Cologne

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Cologne - Köln
"Kölle"
Country: Germany
Region: North Rhine-Westphalia
More Information:
CS Group Wikipedia Wikitravel
City-Ambassadors:
Finn Kölzer, Patrick Pommé


General information

  • Cologne is the 4th biggest city of Germany with nearly one million inhabitans. Located 51°N, 6°E, at the Rhine River. Founded by the Romans.
  • Cologne's famous Cathedral is one of the most visited sights in Germany.
  • Also famous is the Carnival and the local beer called Kölsch.
  • Cologne has an International Airport


Tips

Contents

Finding Hosts

  • Cologne seems to be a very wanted spot for couchsurfers. Local public transportation connects Cologne quite well with the outskirts. So it could be a good idea to broaden your couchsearch to a 10-20km circle in order to find hosts in the surrounding suburbs who are not so overrun with requests, even if their cities are called Leverkusen, Bergisch Gladbach, Brühl, Frechen or Wesseling, they're really not far from Cologne. Info about door-to-door connections, timetables and ticket tariffs can be found at http://www.vrsinfo.de
  • Travelers who like to think a bit more complicated in order to slowly build up something simple can try and learn about how to contribute and eventually profit from a beta-stage local couchpooling network here.

Wifi Spots

Cheap food


CouchSurfing Community

  • 2008-12-21 the couchsearch found 1901 Couchsurfers in Cologne. A good way to meet couchsurfers in Cologne are the meetings.

Meetings

Monthly Meetups (We are currenty establishing monthly meetups on the 15th of each month.)

Upcoming Events (by date)

Come "meat" some new friends at the Wurst Crawl! We will be making our way around Cologne, sampling the wurst of Germany. I'll put a schedule of places once the date's a little closer. No vegetarians allowed! Unless you're the kind of vegetarian who enjoys watching people eat a lot of mystery meat.

Dozens of different things to do at a hundred different places (pubs mainly...) - and yet it's always exactly the same: dress up, * go to a pub (maybe watch a parade first to collect a bag full of the candies they throw!) and then start drinking so that you can * endure the typical Colognean Carnival music that you'll be exposed non-stop to for up to 5 days in a row... Also it seems to increase chances to get laid or at least find somebody to make out with ;-D Which doesn't concern us at all, of course, since CS is not dating site (he noted with utmost indignation)!!!


Additionally to announcements in the Cologne Group, the very latest info is now always available at one glance in a google calendar. You can contribute or modify it follow these instructions.

Got any other helpful links? Tell us here!


Past Meetings

  • Christmas-Market-Crawl 2008

5th-7th Dec 2008 Xmas Market Crawl

  • Carneval 2007:

14th - 20th Feb 2007 Carnival in Cologne There's a Carnival Guide for visitors on the official homepage of Cologne, also available in French, Dutch, and certainly German... get smart about the festival its places and habits a little ahead so you can smoothly mingle with the party folks right when you arrive.

  • Christmas party meeting 2006:

8th - 10th December 2006 Christmas party meeting


Who wants to help organize CS meetings in and around Cologne?

Please send a CSmail to one or more of the persons listed below or post in the Cologne group if you are interested in meetings or have a suggestion.

  • YOU? -- got a hot tip? an idea? a good location? or just curious? Click here and join us!


Public Transportation

Tariff tips: Tickets within the city area (including even the airport) are called Zone 1b. At Bundesbahn ticket machines type the direction code 2000 to get them. Buy bulk to save: If you are a group of 2-5, consider saving money with a 1b group daypass for 9,50 Euros. Single daypasses are 6,40 Euro, single rides 2,30 Euro. For trips beyond the city borders view the tariff info and the complete tariff table (pdf).

Other Transport Discounts The Welcome Ticket available for 24, 48 or 72 hrs, offers free inner city rides as above plus discounts on many sights and activities.

Regular tickets of theaters, philharmony, opera, zoo, sport events and trade fair usually include the bus/tram ticket for the date of their validity, so watch out for the vrs logo on event tickets: Image:logo_vrs.gif


In Case of Emergency

  • EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Emergency operator: 112 Police : 110 Emergency Doctor/Ambulance: 19222

  • HOSPITALS

Again, should you need to get yourself medical attention, ...TO BE COMPLETED...

  • EMBASSIES & CONSULATES

There are however several country consulates in the city, should you need any help or information. The countries represented are currently: Bangladesh, Switzerland, China, Italy, Monaco, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Norway & Pakistan. ...TO BE COMPLETED...

  • LAST MINUTE HOSTEL

...TO BE COPLETED...

  • YOUR LOCAL CS AMBASSADORS

If you have any questions that are not asnwered through this list, nor this wiki page for Manchester, you may want to ask the nearest CS ambassador. Current Köln's resident CS ambassadors are:

You can also seek advice to the Bonn ambassador, Tom Asten


Hosts only

In der Hot Hosts Cologne Gruppe gibt es die Möglichkeit, wie an einem schwarzen Brett die Couch-Anfragen, die wir ablehnen mußten, zu posten, um dem Anfrager trotzdem weiter zu helfen und manchem Gastgeber im Kölner Umland, der vielleicht gerne öfter Gäste hätte, auch noch einen Gefallen zu tun. Hier können wir ein lokales Gastgebernetzwerk bilden. Schreibt Euch also ein, wenn Ihr zuviel oder zu wenig Anfragen bekommt.

This group is ONLY for hosts from Cologne and nearby, to forward untaken couch requests on an internal message board. Travellers don't post here, but in the Cologne group, if ever. As a traveller looking for a couch can, however, ask the people you contact to forward your request to the Hot Hosts in case they cannot host you. Remember to provide them the group link, as they might not necessarily know about it yet. Information is power!


Frequently Asked Questions

(per mid-07/2009)

This little FAQ is mostly made of quotes taken from the forum posts of the quoted pages. Here and there I added a hint of my own. All the links start with http:// so every one should be clickable immediately.

Despite I am not out for keeping it current, I hope this first collection will be useful. It's intersected into:

Additionally, there is a Couchsurfing wiki, including a Cologne page: http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Cologne


VISITING COLOGNE

useful links for people who visit cologne

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=348208


How to transit from/to the airport at night

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609


How to book a Cologne area public transportation ticket in advance

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609

  • "you can't book them probably because it's a very short trip, 4 stops. You're best off buying them at one of the ticket machines at the airport. They are either on the platforms itself or before you walk down the stairs to the platforms, I don't quite remember. It should cost 2,40 or 2,60€."
  • see also: useful links for people who visit cologne


Where to store luggage over the day?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609

  • "There are lockers at the train station, close to the main doors and the info point. Can't tell you how much they charge, though. But I think they are quite secure because it's a sort of underground system."
  • " there are lockers on each railway station. If your luggage is big, you will find some big lockers at the Cologne main station (Köln Hbf)."


where to get a vegan breakfast?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1351713

  • "Osho's Place (www.oshos-place.de) at Friesenplatz is a vegetarian restaurant, so I am sure they'll have some vegan food too :)"
  • "Osho's is *sometimes* vegan but doesn't offer much. If you want a German style brunch (i.e. bread with spreads) you can check out either Morio in Nippes or Cafe Schmitz on Hansaring ... Schmitz usually has a vegan soup and salad listed too. / All 3 of those places serve coffees with soymilk [...]. If lunch is better, the Stadt Raum in Belgisches Viertel offers a vegan option every day, too. Hope you find something."


What are the must-see's for Cologne? Which places to visit at daytime?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1494508 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828

  • "'Zweitausendeins', a stunningly cheap, cultivated modern antiquarian" bookshop http://www.zweitausendeins.de/unsereLaeden/?d=382
  • "My three favorit places in cologne are the cathedral (you can go up there an see the hole city!), the chocolate museum and the zoo."
  • "there is a nice 'zoo' in [GYANDA's] part of the town with geese and sheeps and other not so exotic animals..."
  • "I can definitely recommend the museum Ludwig right next to the Römisch-Germanisch-museum (thats close to the dome). / They have a very interesting collection of contemporary art." http://www.museenkoeln.de/museum-ludwig/
  • "my sister loved the Flora, when she came here and she also was travelling on a ship of the K-D (dinner and music)..."
  • "Cologne is not so much a city to sightsee but a city to do things. [...] a good place to start is the city of Cologne website" http://www.koeln.de/
  • "hang out at Aachener Weiher"
  • "the Ropeway across the rhine for a nice view of the city"
  • "Visit the BIERMUSEUM (you´ll find it on google), a Pub offering almost 300 different sorts of beer."
  • "For History: There's bits and pieces of the old roman city wall everywhere at the center. you should be able to get a map of the exact locations at the tourism office (inside central train station)"
  • "If you like old buildings you might want to take a look at some of the churches. There's at least three of them on every corner, and although they're not as big and impressive as the dome many of them are worth a look."
  • "if you are interested in architecture, you'd probably go to the new 'Rheinauhafen'. It's an old harbor-area [...] the old harbor buildings which have been renovated now are much prettier."
  • "When I had some visitors from Japan, they enjoyed a cruise on the River Rhine."
  • "If it's your first time in cologne, you should of course visit the cathedral. [...] And it's fun to climb up the cathedral as well"
  • "for a nice city view including the cathedral I can recommend the KölnTriangle-building in Deutz. It has an observation deck on the top, where you can get by the elevator." http://www.koelntriangle.de/index_eng.html
  • "If the weather is fine check out Bruesseler Platz.Very nice to hang out."


Have you got any ideas about visiting breweries?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=989637 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1075710 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493


Which cafes/bars/clubs to visit? Where to go out?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=857693 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1025122 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2444952 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3120845

  • "check out stadtrevue.de, there you can find everything whats going on in our lovely city"
  • Engelbat's, a cafe/bar "where everything is made of wood", taste their crepes. http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-78628405-Germany_Cologne_Engelbat.html
  • Päffgen Brewery near Friesenplatz. "[T]he somewhat bullying behaviour of the beer waiters towards the guests is an integral part of the show which lost its authenticity in other local breweries." http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/
  • Braustelle in Ehrenfeld: "home brew according to German beer purity plus monthly special fancy beers" http://www.braustelle.com/big/index.html
  • "Em Goldene Kappes, Nippes. Best Köbeses,Muscheln, Kölsch"
  • "apropos: you like beer, thats good. but do you like schnitzel, too? if yes, you must visit "bei oma kleinmann" at zülpicher strasse 9. colossal portions of fried potatoes and giant schnitzel! definitely a must-visit!!"
  • "best cocktail bar in town is the "Rosebud", close to Zülpicher Straße. I can also recommend my favorite pub, the Jameson."
  • "Nice Cocktails in the Scheinbar too. Brüsselerstr. 10"
  • "for cocktails I can recommend you the Bar two-orange at the zülpicher street, its quite new but really cool... or MAX, also at the zülpicher..."
  • "For Village People Roonburg"
  • "Best Clubs: Subway, Artteater"
  • "Beehive (casual, student oriented but with a great 'Austin Powers' kind of look :-)"
  • "DeLite (nice and quiet, nice cocktails)"
  • "Ivory Club (bit more trendy, but nice dancing floor downstairs)"
  • "the bar by the West Bahn Hof (sorry, I forgot the name), it is a quiet lounge but the lighting and environment are charming"
  • "Underground is pretty big and free entrance, it has i think 4 dance areas, and a beergarten"
  • "'zwoeins' (Roonstr.), the 'Boogaloo' and the 'radioone' (great strawberry daiquiri!- Zülpicher)"
  • "in Ehrenfeld: Simrockstraße a small Cocktailbar, sorry forgot the name"
  • "in Ehrenfeld 'die Küche'"
  • "Gottes grüne Wiese (Antwerpener Str.)"
  • "früh pub, right near to the dome, Am Hof 12-18, yeah its a bit touristic, but 'kölsch', too."
  • "the area around zülpicherstr./Rudolphplatz/Friesenplatz is cool, nice bars and clubs."
  • "as there are in the town lots of pubs (in the südstadt, student-quarter around zülpicher strasse, etc), you wont die of thirst."
  • "Zuellpicher Strass is full of nice cafes, bars and resturants... many of them are original and have good prices / there u can find Habibi resturant, they have nice falafel"
  • "La Lic (Naehe Zueplicher Platz) / Art Theater in Ehrenfeld / Herbrands in Ehrenfeld" (Rock)
  • http://www.dark-cologne.de/2009/2009-02.html
  • "A really nice place to go - especially at night - is the Osman 30 in the highest tower of the Mediapark (very close to Cinedom [...]). [...] The Osman 30 is a very good and definitely not a budget restaurant, but many people go there and just have drinks - inside or on their great rooftop terrace where you have an amazing view all over Cologne."
  • "for partying check night portals such as nachtagenten.de ; stylecharts.de tillate.com & morgengrau.net while i recommend morgengrau.net totally."
  • "for party-dates i usualy check out morgengrau.net or subscribe to partyspam.de and you will always get a newletter with all partys arround"
  • "sensorclub also got some nice partys from time to time."

cool music venues in Koln?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=857693 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1025122 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2444952 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3120845

Where to sleep in Cologne if not couchsurfing?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1605967

JAUNTING AROUND COLOGNE

Where to hike near Cologne?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=457364 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=989637


Where to get a temporary/permanent bicycle?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=650586 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3126198


How to plan a bicycle tour?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1210935


Where to play basketball?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2928538

  • "I sometime play at 'Hansaring'. Right next to the school is a little park and it has a Bball court. And there is also one at 'Hans-Boeckler-Platz'."
  • "Near the trainstation Deutzer Freiheit is a nice court in front of the Rhein."
  • "at Kierberger St is another streetball court, here: http://is.gd/zAG5 4 baskets in place"


places to show our theatre performance, maybe in (free) theatre projectsplaces?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3253114

SETTLING IN / LIVING IN COLOGNE

how to find a place to stay and live / flat?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1304577 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1517027 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1873447 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2284308


where can I unlock my mobile phone?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1290678


Where to get a cheap haircut?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1150803

  • Junge Michaelis academy / Ehrenstr. 41 / 50672 Köln / Tel.: (0221) 4 99 43 59


Fitness studio in Rodenkirchen?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3308013

  • "Ulfs basement is a gym-kind-of-place. In Rodenkirchen."
  • "there's the obligatory 'Kieser Training' ( http://www.kieser-training.com/ ) opposite the post office which is not really cheap but really high class and unlike most the others they stress the health factor much more than 'looks' [...] but they don't have a SPA or anything like that"
  • "From Moselstr. you're can quickly get to www.basicsports.de where I used to go to for a couple of months - they are pretty cheap but [...] they don't have a SPA or anything like that either."
  • "The ASV ( www.ciao.de/ASV_Bonner_Strasse_Fitness_Koln__126873 ) has at least saunas, if I remember correctly, and it's also a place where you won't see [...] but people who rather care about their fitness and health"
  • "McFit ( http://www.ciao.de/Mc_Fit_Koln__Test_3139086 ) - some kind of fitness discounter since they offer very reasonable quality for top prices..."


Which dentist to see?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1186050

  • "Lute Smink on Luxemburger Str, super nice and competent."
  • "Dr. Blau, Ebertplatz 1. Also super nice and competent."


If one wants to buy/hire a Tail Suit, dinner suit where does one go in this city?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1910783

  • "either you start at kvb-tram stop Neumarkt and go to the 'SCHILDERGASSE' or you start at Dom/Hbf (cathedral/main station) and start your shopping trip via 'HOHE STRAßE' / extremely easy to find something there! / dont ask for shop names, youll find out yourself immediately!"
  • "I would suggest ANSON'S, Peek & Cloppenburg or HANSEN. You will find all of them on the SCHILDERGASSE."


TRAVEL AWAY

How to get out of town by plane?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1260739


How to get out of town by train?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1533995


How to get out of town by street/car?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1533995



MOVING OUT

how to rent out my flat?

cf. how to find a place to stay and live / flat?


how to get a job in UK/US/AUS?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3143116

  • "I would recommend him to move to the uk and look for a job once he's there. [...] At the beginning you normally can't expect to find a good job on your field (with your ba studies and so) but work like waitress, barista, customer assistant in shops ect .. Depending on your english level you can try to apply directly for a job in a big bookstore, cinema, .. Here it is usually required an advance level as you must interact a lot with customers. [...]"
  • "Oxford, Cambridge are the [cities] that offer more [jobs], as every single college needs catering staff. It's generally easy to find a job in one of the colleges. Also there're agencies that offer a lot of work-hours from one week to another, usually in colleges/private schools and hotels. The best time to move to these cities is last week of august / first week of september."
  • "cities that could offer a good posibility could be Edinburg and Manchester .. or even Liverpool. In London there's always a job to find, but you must be prepared to live VERY far away from your workplace and pay expensive rents so .. depends on him really."
  • "It's not gonna be easy to find a job from here"
  • "normally you can expect to find a job in a couple of weeks (that was the average in Oxford while I live there)."


studying in an English speaking country, are there alternatives to Erasmus? study fees? alternatives?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3143116

  • "I did a subsidized course for EU students, which was very cheap at the time. It does not exist any more but somewhere else some of those courses still take place. [...] you can find the locations here: http://www.globusidiomas.com/ingles/course_adults.htm [...] However I would recommend you to try to find out the name of the colleges/schools and book directly yourself. It's gonna be a lot cheaper"
  • "For tips on working this book is pretty good: 'Work Your Way Around the World' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Work-Your-Way-Around-World/dp/1854582747 "
  • "He could [...] apply to internships with companies located in English speaking countries. Most internships are for about 3 months, so the country doesn't have to deal with the paperwork surrounding visas."
  • "this is where a list of stipendium programms whether for studying or for working/practising can be found: http://europa.eu/pol/educ/index_en.htm"

COUCHSURFING RELATED

How to get a colorful profile on Couchsurfing?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1775776


FAQ maintenance

I (dagobart) subdivided the FAQ in a manner that reflected a process of coming to Cologne, staying here, leaving Cologne.

The questions and answers are taken from the Cologne CS forum, scissored down as much as possible without hurting the meaning, as people want quick answers instead of tons of text to dig through. Otherwise they could use Google directly, couldn't they?

I avoid as much work as possible by simply copypasting. I avoid verbalizing questions/answers myself as doing so tends to affect a FAQ to become the maintainer's toy hobby to the extend of getting angry if anyone only touches it...

To get the questions/answers, I don't monitor the forum, but after a few months I dig back through it until the moment in time the FAQ was edited latest. I don't read all that stuff written in the meantime. Instead, I only skim threads that likely have questions/answers inside. I read the thread and pick only questions, and answers to these questions, I omit side-issues ("noise"). This applies especially for only temporarily valid data or not confirmed guesses.

Here, I put the gathered content in a simple format:

  • the questions as a headline, stripped short
  • then the source thread(s) I took the question/answers from, i.e. the URLs
  • one empty line
  • then a bullet list of all the answers (I put into quotation marks)

BONUS

annual events in the Cologne/Bonn area

Likely, Cologne local CSers will attend any of these events. Feel free to join.

in Cologne

  • in spring:
    • lit.cologne -- literature festival
    • Museums Night -- Nacht der Museen -- visit all museums in Cologne with only one ticket

in Bonn

  • end of September: Pützchen market -- Pützchens Markt

RhEINKULTUR -- RHINE CULTURE

in Hürth

  • in November: Jazz Night

See Also

This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
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