Cologne inside (I lived here for 10 years) (Coloane)

Member Name: Diego

Product:	Coloane
Date:	06/08/01 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great people, lot's of action, lot's of fun

Disadvantages: few historical sights, ordinary landscape, not the best weather

I have moved to Cologne (in German it's Koeln) in 1989 and lived there until 1999, when I moved to Berlin. I have visited dozens of other cities around the world, such as Rio, New York, Tokyo, Rome, Cairo, Vancouver, etc. but Cologne is still among my top 5 list. Here's why:

***ITS PEOPLE***
Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich) with about 1 Million inhabitants. What most distinguishes it from other German cities is its people. Whereas I would without hesitation admit that many Germans are quite passionless and reserved, this does not apply to the Colognians. An Italian friend of mine once called Cologne the Naples of Germany. Here people are very outgoing, joyful and direct - not only during the famous carnival.

***THE MEDIA-MIX***
The reasons for the atypical (aGerman) mindset are multifold. But one of the main reasons is that Cologne has developed into Germany's television capital. While most ad-agencies and publishers are in Hamburg, most TV-stations have their headquarters and production-studios in Cologne. As a result you will meet many people from film, and television (e.g. RTL, Viva).

***POSITIVE LOCATION***
Cologne is closer to the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg) and France than to most major cities in Germany. The whole Rheinland, i.e. the area around Cologne, including the former capital Bonn, is considered to be more friendly and light-hearted than the rest of Germany. If you will, it's not really Germany but a mix of Germany and the South-West. Okay, you don't have nice mountains such as in Bavaria and the weather is not the best (rains more often) but it's only a 3 hour drive to the coast of Holland.

***DIVERSITY***
Third, Cologne is also Germany's gay capital, a fact that adds even more to the open-mindedness of the people. It also affects the diversity of nightlife and shopping. In addition, there is a rather huge group of ar
tists and designers. And Cologne is home to Germany's largest university with more than 50.000 students.

***AMAZING FESTIVALS***
When it comes to the music industry, Cologne is also number one in Germany. People familiar with this business will certainly know the "PopKomm", among the top music trade shows in the world, staged in Cologne every August.

And of course there is Cologne's world famous CARNIVAL. The carnival season officially start on November 11th @ 11:11 a.m. with a large celebration on that day. This day is a great day to visit Colonge. Then the carnival season goes pretty much unnoticed for regular people (there are mainly internal activities by the carnival organizations) until it's peak in mid-February. That week in February (the exact date varies every year so check local newspapers) is clearly the best week to go for a great party-time to Cologne. It starts on a Thursday (Weiberfastnacht) and ends the following Wednesday. Monday in between hosts the famous Rosenmontagszug, a large march with cars though the city-centre.


***WHO SHOULD COME***
When you want to experience Germany from all perspectives, you cannot miss out Cologne. However, if you do not have more than a few days for this country, I would honestly recommend to see other places. The truth is, when it comes to historical sights, Cologne is certainly not a top pick. The cathedral (Dom) is great but besides a few other locations that's it. Cologne's old center can not measure with places such as Limburg or Munich. For older and ordinary tourists, I do not recommend Cologne, it's not as interesting as some other cities in Germany besides a couple of great museums.


***WHEN TO GO***
When you come, summer is the best time. During the PopKomm there are lots of free concerts and nightlife is incredible throughout summer. Alternatively you should come during carnival in February, if you're really up t
o drinking and partying.

***WHERE TO GO***
And when you're here, where should you go? That's easy, I don't need to give you addresses. Most people speak English in Germany. Just ask the people, they will gladly tell you! Okay, if you really want some name-dropping: check out Friesenstrasse for starting nightlife. Zuelpicher Strasse is the student hang-out with bars open every night. For shopping try Ehrenstrasse. Prices are similar to most bigger European cities (except for London and Paris).

And here's what we say for "bye" in Colonia: "Tschoe".

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