Usually archeological finds bore me after about ten minutes, but this museum has just the right amount of items to ooh and ahh at to keep things interesting. The 200 A.D. Dionysos Mosaic is the main draw. A million pieces of limestone, ceramics and glass covering 70 square meters originally adorned the banqueting hall of […]
Tag Archives | Germany
Schokoladenmuseum Köln
The Imhoff-Stollwerck-Museum is the place to go if you love chocolate. Not only can you see how chocolate is made, you can’t take a step without a kind, kind employee sticking a sample in your face. The ground-floor exhibition, including a tiny rain forest-like garden, teaches viewers the history of chocolate through the past 3,000 […]
Brauhaus Sünner im Walfisch
Did I say Kölsch only comes in 0.2 liter glasses? I forgot to tell you about Brauhaus Sünner im Walfisch, where patrons can order 3 or 5 liters at a time. Just make room on your table for the tall glass tube with the tap at the bottom. Since there were only two of us, […]
Cologne Dom
This massive Gothic cathedral can be seen from all points in Cologne. The first time I saw it was out a plane’s window, from which it looks truly unbelievable. For about five minutes, the 157-meter spires made this the tallest structure in the world. Then, the Eiffel Tower surpassed it. The Dom has an interesting […]
Päffgen
Päffgen (est. 1883) is the smallest brewery in Cologne and produces an exceptionally good Kölsch. Its product is slightly hoppier than the other traditional Hausbrauereis, and the bottomless service is just as efficient. We accumulated ten hash marks in under an hour, before peeling ourselves away to visit the next beer hall on our list. […]
Museum Ludwig
Museum Ludwig satisfactorily provides all the modern art –isms under one roof: realism, surrealism, nouveau réalisme, abstract expressionism. The Ludwig has the third largest Picasso collection in the world, after Paris and Barcelona, and an impressive collection of American artists. You’ll see some of the more famous Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns pieces […]
Kölsch
One of my favorite things about Cologne is Kölsch, golden ale served in long, tall 0.2 liter glasses. Kölsch is Cologne’s proprietary beer, strictly defined by the Kölsch Konvention, an agreement between the members of the Cologne Brewery Association. Similar to Champagne, use of the term Kölsch is prohibited outside Cologne. The original Kölsch brewer […]
Porta Nigra
Some gate! Porta Nigra is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. The name originated in the Middle Ages for the dark color of its grey sandstone, which has been further darkened by exhaust fumes and general air pollution over the years. The gate was constructed between 186 and 200 A.D as one […]
Dom St. Peter, or the Trier Cathedral
How fitting for the oldest town in Germany that its cathedral, Dom St. Peter, is the oldest church in Germany. To this day, it remains a working Catholic cathedral. Trier is the oldest seat of a Christian Bishop north of the Alps. In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Trier was an important prince of […]
Trier Market
The first Christmas market we checked out was in Trier. Trier is the oldest town in Germany and located in the picturesque Moselle region near the Luxembourg-Germany border. Previously, I had only been to Trier to purchase essentials in its enormous furniture stores, so I was delighted to see what else it had to offer. […]
