So far I have to say our European experience has gone as planned and has netted us some pretty decent travel. France, Spain, U.K., Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, among others, plus numerous trips within Germany...I think it's a good haul, even with the cancellation of some great trips (curse, you, COVID) like the south of Spain or Denmark. What is absolutely unacceptable is the fact that we have not made it to Cologne...until now, three and a half years after first moving to Germany. 

Cologne is only a two-hour drive from Frankfurt. I would even make the claim that the Autobahn between Cologne and Frankfurt in the very center of Germany may be the most frequently used motorway in the country. Getting up there is easy, whether by plane, train, or automobile. I would particularly recommend the train ride, which takes you along long stretches of the Rhein River and its dozens of medieval castles looming on the hilltops. Life in the age of Corona, however, does not always allow us to make the best decisions, only the wisest. It would be the autobahn to Cologne for us.

Cologne can be seen from far away, or more precisely the Cathedral with its huge twin towers. The Cologne Cathedral, or the Kölner Dom, might be the biggest church I have seen in Germany. You can't help but be in awe of it. The towers are almost 160 meters a pop, trailing only the cathedral in Ulm for height among Christian churches worldwide. We saw the Cathedral from a good 50 miles away, if I were to venture a guess here.

One thing I don't like is waste. Money, resources, food, you name it. Growing up in a big family will tattoo those values on your forehead pretty quickly, and that hasn't changed. So when I read that the hotel we were staying at (a nice one, but they don't need any advertisement from me here) charged 56 Euros per day for parking the car, I flinched. No, no, and nein. Let my family sleep in comfort, by all means, good food even for my cat, but I honestly doubt my car, a little old Beamer named Hambone (the name was the kids' choice) gives a rusty taillight in which underground car park it stays. I shopped around a little bit, and voila...about a quarter mile from the hotel is a car park that charges 16 Euros per day for the pleasure of leaving Hambone safe and relatively warm. 80 Euros saved. We would put that money to good use in Köln, as the Germans call it. The "drawback" is we actually have to walk a quarter-mile. I think we survived.

Cologne is one of Germany's hip cities if there is such a thing. Germany has only four cities with a million people or more, and Cologne is the smallest of them (for trivia buffs, the others are, in the proper order, Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich). Like Frankfurt, Cologne also has a high percentage of foreigners, nearly 40 percent. Cologne with the highest gay population is the undisputed gay capital in Germany and even Europe, as some might argue. Their mayor is an independent and survived an assassination attempt. Never a dull moment here.

I've known Cologne for a long time, and it is still the only dialect in Germany that I can't understand. Perhaps you have heard of the carnival in Cologne? Kölsch beer? The Rhein river? Well, one at a time. With our car parked and our backpacks stored away, it's time for a walk. A long walk.