Young designers allure visitors with their modern creations, the cathedral attracts with its impressive history and scarcely anybody can resist Cologne's wellknown beer, called Kölsch. But what makes the city worth visiting?
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Innovative, young and extravagant. Most people who come to Cologne are not primarily interested in the world-famous cathedral.
No, there are a lot of other things to see and experience here. And most of all it is the city's special atmosphere that fascinates tourists. A young scene has entered a kind of symbiosis with the historical buildings and the Old Town. Young women negotiate the Old Town's cobblestones in their high heels. Although the largest part of the city is paved with cobblestones, they are not shy of wearing high heeled shoes. Although it is not summer yet, most women already wear shorts, with warm tights. Brightly coloured, of course. Here, nobody sticks out like a sore thumb for wearing coloured hair or multicoloured clothes. Or for being gay – Cologne Pride is in all an important international scene event. Cologne celebrates diversity.
It is a city for freaks, and home to performers like Stefan Raab and exceptional athletes like Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first woman to win the Dakar rally. Somewhere on Roncalliplatz, there is a group of young women, laughing and screeching. All of them wear the same T-shirts, one of them carries a vendor's tray and her friends raise their champagne glasses in a toast. The one with the vendor's tray has to address men and sell them balloons, lighters or sweets – or a kiss. It's a fairly common sight, as the majority of young men and women in North Rhine-Westphalia choose to have their stag or hen night in Cologne. Hardly a day goes by without someone celebrating their last night of freedom.
“It's the spirit of the city that fascinates me”, says Yvonne. The 38-year-old originally comes from the left lower Rhine area. After finishing her higher education she soon moved to Cologne. It is her favourite city. “Here people are friendlier and more open-minded”, she describes the Rhinelander's eternally cheerful nature. Yvonne had to choose – like most citizens in this area. Sooner or later all Rhinelanders have to choose between Cologne or Dusseldorf. Kölsch or Alt. Alaaf or Helau. “It's not possible to like both cities equally”, she says, “You either prefer Dusseldorf's nobler flair or Cologne's naturalness und straightforwardness.”
And the city's creative aspect. For some time past, a group of young designers has gradually established themselves in a quarter in the west of Cologne, between Aachener and Venloer Strasse. It is just 5 stations by tube from the cathedral. Here the cityscape is much different: the Belgian Quarter is home to small shops that sell custom-made clothes, extraordinary jewellery and unique pieces of decoration, accessories and furniture. Here, there is no limit to imaginativeness. A walk through Lütticher, Brabanter, Brüsseler or Antwerpener Strasse is very inspiring.
“Here you will always find something extraordinary, something that no one else has got”, says Yvonne. “Or you ask them to design something according to your own ideas.” The shops have strange names, like “Himbeertörtchen” (which means raspberry tart), “Wolke sieben” (which means cloud nine) or “annini”. The shop windows are decorated with panels of fabric in all different colours. They have not yet been transformed into blouses or tailor-made jackets. Designers take measurements, while customers try on samples to find out which cut fits them best. The designers carefully insert each needle separately into the fabric and gradually produce a perfect new piece of clothing. They experiment with width, length, frills and applications. Almost 30 shops operate under the brand name “Chic Belgique”. On their homepage, they promote their unique outfits, their labels and precious metal creations.
And the prices are hot, because the young designers have not yet stepped into the limelight. With their shops in or around the Belgian Quarter, they bring innovative fashion to Cologne. In June, “Le Bloc” already takes place for the second time. Fashion shows in the streets, art exhibitions, concerts and parties invite visitors to stop by and get to know another aspect of Cologne, far apart from the historical sightseeing tours, bar hopping in the city centre or musical packages.
The visitors may even watch the artists at work. A tour far off the mainstream – if any such thing exits at Cologne at all. Nevertheless, visitors shouldn't miss out on the “typical Kölsch”. A tour through Cologne should include a visit to Brauhaus Früh am Dom. Here, locals already meet at noon for good home cooking in a cosy brew house atmosphere. And don't forget: never order Alt beer at Cologne! Everybody will know that you are a tourist and furthermore, it will be considered as an affront. And if you have a night out with friends in a bar, generally the waiter will hand you a fresh Kölsch without being asked. To stop the beer from coming, put the coaster on top of your empty glass.
Visitors may enjoy a fantastic view over the city when it gets dark: the exceptionally far-sighted wine salon in Cologne Tower offers a spectacular panorama from the 30th floor. In order to visit the salon, you first have to ascend a height of 108 metres. On the outdoor terrace you are able to sip excellent wines and at the same time enjoy beautiful views over the city lights of Cologne. If you go for something less romantic, then join one of the nightly tours and discover Cologne's dark side. The night guard tour with torch, for example, which takes you to Cologne's uncanny and unholy places. A night guard lets visitors know more about werewolves, glowing carriages, demons and ghastly murders. Those tours are held daily and show how sinister Cologne can be – right next to its well-lit bars. Now at the latest, visitors will apprehend the literal sense of the 1st rule of Cologne's 10 rules to live by: (“It is like it is”) – Cologne is a freaky city where nothing is impossible.