We flew from Zagreb to the Frankfurt airport where we could catch the train directly from Frankfurt to Cologne. But the train number Lufthanza gave us didn’t match the number in the train station, so we waited for an hour, missed the right train, learned what went wrong, and then had to purchase new tickets and wait another hour for the next train. So we arrived rather late in Cologne and taxied to our apartment. We were met and greeted warmly by Roland and Walter, our Air B&B hosts. They led us up the five floors (101 steps) to our apartment, a large studio with a clean, modern design, and a wonderful patio view over the city of Cologne.
Our time in Cologne was all about three things: Romanesque churches, Brauhauses & Kölsch Beer, and, of course, Christmas Markets.
The Cologne Cathedral, Church of St. Peter. (Auf Deutsch, Kölner Dom)
As you leave Cologne’s train station, you are immediately overwhelmed, looking up at the huge cathedral at the center of town. It’s a magnificent example of the Gothic style. With twin spires reaching 157 meters, this is one of the tallest churches in the world, and the largest Gothic church in northern Europe. It is called the Kölner Dom, or just the Dom. Although the Christian community here can be traced back to the 4th century, the “Old Cathedral” wasn’t built and consecrated until 870. The foundation stone of a new cathedral was laid in 1248, but construction continued for centuries. It includes a Chapel of the Three Kings, for certain relics of the Magi (the three kings who visited baby Jesus at the nativity) that were donated to Cologne in 1164.
12 Romanesque Churches
Like most European cities, Cologne is filled with churches. But Cologne is especially proud of their twelve Romanesque churches, all within the Altstadt, or Old Town of Cologne. These are very old churches with history going back to the Roman Empire. Each church has its own story to tell. St. Cecilia now houses a lovely museum of Medieval Art, but the others are still working Roman Catholic churches. We visited each one, appreciating their beauty and surprised by how different they were, even from one another.
The term “Romanesque” refers to an architectural style most easily recognized by semicircular arches, in contrast to the pointed arches favored in the Gothic style. Despite their antiquity, many of these churches don’t look that old. Over the years they’ve been destroyed, neglected, rebuilt and re-modeled. Most suffered significant damage during WWII as German cities were bombed by the Allies. But their reconstruction has beautifully retained and enhanced their original Romanesque design. Here are photos of each of the Romanesque Churches. It was a wonderful quest for us – to visit each one. Most often we would sit for a few minutes and take in the simple beauty and the spirit within each of these holy places.
St. Gereon (est. Before 612) This was one of my favorite of the twelve Romanesque churches
St. Aposteln (est. 9th century)
St. Severin (est. 4th century)
St. Cecilia (est. 9th century)
St. Kunibert (est. 1247)
St. Georg (est. 11th century)
St. Andreas (est. 974)
Gross (Great) St. Martin (est. 10th century)
St. Pantaleon (est. by the 10th century)
St. Maria im Kapitol (est. 690)
St. Maria Lyskirchen (est. 948)
St. Ursula (est. Early 5th century)
Food and Drink in Cologne
The BrauHaus: In contrast to the small, intimate restaurants and outdoor dining we enjoyed in Zagreb, Germans serve big, hearty meals in big, multi-roomed Brauhauses. We visited a Fruh Brauhaus just down from the Cathedral (the “Dom”). “Fruh” is the name of the brewery sponsoring this restaurant. We really enjoyed our BrauHaus meal here: Evan loved his sauerbraten with red cabbage and potato dumplings, while Sara enjoyed “Himmel und Ääd ” – which basically means “Heaven and Earth” and consists of black pudding, fried onions, and mashed potato with apple sauce. Our days in Cologne featured many more BrauHauses, but this meal remains one of our favorites.
Kölsch – The Beer You Drink in Cologne: When you order beer at the BrauHaus in Cologne, you get Kölsch. Each brewery has its own BrauHauses in town, and the only beer they offer is Kölsch. You’ll have to go elsewhere if you want a choice of various brews.
Kölsch is brewed warm, using top-fermenting yeast, and then brought to cold temperatures. It is bright and clear like a lager. Originating in Cologne, the term Kölsch is carefully protected within the EU. It must be brewed, according to strict guidelines, within 50 km of Cologne. But the EU protections on the term Kölsch are not recognized outside the EU, so breweries in the USA may and do call their brews Kölsch.
Kölsch is served in tall, narrow glasses holding only 6.8 fluid ounces of beer. When you ask for beer, you’ll get your Kölsch on a coaster, and the waitress will mark 1 on the coaster. When she sees your glass empty, she’ll replace it with another full Kölsch, whether you’ve asked for it or not, and she’ll mark your coaster again, thus keeping track of how many you’ve had. If you want no more, you must place the coaster on top of your empty glass to signal that you’re done.
So why Kölsch in these tiny glasses, while the rest of Germany specializes in huge beer steins and mugs? I never found an official answer, but perhaps it’s just to keep the beer fresher and colder.
Christmas Markets
What do German Christmas Markets offer? Small booths beautifully decorated with lights and garlands to create a Christmas vibe that is hard to resist. Entertainment on outdoor stages.
- To Eat: bratwurst, sausages, spätzle, chocolates, cookies, gingerbread, pretzels, donuts, fudge, cheese, meats, soup, crepes, waffles,
- To Drink: gluhwein (hot, spiced wine) in souvenir mugs. [You can keep the mug or return it for a refund of 2-4 €], beer, punch, coffee.
- To Buy: All kinds of Christmas ornaments and decorations; handmade children’s toys, jewelry, cold winter clothing: scarves, gloves, mittens, hats, even sweaters and jackets.
- To Enjoy: rides for the children, Ferris Wheels or carousels, play areas. Entertainment for the adults, live music on stage or just playing in the market.
No doubt we missed some of the smaller markets further outside of town, but we visited as many as we could. Here’s a list of markets we visited, from large to small.
- Am Dom, Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner Dom: This large market next to the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) had a large stage and scheduled entertainment in the evenings. It was always busy and crowded. A Covid nightmare, of course, so we cruised through very quickly just a few times, preferably during the day when it wasn’t so crowded.
- Heizel’s Winter Market in Heumarkt: Known as the House Elves market, this was the biggest and best in Cologne from our point of view. Booths and entryways are beautifully decorated with “Heinzelmännchen,” the House Elves everywhere. With an ice skate rink next to a bar, you can skate while enjoying your Gluhwein.
- The Angel’s Market at Neumarkt Square: A medium sized market decorated with the “Angels” theme. You’ll see an occasional Angel walking the market.
- Stadtgarten Christmas Market in the Belgian Quarter: Smaller but cozy and friendly with good food and plenty of drink options.
- Nicholas Village Christmas Market in Rudolfplatz: We especially loved the singing moose at the entryway to this quaint market.
- Heavenue just down from Rudolfplatz: Small, but very colorful with an emphasis on evening entertainment. We were told it was the “gay” Christmas Market, but open and welcoming to all.
- Cologne Harbor Christmas Market by the Chocolate Factory on the Rhine River. Lots of fun just outside the huge Chocolate Museum. Here we discovered Flammlachs, salmon grilled over a wood fire, and served with sauce as a sandwich or in a bowl. Delicious! (PS: the Chocolate Museum was fun and delicious as well.)
- Chlodwigplatz: Near St. Severin’s Church we stumbled into this, one of many smaller but still lovely markets offering the standard fare.
We loved the Christmas markets in Cologne! SO many photos! It was hard to choose which ones to share.
Below are a few videos from the Christmas Garden Köln. Each are about 1 minute. The first one is amazing – the images created by light are unbelievable.
