Cologne, Germany
Story by Vi Hughes, 2019
We had a fabulous stay in Cologne and saw some amazing things. Some of the things we recommend that are 'must sees' are:
The Cathedral
The Hop on Hop off bus
The Chocolate Museum and Factory
Time Ride - virtual reality time travel
There are so many fabulous things to see and do in Cologne including the many museums, the Zoo, the river cruises, the chair lift that goes across the river plus numerous little squares and interesting districts.
As we had only a few days in Cologne it was impossible to do everything. I hope you enjoy some of the things that we enjoyed that are linked above.
We had a fabulous stay in Cologne and saw some amazing things. Some of the things we recommend that are 'must sees' are:
The Cathedral
The Hop on Hop off bus
The Chocolate Museum and Factory
Time Ride - virtual reality time travel
There are so many fabulous things to see and do in Cologne including the many museums, the Zoo, the river cruises, the chair lift that goes across the river plus numerous little squares and interesting districts.
As we had only a few days in Cologne it was impossible to do everything. I hope you enjoy some of the things that we enjoyed that are linked above.
Accommodation Surprise!
My suggestion would be to check out the things you need in your accommodation that relate to the time of year you will be travelling - ie summer can get very hot and not all hotels have air conditioning.
We arrived in Cologne just after midday when it was 39C (over 102F), and described as a major heat wave. Our check-in wasn't until 3pm but, instead of suggesting we sit by the pool or even have a swim, the reception staff said we should "go for a walk" and come back at 3pm!
The Hotel was The Mauritius Hotel & Therme
At 3pm we checked in, only to find there was no air conditioning in the room and it was unbearable. We had a small fan in our room but that was pretty useless.
We decided to go to the indoor heated pool, hopefully to cool off and at least be a bit more comfortable, as the photographs on the hotel website looked amazing and the pool was a key influencer in deciding to stay here.
Beware enticing website images!
As we were about to go through to the pool we were told we had to pay five euros each for a "pool pack" which included a towel, dressing gown, and slippers. We weren't allowed into the area unless we were wearing these. We also had to pay and additional one euro each every time we went into the pool area. Really? That wasn't in the promotional material! This all seemed a little strange but once we got into the pool area it sort of made sense. The pool area was beautifully set up with saunas and spas spread around the area and it was only then that we discovered that no clothes or bathing costumes could be worn in the spas or saunas, which were fully open to the pool areas. In addition, swim costumes in the pool were only optional!
I couldn't believe that so many people were naked; for one who doesn't practice nudism it was very disturbing and I was unable to relax and enjoy the pool. I just think public nudity is something people should not have to deal with if they didn't want to; maybe set hours for nudists and set hours for others would have been a good idea. Or perhaps even publicise the situation in advance; after all, even television stations have to warn or nudity and "confronting" schemes!
We stayed for less than an hour, as the option of going to a hot bedroom room was not appealing.
The rooms were okay except for the temperature so we had to have all the windows and the balcony door open all the time - luckily we were on the 5th floor so passing pedestrians couldn't see in easily.
Neither of us slept much the first night and I was bitten by mosquitos all over my body. There were also no tea and coffee making facilities in the room and we had to ask for a kettle and find a place on the floor to boil it! Luckily we had our own tea bags and sugar!
I would NOT recommend this hotel!
We arrived in Cologne just after midday when it was 39C (over 102F), and described as a major heat wave. Our check-in wasn't until 3pm but, instead of suggesting we sit by the pool or even have a swim, the reception staff said we should "go for a walk" and come back at 3pm!
The Hotel was The Mauritius Hotel & Therme
At 3pm we checked in, only to find there was no air conditioning in the room and it was unbearable. We had a small fan in our room but that was pretty useless.
We decided to go to the indoor heated pool, hopefully to cool off and at least be a bit more comfortable, as the photographs on the hotel website looked amazing and the pool was a key influencer in deciding to stay here.
Beware enticing website images!
As we were about to go through to the pool we were told we had to pay five euros each for a "pool pack" which included a towel, dressing gown, and slippers. We weren't allowed into the area unless we were wearing these. We also had to pay and additional one euro each every time we went into the pool area. Really? That wasn't in the promotional material! This all seemed a little strange but once we got into the pool area it sort of made sense. The pool area was beautifully set up with saunas and spas spread around the area and it was only then that we discovered that no clothes or bathing costumes could be worn in the spas or saunas, which were fully open to the pool areas. In addition, swim costumes in the pool were only optional!
I couldn't believe that so many people were naked; for one who doesn't practice nudism it was very disturbing and I was unable to relax and enjoy the pool. I just think public nudity is something people should not have to deal with if they didn't want to; maybe set hours for nudists and set hours for others would have been a good idea. Or perhaps even publicise the situation in advance; after all, even television stations have to warn or nudity and "confronting" schemes!
We stayed for less than an hour, as the option of going to a hot bedroom room was not appealing.
The rooms were okay except for the temperature so we had to have all the windows and the balcony door open all the time - luckily we were on the 5th floor so passing pedestrians couldn't see in easily.
Neither of us slept much the first night and I was bitten by mosquitos all over my body. There were also no tea and coffee making facilities in the room and we had to ask for a kettle and find a place on the floor to boil it! Luckily we had our own tea bags and sugar!
I would NOT recommend this hotel!