Cologne - Beautiful place with the Cathedral

Welcome to Cologne, the city where the cathedral spires tower over Germany's oldest city. And its innumerable cultural and historical treasures, including world- famous museums and active-art scene. Honestly, before I had arrived to Cologne, the only things that I had known about this city were Lukas Podolski and FC Koln. So, this was a good chance for me to discover this beautiful city too.

If you start your trip from Simmern by car, maybe after 1,5 hours (or less), you can arrive to Cologne. The first impression when I arrived to this city was the historical buildings. So because the historical of its, maybe some people would think Cologne was a small city with the living of the older people? A big mistake. Cologne is the largest city in the German Federal State of North Rhine - Westphalia. And one of the interesting thing is Cologne is the fourth-largest city in Germany (After Berlin, Hamburg and Munchen).

So, take a trip through 2000 years of history and visit cultural monuments from the Roman Empire to modern times.

Built from 1248 to 1880, The cathedral of Cologne is regarded as a masterwork of medieval Gothic architecture. It is one of the finest ecclesiastical edifices in the world. Actually, there is a big story about the cathedral. Even though it was built in 1248, but the Cologne cathedral was halted in 1473, leaving unfinished. But they restarted to work in 19th century and then, the cathedral was completed in 1880. But that is not all. The cathedral suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during World War II. Badly damaged, it nevertheless remained standing in an otherwise completely flattened city. The twin spires were an easily recognizable navigational landmark for Allied aircraft bombing. And one again, it was built and repaired. Repairs were completed in 1956. An emergency repair on the northwest tower's base carried out in 1944 using poor-quality brick taken from a nearby ruined building remained visible until 2005 as a reminder of the war, when it was decided to restore the section to its original appearance.

So after nearly 1,5 hours to discover about the history and the beautiful things of the cathedral, I went outside and found more things to enjoy about this city. One more advantage about the cathedral is location. It was built in the centre of the city, so if you finish the trip inside the cathedral, it will be easier for you to go around the centre of the city too. It will save a lot of time.

There are so many restaurant with Italian styles in the centre of the city. But if you don't want more pizzas or spaghetti, you can choose some Turkish restaurants and or course German restaurants with traditional beer of Cologne and some German Sausages.

When you feel enough with food and drink, now it is a good time to discover the old town and the love locks streets of Cologne. As can we know, the romantic custom is originated in Italy, but from Bremen to Cologne, I can see so many love locks streets like this. Many of them have been elaborately designed; often engraved, painted, adorned, or decorated with home-made stickers.

And yes, The Rhine panorama of the Old Town with the Cathedral, the Roman church Groß St. Martin (Great St. Martin) and the historical Town Hall has become quite popular around the world over the years. A stroll through the narrow, cobble-stoned alleys will take you back to times long ago.

Or why not take a break and enjoy the lovely scenery? Or sit down in one of the traditional breweries, called "Brauhaus" in German, and savour a "Kölsch" and a good and solid German meal?