Koln, Germany! (Cologne)

This New Year, me and my daughter Teagan went to Koln Germany. Köln is German for Cologne…

Between the beautiful Christmas markets (yeah yeah I know this post is a tad late but I have been sooo busy with my job as a Social Media Manager, family, life, etc.. but trust me this one is worth the wait..), delicious Glühwein and incredible scenery it was more than a privilege to go there.

The food at the Christmas markets were insane! My favourites were these fritters served with apple sauce. So so good, especially when the weather is freezing cold outside…

We stayed in the NH hotel right by the river  (only 5 minutes walking to the city centre) which we booked via Booking.com. The workers were very kind and the room was super cool! Maybe a little to modern for my taste, but still very nice.

One of the biggest and most stunning landmarks I have ever seen was the Cologne Cathedral (photo below). I was amazed! This gigantic gothic Catholic temple sits right in the middle of everyday life. Construction of Cologne Cathedral started in 1248 and was cut short in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880.  The cathedral is the biggest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires! Amazing I tell ya…

Every day we would walk to the centre passing by the river, filled with all kinds of boats (we may have eaten a few bratwurst rolls too..). All of the sites were super close to our hotel, as well as the Chocolate Museum. Which we visited it the second day of our visit and LOVED! The first thing you see when you enter is a store filled with an amazing chocolate selection.

There´s a tour of the museum too. In the tour you are able to see an actual replica of how production works in a Lindt factory, but also you can create your own personalized chocolate! Yeah! First, you choose between white, milk or dark chocolate and, then, three ingredients from a long list of choices. Teagan created her own and we literally gobbled it up in minutes. The view from the factory was incredible since it was right above the river. It looked (and felt) like you were on a yacht. So cool!

Before going to Cologne we discovered that it is known for it´s amazing firework show on New Years Eve. We were not dissapointed. The entire sky, during 15 whole minutes, was completely filled with the most beautiful colours and shapes I´ve ever seen! Each of us watched the spectacular explosion of lights with a glass of mint chocolate liqueur in hand that we bought at the chocolate factory store.

A truly special time with my daughter that I certainly will never forget…

Before we watched the firework show, we went to the main square (in front of the Cathedral) to soak up the vibe. It was packed full of people! There was a massive stage in the middle, on which an amazing gospel choir was singing. They were really good and everyone loved them! We then decided to go back to the hotel to see the fireworks because of what happened on New Years Eve the year before in Cologne. Maybe I was being dramatic (probably I was) but I didn´t want to take any chances since we were two females alone.

BUT all in all we had the BEST OF TIMES and I literally can´t wait to go back there again!!

Hope this post inspires you guys to go visit Koln Germany sometime soon!

Johlene

xoxo