Cologne (Cologne) was almost completely destroyed as a result of the bombings of the Second World War - of all the historically significant buildings there was only one Cologne Cathedral - the symbol of the city. However, industrious Germans were able to restore the historical center, practically without losses, thanks to which there are many nice shops, cozy cafes and inviting scent of toasted brewers.
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How to get to Cologne
From the Moscow airport "Vnukovo" Germanwings company, as well as Lufthansa and Air Berlin (both companies from "Domodedovo") fly direct flights to Cologne. Flight duration about three hours.
The international airport Cologne Bonn is located approximately in the middle between these two cities - Cologne and Bonn. Get there is not difficult on the train, the journey takes 20-30 minutes, departure from early morning to evening. In the arrivals hall of Terminal 2 there is an information office where you can take a map of the city, find out everything about car rental, book a hotel and so on. Opening hours: every day from 9 am to 8 pm.
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By train
In addition, Cologne can be reached by rail. The main train station of the city accepts trains from Bonn (6-7 EUR, on the road 25 minutes), Brühl (3-4 EUR, 15 minutes), Düsseldorf (9-10 EUR, 30 minutes) and Dutch Aachen (12, 5 EUR, 1 hour). ICE high-speed trains from Berlin (90-100 EUR, 4, 5 hours), Frankfurt (50-60 EUR, 1 hour 45 minutes) and Munich (100-120 EUR, 4, 5 hours) also stop here. ±$ br >
By bus
Finally, the bus is not the last most popular form of transport. The main bus station Busbahnhof is located northeast of the station, on the Breslauer Platz square. Every day budget buses from Eurolines from Paris arrive here (about EUR 40 one way, 8 hours) and Warsaw (55 EUR, 21 hours on the way). Three times a week the bus from Prague stops here (EUR 50, 12 hours).
The cost is indicated for the summer 2011.
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Cologne's climate is
Partly cloudy, light rain +9 ° С in the day +5 ° С at night ° С water |
Overcast +8 ° С in the day +4 ° С at night ° С water |
Partly cloudy, light rain +5 ° С in the afternoon +2 ° С at night ° С water |
| Cologne weather forecast for 10 days | ||
| Average monthly temperature, ° C | ||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| in the daytime | + 4 | + 5 | + 10 | + 14 | + 18 | + 22 | + 23 | + 23 | + 19 | + 14 | + 8 | + 4 |
| night | + 0 | + 0 | + 1 | + 5 | + 8 | + 11 | + 13 | + 13 | + 10 | + 6 | + 3 | + 0 |
The climate of the northwestern part of Germany, where Cologne is located, is very variable, with a pronounced seasonality, where the temperature varies from day to day from the comfort of England to northern France. The hottest month, as a rule, is July (about 20-25 degrees Celsius), the cold one is traditionally January (the mark on the thermometer circles around the zero point).
Transport
The mix of Cologne buses, trams, ground (S-Bahn) and underground metro (U-Bahn) is operated by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg .So the fare on any type of transport is the same, tickets work the same everywhere, a ticket for one trip will cost 2, 2 EUR (or its "short" option, which allows you to drive no more than 4 stops - 1, 3 euros) ±$ br >.A travel for a day will cost 6 EUR for one and 9 EUR for 5 tourists traveling, which is logical, constantly together .You can buy a ticket in orange vending machines at stops or on board trams, before landing it must "punch" .
By taxi
The fare for a taxi is 2, 2 EUR per landing, plus 1, 45 EUR for each kilometer (night rate comes into effect from 10 pm and until 6 am, and on weekends, it is 1, 55 EUR per kilometer). In the case of ordering an official taxi by phone 2882 or 194 10, the price also includes an additional 50 euro cents.
Cycling
The city and the surrounding area is quite convenient to travel by bike. Rent a two-wheeled friend in Rent-A-Bike (Marksmanngasse) for 2/10/20 EUR per hour / day / three days. Here you can also enjoy exciting cycling tours around the city with a guide. Another rent-a-bike office with similar prices is Radstation (Breslauer Platz) at the main station.
On auto
Cologne on their own (or rented) cars can only drivers with strong nerves - the traffic here is dense .Be that as it may, it is better not to enter the city center - most of the streets here are "open" only for residents, that is, no one will forbid them to pass through them, of course, but "catch" after that a fine - easily as twice two $ The .It's all about cameras that recognize "strange" numbers: you can park or drive through some streets only to those who live on them .Parking is quite expensive, from 1 EUR per hour, so it's better to look for large hotels on the outskirts of the city, where there is free parking for customers, and to the center to get there by public transport .
Offices for car rental are on Clemensstrasse 29-31 - it's Avis and Bismarckstrasse 19-21 - it's Hertz. In addition, you can easily rent a car at the airport, where a lot of racks of international companies are located, and in the city itself, where also there are local rental companies that offer, at times, lower prices.
Kitchen and restaurants
Traditional German cuisine is a highlight of cities such as Munich, Dusseldorf and, of course, Cologne. Do not deny yourself the pleasure and go to banal European restaurants or fast food restaurants: forget about them. If you are in Germany - welcome to the authentic pubs, traditional restaurants and fragrant bakeries. Even if you do not drink beer, sit on a diet and do not like meat - you can not resist.
The main place of concentration of the most delicious and, alas, crowded restaurants - is the old town of Altstadt. What is worth trying? First of all, of course, the pork knee (Schweinshaxe - grill or Hämchen - baked) is fragrant, scrofuling, which is served with tender stewed cabbage, piquant mustard and crispy onions. Be careful, portions of such a knee can vary from 600 to 1400 grams (that is, more than a kilo), so if you are not a strong eater - order a knee for two!
In addition, traditional Halver Hahn snacks from Dutch gouda cheese, Himmel und Äd mit Flönz (meat with mashed potatoes, apple sauce and fried onions) and Dicke Bunne mit Speck are traditionally popular - boiled white beans with a good piece of roasted bacon on the top.
In general, German cuisine - it's meat, braised cabbage, beans. The food is fat and heavy, desserts also keep up with them, but looking at the healthy and radiant happiness (most likely from beer) of the faces of burghers, it is difficult to say that it can have a bad effect on health. Soups are not very popular here, but you can certainly meet them on the menu. What remains to be discussed? Oh yes, beer!
Beer, beer and brewery Cologne
Traditional Cologne beer is called "Kölsch" and is bottled in all bars and beerhouses in small glass cups Stangen, in volume 0, 2 liters. Lovers of the amber drink, do not despair! Literally from the first glass you will understand the advantage of these glasses, because thanks to them the beer always remains fresh and cold. And speed of delivery by waiters of the next misted down glass will amaze you in the stomach.
Finally, having decided to buy a couple of bottles to your room or even home, pay attention to the bottled Kölsch, as well as other popular local varieties - Reissdorf, Früh, Gaffel and Mühlen.
Now go to the main: where to drink .The number of brewery restaurants and simply beerhouses in Cologne is so great that you can walk all the night long from one to another, and not even a tenth of the $ ±.The highest concentration is in the old town of Altstadt, near the cathedral is .The most popular pub is Früh Kölsch, which is also revered for its presence and local .Looking inside, you can see the enfilade of halls that go one by one in depth, and a lot of wooden tables, behind which are satisfied guests of the restaurant .Not seeing a free table do not get discouraged: here it is considered quite appropriate to sit down to some company that does not occupy the whole table .
You can also look at the youth Hellers Brauhaus at Roonstraße at the Zülpicher Platz metro station or at Brauhaus Pütz on Engelbertstraße near Rudolfplatz. Friesenstraße is generally considered a kind of "bar counter" of Cologne, there are so many breweries and cafes here. For example, Päffgen is considered a worthy place. Also noteworthy is Mühlen near Heumarkt.
Those who are flattered by the taste and interior of medieval Germany should visit Zülpicher Straße - there are many modern pubs and cafes here, for example, Umbruch (funky) or Stiefel (punky). Finally, many stylish establishments of haute cuisine can be found in the so-called "Belgian Quarter" between Aachener Straße and Ring (something like the third ring in Moscow), for example, the famous M20 or Hallmackenreuther.
Entertainment, Excursions and Attractions Cologne
In Cologne, there are many amazing museums and temples - twelve Romanesque churches, the Gothic churches of St. Moris-im-Kapital, St. Gereon and St. Klibert .The architectural dominant of the city is, of course, the impressive Cologne Cathedral .It strikes not only the beauty of its walls from the outside, the massiveness and abundance of towers and details, but also an interior interior - striking stained-glass windows, a spiritualized atmosphere, a giant organ .The best view of the cathedral opens on the other side of the Rhine, a panoramic platform at the railway bridge .It is worthwhile to capture the photo from this place, then to buy a Post-War Cologne postcard, and to understand how much was done by the local residents to return the city to the "original face" .
In the city there are a lot of unique museums with the greatest collections .The Roman-German Museum with the unique Roman mosaic of Dionysius, the Ludwig Museum (modern art) and the museum of Walraf and Riharta with the famous art gallery, numerous theaters, the Opera and concert stage of the philharmonic orchestra, the zoo, the aquarium and the Botanical Garden are interesting..Another interesting garden is to the north of the cathedral, in a 10-minute walk along the promenade .It is a park of modern art where, along with squirrels and open-air birds, "amazing" objects and monuments created by talented artists and sculptors of our age "live".
Amusement park "Fantasyiland"
Just 15 minutes from Cologne you can get to the amusement park Fantasyiland, famous for its stunning multimedia shows and thematic cruises, the Berlin-Mexico-Paris-Beijing culinary tour, the Winter Garden variety show, the fantastic show Fire, Water and Light "," Star Parade "in theaters" Tanagra "and" Rock "," Berlin carousel ", the indispensable" Russian roller coaster "and many other attractions. Photos of Cologne (71)