Most great trips start with a plan. Ours started with a calendar invite. Danny had work in Cologne, we had a honeymoon to take, and somewhere between booking that flight and closing the laptop, the question came up: what if we just kept going?
So we did. Cologne became stop one of a train loop that would carry us through the Swiss Alps, onto the canals of Venice, and all the way down to Rome. No rental cars. No airport security lines between cities. Just a lot of rail tickets and a shared belief that the window seat is a human right.
The cathedral greets you at the door
Here's the thing nobody fully prepares you for: you walk out of Köln Hauptbahnhof and the Kölner Dom is right there. Not a tram ride away. Not a pleasant stroll. Right there, looming, twin spires disappearing into the sky like the building is trying to leave for somewhere better.
It took roughly 632 years to finish (construction started in 1248 and wrapped up in 1880), which makes our own tendency to procrastinate feel a lot more reasonable. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and if your legs are feeling heroic, you can climb the south tower. It's a little over 500 steps of tight spiral staircase. Budget your knees accordingly.
Weirdo tip: the Kölsch coaster rule
Cologne's local beer, Kölsch, comes in small, skinny 0.2 liter glasses, and the servers will keep swapping in a fresh one the moment yours is empty. Want to stop? Put your coaster on top of the glass. That's the universal sign for "I surrender."
Why start a train trip here
Cologne sits on one of the busiest rail hubs in Europe, which makes it an excellent launch pad. From here, the whole continent is basically a series of platform numbers. Our next one pointed south, toward mountains, cheese, and a tiny village where cars aren't allowed.
