Up way too early this morning to catch our train from Berlin to Cologne. It was still dark and -1C as we dragged our luggage back to Eberswalder Straße and on to the U2+U8 back to the Hauptbahnhof. Thankfully we made it comfortably, with time at Hbf to buy some breakfast pastries. Coffee eluded us however, owing to a fuck up at the ironically named "Einstein Koffee". Consequently, we were gagging for caffeine as we clambered aboard ICE652 bound for Cologne.
 |
| ICE652 to Cologne. |
Finally ensconced, it was quite a pleasant 4 and a half hours to Cologne. I sat writing this treatise and didn't notice the time passing at all. After an hour or so we did go in search of coffee, and after traversing approximately 1000 carriages up to the head of the train, we finally found the dining wagon and purveyor of said.
Warm, caffeinated and somewhat rested, we finally pulled into Cologne and detrained. This was my first time in Cologne and I had no idea what to expect, but that first view of Cologne Dom as you step out of the Hbf is nothing short of awe inspiring. Now I have no interest in the fairy stories concerning jeebus and his cronies, but fuck me. That thing is truly inspiring. 600 years to build, and it just rises out of the city like a monolith. Literally jaw dropping.
 |
| Cologne Dom. Truly awe inspiring. |
We found our hotel "Eden Hotel Früh am Dom" (attached to brauhaus Früh), and checked in. Unfortunately there was an awful smell in our room when we got up there, so we got it changed (the folks at reception were very good about it). The stink taken care of, Eben went off to meet his mate from school Rowan, while we went in search of lunch. My research had recommended Peter's Brauhaus as a good place to eat, so we headed in that direction. We had to wait in line for a table, but after 15 minutes or so we were finally seated. Some schnitzel and bier #35 of the trip - Peters Kolsch was procured in short order.
 |
| Bier #35 - Peters Kolsch! |
 |
| Peter's Brauhaus Cologne. Busy. |
To be honest, the kolsch was a little dry and a little bitter on the back end for me. A little too "Tooheys New" if you know what I mean. It didn't stop me having 3 rounds but still. After our lunch we rolled out of Peters and headed back to the Dom for a closer look. It really is impressive, and the level of detail just blows your mind. Just the number of carved figures inside the lower archways is amazing, not to mention the gargoyles. It seems almost fractal - the closer you look the more your eyes uncover.
We wandered around inside for a little while to marvel at the stained glass and the absolutely enormous pillars. The number of people in and around the Dom was astounding, I thought the number of touristen in Berlin was large, but Cologne seems to be another order of magnitude again - I guess the number of sights are fewer and located in a smaller area.
After the Dom we were literally freezing our nuts off. We went back to the hotel to fish out our warm clothes and Clau stayed for a rest. Katrina and I set off to find the fiskmarkt district.
 |
| Great St Martin's Church adjacent to Fischmarkt. |
We found the fischmarky district but it was tacky as hell. Touristy as fuck - catering, I can only presume, for the Rhine river cruise boats that pull in here constantly. The only highlight was Great St Martin's Church sticking up out of the tacky neon restaurant signs.
We wandered a little and happened on quite a large Christmas market that was still operating. Quite a surprise as the market in front of the Dom had been dismantled already. We hurried back to the hotel to collect Clau and then checked it out. Still no porcelain houses, and disappointingly no Lebkuchen, but a very interesting market. There was ice skating and hurling in the middle of all!
 |
| Some Christmas markets in Cologne still active |
After walking the market we headed back to hotel, collected Eb, and went for dinner at brauhaus Früh. Sooo much nicer than Peter's Brauhaus! This was a building built back in 1620 and it was so nice to just exist in the space. We immediately ordered a round of bier #36 for the trip - Früh Kolsch and were rewarded with a much more superior product than what we got at Peters. Yummo!!
 |
| In Brauhaus Früh |
 |
| Bier #36 -Brauhaus Früh Kolsch |
We were still pretty full from our schnitzel at lunch, but we hunkered down for more food. I consumed a Bratwurst and Pommes in short order. While Katrina and Clau retired to the room early, Eb and I continued on to 5 rounds of kolsch - much smoother and less bitter that Peters - before retiring ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment