Join us in Cologne to see the top Cologne attractions and find out the best things to do in Cologne in 1 day! We explore the famous Cologne Cathedral, Kolsch in Cologne, and other places in this Cologne travel vlog to answer the question if 1 day in Cologne is enough?
✨ One Day in Düsseldorf, Germany Vlog: https://youtu.be/6AZQIKGvsDc
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⏩ CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
0:13 Cologne Cathedral
1:37 Cologne Cathedral Tower
3:39 Kolsch 1
5:03 Cologne Street Food
6:22 Kolsch 2
8:06 Is 1 Day in Cologne Enough?
🤔 WHO IS MY TRAVEL BF?
We are Mike and Becca, two passionate travelers who love traveling deep and experiencing a place through its food, history, and culture.
#colognegermany #cologne #germanytravel
We are here in Cologne, Germany for the day on a little day trip to find out whether Cologne is worth visiting for a day and of course if you come and visit, what you should do. Follow us along to find out. Now, the first thing you’re absolutely hit with when you exit the Hoffbon here in Cologne is the cathedral. And that’s because it is massive. It’s actually the tallest twin towered cathedral in the world. The towers stand about 515 ft tall or 137 m. and it’s hard to even get all of it in a photo. One thing I love is that to enter, it’s completely free. So, we went in and I was shocked by how big it is on the inside. Where a regular cathedral’s roof is, it actually goes up a whole other section, almost like double the size of a regular cathedral’s heist on the inside and has a second level of stained glass windows. It’s remarkable and it’s amazing because it is free to enter. So, why not do it when you’re here? Now, another fun fact about it is that inside way behind the altar in the back, which was closed when we went in, is apparently the bodies of the three wise men. So whether you believe that or not, it’s definitely an interesting fact and something to at least see, even if from a distance when you’re here. Now, one thing that’s remarkable is while a lot of Cologne was destroyed during the war, the cathedral actually wasn’t. And that’s because allegedly the other countries that were bombing Germany used it as a landmark to bomb the city. So they decided to spare the cathedral because it was such a good landmark to target the rest of Cologne. So a little bit odd, but I’m glad it saved this wonderful building. [Music] Okay, so I’m going to head up to the top of the spire. It looks like a long way up there. So let’s see how it goes. [Music] Okay, so it looks like there’s a final ascent up to the top. It’s been quite a lot of stairs until now and we only got a little bit to go. One thing I will say is that you can only bring a small backpack or not a lot of stuff with you. And it’s nice actually I guess today that obviously Nico can’t do this with us. So we decided to trade off. So I left all my stuff with Mike. I’m going up first and then he’ll come back later. [Music] So, from this part, you can see just how detailed those spires are. They’re incredible. And wow, it’s just really cool to see. It’s just really cool to see this up close. [Music] So, I didn’t know if we were going to get a view of the city because of the way that it kind of looks when you reach the top, but I’m going to say that it is well worth the the €8. Now, Colon itself isn’t that pretty to look at, but with the the church and the spires and then looking down below, it’s it’s worth it. [Music] [Music] I’m heading back down now. Lots of way to go, but it was again well worth it. Well worth the view. Well worth the details. You could see these like angels or saints like tucked into the architecture above. It was just so cool to see. It is a little bit crowded today, but I guess that is what we get for coming the week before Easter. So, there’s lots of people here. It wasn’t too bad at the top, but just lots of people coming down and going up at the same time. So, something to think about. [Music] The city of Cologne is best known for their kulch beer. So, let’s head to Peter’s Brow House to try some out. So, we just got out of Peter’s Brow House, and we were really excited to try a local brewery here in Cologne that served the Kohish beer. and of course have some food. Now, while I will say the beer was really good, we were actually a little bit disappointed in number one, the service, and that’s just because honestly the beers didn’t come around fast enough. I definitely would have had at least a second one, but the service was pretty slow and they weren’t actually that busy, which was quite a shock compared to the breweries in Dusseldorf, which came around really quick and serves a rival beer to the Kulch here in Cologne. If you missed our Dusseldorf video, you can check it out right above at the link. And make sure to like, comment, and subscribe if you’re liking videos like this one. Plus, we will say along with the service, the food was just so so it really wasn’t that great. The shasha Becca had came out actually like lukewarm, I would say, and some parts were even cold. It just wasn’t very good for the €18 price you had to pay for it. So, we would say go there for the beer, skip the food there. But, we’re gonna at least check out one more brewery while we’re here in Cologne to see if maybe that was just a bad experience. But there are other ones here worth visiting. And if there’s one you recommend here in Cologne, make sure to let us know. Since our appetites definitely weren’t satisfied, we had to stop and try some of Cologne’s most famous street food, potato pancakes. [Music] Okay, so we just got some potato pancakes and we got the large portion. It was 550, but then we got two sauces. So, applesauce and a garlic sauce. I’m going to try it right now with the garlic sauce cuz it’s already like halfway dipped in there. Oh my gosh. As you can probably hear me crunching away, the outside is like really crunchy, really good, and then it’s nice and soft on the inside. The garlic sauce is an interesting combo actually because I am used to having it with applesauce. So, I’m going to try that one next. That is a delicious sweet and salty combo. Classic. I think I would prefer the applesauce, but they’re both really good. I would suggest I don’t know getting another one to try. There was like a chili sauce, a honey sauce, like a herb sauce. So, definitely something to get while you’re in Cologne. With high hopes just waiting to be dashed, we decided to pop into another brewery in Cologne to try some of their Kulch beer. So, we are currently here at Fur Brewery here in Cologne and we got another one of their Kohl’s beers. I love these little glasses they come out in. I believe they’re called Shanga. It’s just a super clear beer. You can see it right here on camera. come in these 200ml glasses, so they’re small and of course they’ll keep pouring them unless you put your coaster on the top. So, can’t wait to try this one out. [Music] It’s really nice. Smooth. Has just a little bit of a hot bite. It tastes pretty light, but not like a light beer from the US. It’s really good. I could see just sitting on a nice summer day almost outside instead of inside like today and really just enjoying it. So, of course, here at the brewer, we had to get a traditional snack to go along with the kul beer that’s almost finished now. And I got the helvrahan, which is a super traditional snack here. It’s rye bread with gura cheese, mustard, and onions. And I’m really excited to give it a go. It sounds not like something I’d traditionally order, but when in Germany, when in Cologne, why not? [Music] Very oniony, but the guda cheese and the mustard is really good on here. Oh, and a little bit of butter. Actually, a lot of bit of butter. Something I would highly recommend getting when you come to Cologne because why not get something traditional when you’re traveling somewhere? [Music] So now of course at my travel BFF we have to answer the question is a day trip to Cologne Germany worth it? And we are going to say one absolutely it’s worth it but number two is you can probably cover most of the main sites including the center the cathedral and of course the breweries for the kul beer easily within a day. That’s because everything is so packed close together that it’s really easy to get to by foot and it’s easy to hop between sites quickly. Therefore you don’t necessarily need to spend a night here. Now, I’m sure there are really cool neighborhoods and excellent spots in Cologne that we missed that we did not see within this day trip, and I’m sure you would be able to see those overnight. Now, if there are things we missed and we need to come back to, make sure to let us know in the comments. So, while I got you here, make sure to check out our other videos around Germany. And we got to go catch our train. So, we’ll see you over at those other videos. Bye. [Music]
8 Comments
the bones of the three wisemen came to Köln on July, 23rd, 1164 and a gold reliquie was made for the bones, itsself a great work of art.. Köln became very rich due to the large numbers of prilgrims coming into Köln to see the reliquie, in fact the Choir room was built in Gothic style to allow the pilgrims to walk around behind the altar to get a short view of the "golden box". The "Roman Museum" next to the Cathedral is also most interesting and in a couple of years Nico will enjoy looking at the old Roman things found below the present city of Köln. And of course you must join in on the celebrations in Köln on "Rosenmontag", a much better "Mardi gras" than in New Orleans. This is very popular with children, watching the parade and catching the Candy being thrown from the floatd. It is wild but not dangerous.
I guess you really like beer! 😆
Fun review! That cathedral is spectacular.
Unfortunately, we must dispel a myth:
Cologne Cathedral was by no means protected from bombing as a "valuable landmark" during World War II. In fact, due to its location near the main train station and the railway bridge, it was located in one of the central bombing ranges.
In fact, the cathedral was severely damaged by approximately 70 bomb hits, including 14 heavy aerial bombs. Of the 22 vaults in the nave and transept, nine were destroyed and six were severely damaged. The gable of the northern transept collapsed; all window tracery was damaged. In November 1943, an explosive bomb tore a hole approximately 10 meters high in the corner pillar of the north tower, which was of significant structural importance. The hole was therefore walled up with a brick filling during the war, which remained visible as the so-called Cologne Cathedral seal until 2005.
According to experts, there were several reasons why the cathedral did not collapse:
Fires caused by incendiary bombs were immediately extinguished by men from the cathedral workshop and volunteers stationed in and on the cathedral. The roof remained intact thanks to the stability of the iron truss. The air pressure caused by the explosion of air mines was able to escape through the large, Gothic windows. Some of the tremors were absorbed by the exceptionally deep foundation.
Cologne in World War II:
The first bombs fell on Cologne in World War II on June 18, 1940. The British RAF Bomber Command intensified its air campaign starting in 1942. At the end of May 1942, Cologne was the target of the first raid, "Operation Millennium," with over 1,000 bombers. On June 29, 1943, the city was hit hard by Royal Air Force aircraft at night and by USAAF bombers during the day. The area bombing left over 90 percent of the city center destroyed, and Cologne Cathedral was severely damaged. On March 2, 1945, a few days before the US Army invaded, the last of a total of 262 air raids on the city took place.
For this reason, Cologne never regained its pre-war architectural splendor. Large parts of today's Old Town were rebuilt in the original style, partly using the old, burnt-out facade shells. After this, it was particularly important to quickly rebuild housing, and this is still reflected today in the often simple, often concrete facades, which are only slowly being replaced by more modern architecture. The old pre-war houses, predominantly Art Nouveau, are often loosely interspersed among the buildings from the 1950s to 1970s.
Cologne is therefore known less for its cityscape than for its open and friendly society. Since its founding as a Roman oppidum and later city, it has always been a meeting place for trade and travelers. From a wealthy, free imperial city in the Middle Ages to today's metropolis and university city, Cologne is a center for art and education, as well as a melting pot of many cultures.
Enjoyed Cologne? Check out our video on its rival neighbor Düsseldorf👉 https://youtu.be/6AZQIKGvsD
You missed Cologne's 13 romanesque churches. I recommend St. Gereon with its unique dome and St. Ursula with the Golden Chamber (countless bones on the wall).
Of course its overrated….they got the Dom thats it. Lol. Just kidding😅😅😅😅😅…
I am planning 3 nights in cologne. Is that too long?