Mikael’s aunt was working today so Mikael and I spent the day in Cologne (Köln), it was less than an hour drive and we got to see yet another new city on this trip. We had four stops in Köln and then another last event before this day was over.

First stop: Music Store

Mikael has been talking about getting a new guitar for so long now and he remembered that Köln hade a mega big music shop so we started our day there and he found his dream guitar that was a bit out of his price range the last time he was there. He noted it and will look it up back in Sweden once we are home. 1,5 hours felt not a single minute more than 20 minutes for this happy chap :).

Second stop: Früh Kölsch

The second stop was lunch at a very famous brewery from 1904 right in front of the Köln Cathedral: Früh Kölsch. Mikael hade been there before and knew what to order: Himmel und Äärd (black pudding, mashed potato and apple and roasted onion). I thought I was grown up enough to try and order something fun and exciting. But I made a mistake. I should have gotten the same as Mikael, the beef tartare was not to my taste buds liking. I have had beef tartar at Meet (a meat restaurant in Gothenburg) and it was so delicious), this was not quite the same. Even if I mixed everything like you were supposed to, I just couldn’t really find the charm. This is one of the first times I have been disappointed with what I have ordered. Like ever. So sad.

This place is also famous for the waitresses putting a new beer in front of you right after you finish the one you just drank unless you put the cover on top of your glass. And they just will continue to come until you’ve put it there. Not today though, maybe they were too busy?

Third stop: Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

We then went to the main attraction of this city, the Kölner Dom, the Cathedral of Cologne. It’s construction started in 1248 and ended in 1881 when it was inaugurated. 632 years of construction! Insane. But with 300 years of break when no one wanted to finance this monstrosity. It was a really impressive cathedral. I’ve seen my fair share of them while traveling but this one, with the two towers and immeasurable amount of details was in the top, for sure. The winner is without a doubt La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, but it’s  competing in its own league. We walked around inside for a bit and then we bought entry tickets to one of the towers. 9 minutes later, we were up at the top, enjoying the view over all of Köln. Incredible!

Fourth stop: Chocolate Museum

We bought bubble tea on the way to the last stop in Köln and walked along Rhein. The chocolate museum was really great. It had a lot of focus on sustainability and covered many different aspects of cocoa farming. Poverty, child labour, deforestation and so on. I thought that was great.

They showed the process of making Lindt chocolate and then they had a store at the end. I bought a little for the way back to Bonn.

Evening in Bonn: Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits coverband in Biergarten)

The day ended at the golf course where we had a cup of coffee before heading over to the other end of the big park where they, every night during summer (except Monday’s) have a cover band in a biergarten and they serve food. Tonight was a band who played Dire Straits songs. It was great! They played all the songs that I really like. The currywürst was amazing and the company was really nice. Mikael and I were youngest by probably a couple of decades but I loved it. All the oldies danced along to the songs and it was such a great atmosphere!

Super tired now after a long and touristy day, but we experience so much on this trip.