and the people watching is great on the cathedral square at the main train station. Most days someone is singing doing chalk drawings playing instruments or otherwise entertaiing near the cathedral. It's a great place to have a coffee sit with a book and just watch the world go by. Most of the tourist shopping radiates in spokes from the cathedra squarel and the restaurants and bakeries are some of the best.We took an inexpensive tourist bus around the city and went to the zoo which for zoo lovers is a "can't miss" It is one of the best in the world. There is also a tremendous miles long fleamarket on Sundays along the banks of the Rhine River. As with any country knowing a few phrases of the language is not only helpful but polite and making the effort is appreciated. My only caution about Cologne is the constant haze of cigarette smoke. EVERYONE smokes EVERYWHERE and it is impossible to avoid the smoke and the cigarette butt litter in the streets. All in all though it is a beautiful place to visit.

My daughter and I took a train from Kaiserslautern to Cologne in the winter of 2005/2006 and found it to be a wonderful place to visit. We stayed one night at a very nice hotel. We were able to recieve a discount due to my daughters stateside job at that time. We found the city to be clean and interesting. Great shops to visit and the Cathedral itself was quite a sight. Breathtaking. On my return trip with my husband I hope to go back to this city so we can enjoy it together.