Cologne, Germany

The cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe

Hubby will make a visit to Dusseldorf at least once in every 2 years..for the passed years I was never had a chance to go with him, due to numerous reasons..pregnant, confinement, pregnant again..need to save money for umrah trip etc...until this year..I told him I will go no matter what..so the moment he confirmed the date of the show in Dusseldorf I booked the tickets for us immediately...just to make sure the plan will materialize no matter what:)

Cologne/ KOLN is Germany's fourth-largest city (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich)

Alhamdulillah after hearing from Mr hubs about Germany (which at one point of time, he even asked me to learn German as he planned to migrate to Germany..how crazeee is that???) Finally I set foot here..the place where he feels home:)

I remembered, when we reached Cologne he said "I'm home!!!" I was like "duhhhhhh!!!!!"(we stayed in Cologne not Dusseldorf as Cologne has more interesting stuff for me, according to mr hubs...a big area for shopping)

We took the Talys train from Paris to Cologne, the tickets cost us around Euro200 for 2 pax.

When hubby went to Dusseldorf for work, I walked around Cologne and even took a guided tour on hop- on bus to cover the city on my own.

Since I just came from Paris, the shopping doesn't excite me much...so the first day I just walked half of the shopping area...went in LV to compare the price.. price wise, they are not much expensive than Paris, perhaps around 3% more than price in Paris. i.e LV chain, Euro350 and in Cologne Euro 355...plus you can get the VAT of 10-12% regardless where you bought in E.U countries.

One thing I really regret until now was,I missed Loewe Napa Aire in fuhschia which on clearance for 650 Euro while the current season, 1250 Euro and Malaysian's price RM7k++ how rugi it is??? reason being, I choose to sleep in the hotel room while hubby went to Dusseldorf and only on Sunday I choose to walk around. The shops closed on Sunday, weird kan? also that show how pemalas these ppl..:((

I saw on a display the silver (1250 Eyro), Fuhschia (650 Euro)..trying to knock on the door frantically..found out the shop was closed huwwwwwwwaaaaa..!!!!!hubby asked if I want to extend the stay and going back to Paris on Monday evening..but I feel that it's unnecessary and hoping the shop tagged the price wrongly...now I regret!!!

The bag on clearance Euro 650 (I really hope they displayed the price wrongly)

Let's not dwell on the sad story, let see anything I can share in case you peeps plan to visit Cologne:)

Eat

The halal food is very rare in Germany, but you can have the seafood (Nordsee) serving food like what we have in Manhattan fish market here.

So, it's good to bring the Brahims stuff or even maggi in a cup as a back up at nights when hunger pangs strike:)

Sightseeing

The area is big, if you are lazy to walk or you need to cover more in area in a limited time, please opt for Hop On tourist bus which you can take right in front of Dom Cathedral (near the tourist dept's office) The guided tour will tell you the history of each places.

A must see is definitely DOM CATHEDRAL.

Since we stay in a hotel about 10 meters away from the Dom cathedral, we do not need to take train to go to the shopping area as it's just few meters away from the hotel.

Hubby is crazy about Squash, last year he missed World Masters in Cologne so this year he make sure he get to play at the sports Centre where the tournament was hosted.

Dom Cathedral

Shopping

The most popular ones are Hohe Strasse and Schildergasse. The two classical shopping streets. The Hohe Strasse begins at Wallrafplatz next to the cathedral/dom. It's Germany's first shopping street only for pedestrians and completely without traffic. You can stroll along the street without having to worry about the traffics.

The brands from Hermes, Bvlgari, LV to MANGO, Zara Mossimo Dutti....all you can find here..a shopping mall under an open sky. Strictly for pedestrians.

The LV boutique just right next to Dom

Accomodation

I would advice you to choose hotel in Dom area, next to Train station as it will be easier for you to move around.

Transportation

When visiting Cologne taking the local bus and train system is a very comfortable way to reach every interesting place in town. It's very convenient and knowing a country like Germany, it's super efficient.

Talys train from Paris- Cologne- free flow of food and free wifi ( 4 hours from Paris to Cologne)

The cab in germany are all the mercedes...:) they even have B class!

the cab:)

Extra things to share

• shopping malls are closed on sunday, please plan your shopping trip on weekdays, shops closed early as well..

• In winter, the harsh weather will make your skin itchy due to extreme dryness, it works for me..after shower, dry yourself and immediately put the baby oil all over the body, then you put the body lotion.
  

till then..enjoy the pics!



Eau de Cologne a perfume : originated from Cologne, Germany

Rhine River

Rhine River

Dom the view on the Bridge (Rhine River)

Panoramic view of Cologne (with Dom Cathedral by the Rhine River)