July 2011
I spent 3 days here, which is, in my honest opinion, 3 days too many. It’s a city suitable for people passing by, attending the university nearby, or possibly visiting the Lindt chocolate factory, but it’s probably not worth a whole day spent here. It has a beautiful gothic Kölner Dom (cathedral), which is probably the only plus I found here. Chalk it to visiting at the wrong time of the month since the Kölner Karneval is the only thing that I would return for. The people of Cologne are known to dress up in carnival outfits and have events and parades all over the city.
I stumbled onto a children’s playground thinking this was the best thing ever. There were wooden planks everywhere, basically giving free reign and allowing the children to be as creative as they want with their playground, without hindering them with the fear of getting hurt.
Lastly, before I forget, my host kindly made this traditional Bavarian meal for me, and it’s the happiest my tummy has been for awhile. It consisted of weißwurst (sausage), rotkraut (sweet red cabbage), sauerkraut (sour white cabbage), knödel (boiled bread dumpling), and a couple slices of tomato.