Visiting Cologne, Germany

If you ever come to Europe, which historical or famous cities would you wish to visit? London, Berlin, Paris? I know many historical cities in Europe, but honestly, I never dreamed of seeing them when I was young. I have a happy life with my family in The Philippines and I enjoyed visiting places through reading books.
My son was almost eight months old when we visited Berlin and I love to go back there and explore more the city where Adolf Hitler found haven but also the city where his dictatorship ended.


December last year, the world still fresh from celebrating Christmas, my husband took me and our son in Cologne or Koln in German. It was just one day and one night stay there, but the experience I have had is like a whole week of sightseeing.
My husband booked us a night stay at Hilton Cologne. We left home in the morning and we traveled by car. From home to Cologne is about three hours drive. I was excited to see Cologne. I have read Cologne in some books. Bishops in Cologne got prominence for participating in the war. Heinrich Kramer was featured on National Geographic, the churchman and inquisitor of Cologne (1430-1505). And the Cologne Cathedral or Dom is one of the main attraction of this old town.
We arrived in Cologne around one o'clock in the afternoon. A not so cold afternoon. We checked in first in Hilton Cologne, left our luggage and off to explore the city. My husband  has chosen Hilton because of accessibility. The hotel is just steps from famous sites and museum. From our room window is overlooking the Cologne Cathedral. We are surrounded by old architectures.
From Hilton Cologne we walked to the site of Cologne Cathedral. The streets are cobblestone, the ambiance is very Europe, the cathedral is gothic, l can smell how historical the place is. There are so many tourists. Once again, I also feel like a tourist.
In front of the cathedral, there are public transports for sight seeing, buses and the German Bimmelbahn, I called it "chug-chug train." We took the Bimmelbahn that will take us to the Christmas Market and Chocolate Museum. It was a really fun ride. Our son loved it. The Bimmelbahn stopped in front of the Chocolate Museum. We have time to go inside and do what we want. We kept out tickets for our ride back to the hotel. I told my husband that I do not like to go inside the Chocolate Museum, we already have many chocolates in the Netherlands. We just went up at the back of the museum, and admire the beauty of the historical architecture of the old town.
After our sightseeing, we went back to the hotel to rest and refresh before we go out again for dinner. We went out to eat dinner and walked again in the cobblestone streets. We have dinner at Nudelhaus am Dom, just at the back of the cathedral. From the restaurant you can see the view of the cathedral at night. Surreal.
My husband had the schnitzel, I have steak, and our son had a big plate of spaghetti. It was very hot in the restaurant, but they served very fast. After we eat dinner, we walked around the town. We went to the Hohenzollern Bridge where you can see millions of love locks. From there you can also see the view of the famous cathedral, in different angle. When you walk around Cologne, it is like the cathedral is walking with you. Visible almost everywhere there.
Back in the hotel, my husband and son, enjoyed the luxury of the Hilton bathtub before we sleep. That memory will be in my mind forever. When we woke up, I look outside our window and I was engulfed with happiness when I saw the sunrise penetrating at the gothic buildings. I said to myself: so, this is really Cologne. I am in Europe now.
We eat breakfast at Starbucks, in front of the cathedral. After our breakfast, we went in the souvenir shop. After souvenir shop we walked back to Hohenzollern Bridge. We passed the still closed Museum Ludwig, and I have a photo in front. It was a very beautiful morning at Hohenzollern Bridge. Sunny but cold. I do not know that my husband has love lock too for us. We locked our love lock there and when we throw our keys in the river together. With wit, I shouted: "may forever!" That is a Tagalog word for: there is forever. And we made beautiful photos there.
Going back to the hotel to check out, I saw the Cologne Central Station. The trains that are going all over Europe. Since I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was so glad when I have met some of my sisters in faith with their magazine cart in front of the cathedral. It was an experience to feel a warm hug from my German sisters in faith.
We checked out before lunchtime, we travelled again back home. We eat lunch on the road, and I have the satisfaction of visiting Cologne. It has been a real treat for me by my husband since I am a full-time mom. I made more than a hundred photos in Cologne. I never get tired of looking at them over and over again. It is really a rare opportunity to see with your own eyes places that before, you only see in the books.

Comments

  1. Bless you - an honest blogger, at last!

    Very good photos and info here.

    Good luck visiting other interesting cities with your family.

    I'm from London, but now live in a lovely little city called Most in the Czech Republic.

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    1. Hello, there +In Czech! Thank you so much for reading and for appreciation. My apology for my late reply. I have just seen your comment only by now. Please feel free to read my other blogs 😊 Good evening!

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  2. Wow, is really amazing all the things you see and do, I like traveling too, but I don't think I'd visit the town that produced A.H. Sorry, I don't like saying his name. Can't wait to see where you will go next! Greetings :-*

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    1. Hahaha! Florentina, I truly understand how you feel :) thanks for reading my blog. I can't tell, most of the times, our travels are unplanned. Good evening.

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    1. Hello there! My apology for this very late reply! Thank you for your appreciation and this knocking me to get back with my writing! Stay tuned please 😊

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