Hallo, Wunderschönes Köln!

Sunday marked our final day in Paris, and the city decided to send us off with more rain. We made our way to Galeries Lafayette, which is really less a department store and more a cluster of four enormous shopping complexes spread over multiple blocks. Founded in 1893, the flagship store is famous for its sweeping art nouveau balconies and iconic glass dome, a 141-foot architectural gem completed in 1912. Unfortunately, the weather had drawn half of Paris inside with us – so much so that we had to queue up just to ride the escalators from floor to floor! The crowds were so insane we couldn’t get anywhere near the glass walkway on the seventh floor that juts out over the six floors below and sits just under a gorgeous stained glass dome. Even so, catching glimpses of the golden ironwork and jeweled glass was a sight to see.

We picked up some gorgeous, but albeit pricey, cherries and kiwi for our train ride, grabbed a quick bite at a nearby Italian spot, then headed back to our hotel to pack up and prepare for the next chapter of our winter adventure.

Monday morning arrived all too quickly as we bid adieu to beautiful Paris. We took the express train north, a three-and-a-half-hour ride that carried us through countryside of France, then Belgium, before crossing into Germany.

We arrived in Cologne just after midday and walked the short distance from the station to our hotel, the lovely Excelsior Ernst. After dropping our bags, our first German meal was calling, so we headed to Brauhaus Früh, where we experienced a glimpse into Cologne’s beer culture. The servers delivered our drinks in curiously tiny, cylindrical glasses. More about these glasses later!

Afterward, we met our private guide, Sander, for an afternoon walking tour of Cologne’s historic city center. Our first stop was at the remains of a Roman wall and gateway, dating back to when Cologne became a Roman colony in 50 AD. The ancient stone archways were a reminder of just how many eras this city has lived through.

We continued past the striking modern façade of Museum Ludwig, home to one of Germany’s largest collections of contemporary and 20th-century art, including one of the biggest Picasso collections in Europe. Near one of the museum’s entrances, Sander pointed out a small, bright yellow banana spray-painted high on the wall. This, he explained, is the work of local artist Tomas Baumgärtel, who began tagging cultural buildings (museums, galleries, artists’ studios, etc.) with banana graffiti in the late 1980s. His signature icon was also meant to reinforce that art was, in fact, still alive and well in a city known historically for its cultural arts.

Next, we stopped at Cologne’s Town Hall, notable for its elaborate medieval tower adorned with more than a hundred stone statues representing civic leaders, archbishops, and other historical figures. Among them, Sander told us, is one particularly disliked medieval archbishop, Konrad Von Hachstaden, immortalized in a statue whose supporting base depicts a graphic, vulgar gesture. According to Sander, the locals still appreciate this centuries-old act of artistic revenge!

Nothing prepares you for the moment you first enter the open plaza next to the Cologne Cathedral, known to Germans as the Kölner Dom, with its twin spires rising like dark, jagged mountains against the sky. Officially named Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus und Maria, construction began in 1248, but the famously laid-back spirit of Cologne (quite unlike their industrious stereotypical Prussian friends) meant work slowed, paused, and sputtered along for centuries. It wasn’t completed until 1880, more than 600 years later. For a brief moment after its completion, the cathedral was actually the tallest building in the world. It also rivals Düsseldorf’s own landmarks – a friendly rivalry that still pops up between the two neighboring cities. Today the cathedral remains one of Europe’s most iconic gothic structures, housing precious relics such as the Shrine of the Three Kings (said to contain the bones of the three wise men who traveled to witness Jesus’ birth). The shrine and this incredible cathedral draws millions of visitors annually. More on this iconic landmark tomorrow, after we tour the interior.

After circling the cathedral and hearing more of Sander’s hilarious storytelling (including one tale of gnomes coming from the forests to do the work of locals, while the locals themselves hid away in pubs to drink beer all day), we made our way to Peters Brauhaus for the classic Cologne afternoon ritual: kölsch and sweets. This is where we learned why those tiny glasses exist. Kölsch, the crisp, bright beer that originated here, is meant to be enjoyed fresh and cold. So instead of steins, locals drink from slender glasses, or stangen. The servers, known as Köbes, wear blue shirts and carry enormous round trays (called kränze) with handles and circular cutouts that hold multiple glasses. They mark refills on your coaster, until you signify you are done by placing your coaster on top of your glass!

Alongside this lively beer service, we enjoyed delicious apfelstrudel (apple strudel) and the house-favorite windbeutel mit vanille-eis und kirschen – a flaky pastry puff filled with vanilla ice cream, paired with whipped cream and tart cherries. Köstlich (delicious)!

To wrap up our time with our ever-humorous guide Sander, we wandered through several of the nearby Christmas markets. Cologne takes its markets seriously. There are 26 scattered across the city, each with its own theme, personality, and culinary temptations. We were surprised to learn that Cologne is actually Germany’s fourth-largest city, behind Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, and its Christmas markets are consistently rated in the top 5 markets in all of Europe.

Our favorite moment of the day came as we stepped into the main square again. Seeing the illuminated cathedral against the dark night sky as a backdrop to the twinkling lights of the Christmas markets below was a beautiful sight. A perfect way to end our first day in Germany.