Alone in Cologne

After Germany, Switzerland would be my next stop. I've spent a good amount of time in Germany (on tour with the dance company I work for), and decided that my unexpected three nights in Lunen were plenty of small town German culture for me this trip. A childhood friend reached out when he saw on Instagram that I was in Belgium, and said if I wanted to stop over in Luzern I was welcome! I planned not to plan anything on this trip, and for this exact reason - so that I could travel with the flexibility to take advantage of unexpected situations just like this one! So, I found the cheapest way to get to Switzerland from Germany was a flight from Cologne. And of course, since the flight was at 6am, I planned to stay out late and then sleep in the airport for a few hours. (Saves money, at the expense of your body.)

Anyway, my day/night alone in Cologne (lol) was wonderful!!! I love cities of this size. You can walk the whole thing in a day, explore different neighborhoods, maybe do a tour or whatever, find a great spot to eat and drink on every corner. Lots of beautiful German architecture and so many fun energetic bars. Definitely a bit touristy but I can get down with that. I really only had one meaningful interaction the whole day, embarrassingly with an American and a new friend of hers she had met in Amsterdam. But it was nice to share our travel stories and compare our experiences and opinions of Europe vs. USA.

My favorite discovery was an outdoor antique flea market! A little Platz called “Neumarkt”. Lots of awesome things to be found there.

One more advantageous find - as soon as I got off the train in Cologne I realized it was gonna suck to have my backpack with me the whole day. It’s, not too big, but you’d rather walk around a city without it. So I happened upon a “luggage storage” right outside the ticket office and money exchange counter. Amazingly efficient and very cheap! 6 euro for 12 hours or something like that. I was so thrilled I found it. Something to look for in other cities!

Overall, a lovely day in Köln! Would love to return.Read more