Jez and I caught the train from Brussels Midi station to Cologne on a Thursday afternoon and were met by the beautiful Bianca. We located our hotel, dropped our bags and then went to explore Cologne together.

Love locks in Cologne.

We crossed a steel bridge covered in love locks, some impressive and others simply small tributes to their love. Afterwards, the three of us visited the observation deck of a tower looking out over the city of Cologne which from above looked like a small but perfectly formed city with parks and the Rhine river.

Yummy dinner!

Hungry and a little thirsty, we had dinner in a beer house along the river and chatted away before waving goodbye to Bianca at the train station as she went home.

Our brief stop in Germany got us thinking about our favourite German foods and we quickly decided that a half hour walk was a small trade off for the best schnitzel in the city. We visited Bei Oma Kleimann and ordered two very tasty schnitzels, both ridiculously large. Tummies full to bursting point, we waddled back to the hotel via the main shopping precinct.

The Koln Dom at sunset.

Throughout our stay in Cologne, we loved looking at the Koln Dom, the Cologne Cathedral. It is a beautiful building that was only finished in the 1880’s despite construction starting in the 15th century. The cathedral caught the light of the setting sun on our afternoon with Bianca and gave a spectacular show of it’s towers and spires.