Hello lovelies! This weekend I spent my final trip of the year in Cologne, Germany. I arrived mid-day Thursday and checked into my hostel. Normally when I travel I stay at Airbnb's or hotels, but since I am running out money pretty fast-staying at a hostel was ideal. To my surprise the hostel was not scary at all and reminded me of a college dorm. I was fortunate enough to stay with two of my friends in the same room so it was not as awkward being in a room with strangers. Our first night we went to a restaurant and bar called Heller's and had authentic German food with Cologne's famous beer: Kolsch. In Cologne, you are given a beer with a coaster. When you're done with your beer, you have to put the coaster on top or else the waiter assumes you want another beer even if you're not halfway done with your current drink. Speaking of Kolsch, it is cheaper than water in Germany.
The city was filled with twinkling lights and the smell of mulled wine. Cologne is known to have the best Christmas markets in all of Europe. There are 6 markets (Cathedral market, Harbour market, Angel, St. Nick's village, gay/lesbian christmas avenue, and Heimat der Heinzel) and each have their own particular theme. The Christmas markets were filled with traditional souvenirs, nativity scenes, cinnamon biscuits (imagine all the samples I ate), authentic German food, and hot drinks. My favorite Christmas market was Heimat der Heinzel because they had a huge ice skating rink in the middle of the Christmas booths where people were ice skating or playing the game known as ice stock shooting. There were also booths dedicated to German foods and sweets and two cottage-like buildings that were bars. This Christmas market was more family-friendly than the other ones making it feel a lot more "Christmasey".
During our trip we visited a couple of German bars (including a karoake/metal bar), The German chocolate museum, and 4711- the factory where the fragrance Cologne was invented!
Beautiful. Take care.
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