After Cochem, we (I say we, it was definitely only Elliot) drove to Cologne. After our Berlin trip was cancelled last Christmas, thanks COVID, we were both really excited to visit a large German city as part of our trip.
We arrived at the campsite late afternoon and after checking the times for public transport realised that getting into the city for dinner just wasn't feasible. We'd found a brilliant pitch at the campsite, right on the Rhein, and didn't want to risk taking the van to the shop and losing our spot. So, we decided to walk.
Lidl was about 30 mins away from the site. We got there, bought all of the ingredients for pesto pasta with creme fraiche as well as plenty of snacks. As we leave the shop, it starts raining but we don't think much of it, we've both got a raincoat on. Anyway, about 5 minutes into our 30 minute walk it starts BUCKETING down with rain. I'm talking soaked the whole way through sort of rain. Our paper bag full of shopping has disintegrated before our eyes. Now, this wouldn't have been too bad if we were in a hotel for the evening but alas not. We then spent the rest of the evening cooped up in the van accompanied by the smell of our wet, soggy clothes and trainers. Deeeeelicious.
The forecast for the next morning was much better so we set an early alarm and got up and out as fast as we could. We took the bus and then a tram into the city, had a wander around the shops and then stopped for a pastry. One thing to note about Cologne is that the homeware shops are miiiiles better than the ones we have here. I genuinely could have spent hundreds in each of the shops.
After a bit more wandering we headed to the Chocolate Museum. Now, I wasn't too sure what to expect but we genuinely both thoroughly enjoyed it. We paid €16 to get in and were pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. There was a tropical garden, a working factory, people making chocolates, free samples as well as lots of boards to read and things to look at.
It'd just started to rain when we left the museum, so we headed for some lunch. Another bratwurst and beer? Of course. we then wandered around even more shops and then went to Delirium cafe. This was one I'd found on Google Maps and it was fab. They had 30 different beers on tap and I was very fond of the mango one I had. The decor was really cool and is somewhere that's 100% worth checking out if you're in Cologne.
On our way back to the tram we stopped in Lidl for some bits for dinner. Yes, we were absolutely playing a game of how many Lidl bingo. I think we almost managed to go to one in every city, lol. We then had a very chilled dinner back at the van (sheltered from the rain) and had an early night. Whilst we did manage to see a lot of Cologne, I think we'd have seen even more if the weather had been better!
Post a Comment