Having felt like escaping abroad at New Years Eve for the first time, Cologne was chosen primarily on cost and a liking of churches and cathedrals. As you may know, staying anywhere often at this time of year isn’t particularly cheap. Staying in the UK is also pretty expensive for the main places, to stay, visit and travel.
My two night break inclusive of decent flights, hotel with breakfast and wifi and spending money came to circa £200. Again due to competitive prices of just £60 return, I flew out of London Stansted Airport with Lufthansa’s low cost arm Germanwings, which has taken over all of Lufthansa’s shorthaul network outside Frankfurt and Munich. Offering those cheap prices, good flight times (07:55 outwards and 18:50 return) and a modern cabin, it still offered a more personable service than a conventional low cost airline. For instance, I could still check in at a desk and be served by a person with ease without feeling like an inconvenience for considering such an option exists. There was a short delay to the flight but a lot of this was made up during the course of the journey at only an hour from London. Whats more, on the return leg I got upgraded to their Best seats, inclusive of extra legroom, personalised food and drink service and free use of the Lufthansa Business Class lounge at Cologne Airport, a real bonus never happened before!
Upon arrival at the airport I purchased a “Koln Card” guaranteeing unlimited public transport use, up to 50% off the admission fee of the city’s main museums and discounts at certain restaurants. Making use of this, I headed off to the Wallraf-Richartz Museum to see some of the more famous artists including a selection of Monet, Picasso, Liechenstein, Warhol etc. As an added bonus there was even an exhibition on Cathedrals and various paintings depicting the architecture or the religious connections, including John Constable’s painting of Salisbury Cathedral. Using the KolnCard, I was able to visit the museum for 10 Euro vs 13 Euro.
Following the museum visit I decided to visit the Koln Triangle Observation tower. At only 3 Euros entry for a 100m high view of the city, the tower provides excellent 360 degree opportunities to see the whole cityscape. The tower is positioned right opposite the Cathedral, Hohenzollernbrücke ‘Love Locks’ bridge and opera house, all of which light up at night to create a really impressive urban landscape along with the Aldstadt (Old Town).
After this point it was time to check into the sole hotel for the trip, Hotel Im Kupferkessel (http://www.im-kupferkessel.de/). Staying in a single room at the princely sum of £36 per night, inclusive of breakfast and wifi, I felt this was excellent value considering the time of stay when the hotel may inevitably be full. The place was clean, modern and with friendly standards of service. Considering its lowly 1* status, please don’t be fooled as the hotel’s Tripadvisor and Booking.com reviews speak very highly of the place to which I would readily agree. Only 10 minutes walk into the majority of the city centre and in a safe neighbourhood, (often a bugbear of many value hotels would be an unsafe location), and near to the local public transport network. With the shops opening late on the first night I took advantage of this to get on the Cologne’s underground network to travel towards a bit of retail therapy, naturally without buying much.
View from the River Rhine next to the Love Bridge.
On the top of the KolnTriangle observation tower
View from near the hotel towards the spires of the Dom.
Cologne Cathedral (Dom) at night
The city’s most iconic place is its Cathedral (Dom), the most visited attraction in Germany. Soaring at over 150m high above the city centre, it is amazing the structure survived the bombing raids of the Second World War. Its gothic architecture is impressive, with a high nave, intricate external buttresses and masses of detailing. Dark stonework, possibly influenced by the city’s industrial heritage makes the cathedral even more imposing. I would go so far to say that is the nicest one I’ve seen yet from the outside.
Aldstadt
On New Years Eve night I made my way to the Christmassy sights of the Heumarkt and the remainder of the city’s famous Christmas Markets. Inclusive of an ice rink, curling and various food and drink stores, there was a real buzz to the atmosphere whilst drinking warm hugo aperitifs and tucking into reibeckuchen (potato fritters) with apple sauce. Set to the backdrop of the cathedral, rathaus (town hall) and various Romanesque churches it all provided for a rather cosy setting. Moving on towards the Deutze Brucke Bridge to garner an ideal spot of the fireworks, the crowds soon built up towards the turn of midnight. Before the main event, people were setting off their own fireworks at random, a little unnerving at first perhaps but eventually adding to the atmosphere. What was also really nice was that the illuminated passenger boats all congregated on the river in front of the cathedral so that when the clock did strike 12 they sounded their horns. What a blaze of fireworks they were! From both sides of the river to the sound of the crowds. Its certainly not choreographed like London, Dubai or Sydney but that certainly for me did not devalue the experience. Like those places I felt that the backdrop was really impressive, but it was for a fraction of the price.
River Rhine at night just as the fireworks were to begin.
The Hohenzollernbrücke Love Locks Bridge
Heumarkt Christmas Markets and Ice Rink
In summary, Cologne was surprising as a popular yet underrated place to go and visit. Very cosmopolitan, heavily bombed during the war losing a lot of its historical significance but what remained seemed to embody the main icons of the place. In the modern rebuilt areas the city felt vibrant, youthful and energising. Perhaps best visited during December when the markets are in full swing but I had an excellent time here during the New Years Eve celebrations. Please do consider for a couple of nights stay, or as part of travel in Germany.
Chrisadvisor 