A cozy farewell to Cologne

I woke up to a colder, cloudier morning—quite the contrast to yesterday’s sunshine—but that wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying my last full day in Cologne.

I left the apartment early to make time for a quick stop at Kaffeesaurus before breakfast. Located at Friesenplatz, it’s a favorite for coffee lovers and brunch-goers alike. They roast their own beans, and the place was already buzzing with people fueling up for the day.

From there, I strolled through the Belgian Quarter, making my way to Balthasar on Aachener Straße for breakfast. Our group—Carola, Alex, Tobi, Chris, and Timo—took over a big table in the bright, airy atrium at the back of the restaurant. Unlike yesterday, there were no surprise guests this time, just a relaxed morning of good food and conversation.

After breakfast, I decided to walk back to Ehrenfeld through Cologne’s Green Belt. Despite the grey sky, it was a beautiful, peaceful walk. Before heading back to the apartment, I made one last coffee stop at Kaffeebud Ehrenfeld. This cozy little café serves Heilandt coffee, a local roaster I discovered on my last visit to Cologne. The perfect way to wrap up my coffee adventures in the city.

The afternoon was calm—just some downtime to catch up on emails—before heading out for an end-of-day beer with Karl.

For my final dinner in Cologne, I made my way to Haus Schnackertz in Nippes, where Alex and I closed out my visit with a classic Cologne-style meal. For me, that meant Sauerbraten, paired with some Kölsch and one last round of good conversation.

And just like that, my time in Cologne came to an end—full of great coffee, great food, and even better company.Read more