Where to eat and drink in Cologne. Find out more on my website www.vanessadigitalmarketer.ml

1. What to eat & drink in Cologne:
Who would have thought that I would choose Cologne as a quick city trip eventhough I am
German myself. Well let me tell you this, I have actually only been to Cologne once and
unfortnately did not have enough time to take in the many beautiful things Cologne has to
offer. However, this time I told myself I cannot go back to my home country without
indulging some of Cologne’s typical drinks & foods. Now as you might already know,
Germany is known for its great Beers and sausages and us Germans are very proud of our
Beer and Meat culture, so you can imagine what I will be recommending you for your next
trip to Cologne.
As for drinks:
Yes you were right, I did not only have one beer in Cologne but a couple ;) But believe me
when I say that Cologne’s beer brewerys sure know how to brew some good tasking beer!
How do I know? Well luckily for you I took part in a beer brewery tour, where I experienced
Colognes’s history of brewing beer and had the chance to try out three different beers from
three different breweries.
Before I get into the different beers, let me tell you the system behind drinking beers in
Cologne. Cologne is known for its “Kölsch” beer, which is produced by different breweries
such as Früh, Gaffel and Päffigen. Even though the beer differes slightly in taste, a Kölsch is
always served in a small 0,2 or 0,3 ml glass. Now yes, one must think those are very tiny
glasses, which don’t get me wrong they are, but the people from Cologne have a very easy
solution for that – you just drink more ;). So instead of just ordering one beer you can
immediatley order a whole “Kranz”, which consists of 11 beers, perfect if you’re with a
group of friends! If you choose not to, don’t worry in Cologne you will never have to ask the
waiter for another beer, before you know it, you already have the next one on the table.
This is because of their special system – if a waiter sees that your beer is nearly empty, he
will automatically give you another one, unless you put the coaster on your beer, which is
the sign for you not wanting another beer. In order for the waiter to keep track of all the
beers he keeps tallys on the coaster.
So the first brewery we went to is the “Früh am Dom”, which is the biggest brewery in
Cologne and second biggest in all of Germany. In order for you to understand the size of this
brewery, 1.500 people can sit there and 5.000 hector l of beer go over the counter
daily.There the beer tastes very refreshing and not very bitter.
Adress:
Am Hof 12-18
50667 Cologne

2. The second brewery on the list was a 700 year old brewery, also in the heart of cologne,
called “Sion”. The Sion beer distinguishes itself from the Früh beer, by the brands color and
of course the taste of the beer. Now one can clearly recognise a “Früh Kölsch” by the red
color of the brand, but one can also clearly tell a Sion Kölsch apart, due to the blue colors.
Whereas, the “Früh Kölsch” was a refreshing and easy to drink, the “Sion Kölsch””was a lot
more bitter and not as light and sweet. Personally, this one I enjoyed the least, however it
was of course still a good beer!
Address:
Unter Taschenmacher 5-7
50667 Cologne (Altstadt)
The last brewery of the tour was the “Päffigen Brauhaus”, which was truly the winner of the
tour! Compared to the other two beers which are produced in avery high volumes every
year, the “Päffigen Kölsch” is not produced in barrels and only in bottles. Therefore, even
though it is a very known Kölsch brand it is rare to get, as one cannot acquire large
quantaties of it. This is also what makes it so special. Now, as for taste, this one is my
favorite out of all three! It tastes, super fruity and refreshing and is very easy to drink. I am
not a fan of bitter beer, so this one really got my attention by the different taste
combinations it has going on.

3. Address:
Heumarkt 62
50667 Cologne
Here comes the food:
From drinking all the beer, at some point you obviously start to get hungry. And what better
meal to have to share or as a quick bite or for you own, than a Flammkuchen. Now I hadn’t
had a Flammkuchen in years, to be honest I don’t even remember the last time I had a
Flammkuchen, so yes that’s a sign that I should definetely have one! So a Flammkuchen
might not be typical Cologne, but still typical German and still originated from around that
area, as Flammkuchen orginiated in the South of Germany. Now let me explain to you what
a Flammkuchen, actually is: It is made from thin bread dough in a from of a pizza and the
classical version has crème fraiche, onions and small pieces of bacon on it. Of course, today
you can get a Flammkuchen in many more different varieties, ranging from chorizo to
prosciutto, or with just veggies. When we had our Flammkuchen this weekend, we chose to
eat it by the Rhine river bank, with a beautiful view. The Flammkuchen is nearly available in
every restaurant throughout Cologne, however, this place had a great variety & great
service! Of course I went for the classical one whereas my boyfriend chose the one with
chorizo. He actually had never tried a Flammkuchen before in his life, but for sure did not
regret trying it! He loved it!

4. Of course you cannot leave Germany without having a typical German Bratwurst. And no I
am not talking about the bratwurst you can get at the corner with some fries, I am talking
about a proper bratwurst served in a restaurant. On our last day before we left, we decided
to end our short but beautiful trip with a meal worth remembering! We went to the
Heumarkt in the centre of Cologne, which used to be a market place for merchants back in
the medieval ages. Today, it is filled with bars and restuarants and has a very nice
atmosphere in the summer, as you can sit outside enjoy a good meal with a nice cold Kölsch
of course! The restaurant we went to was called “Gilden im Zims””and is a very typical
German restaurant, with wooden chairs and a roustique atmosphere. The waiter
recommended us a Bratwurst we could share, which thank god we did, because it was ½ kg
of Bratwurst, which was more than enough! The Bratwurst is a sausage made from beef,
veal or commonly pork, which is then being roasted. It can be served with many different
side dishes such as fries, potatoes in all sort of variations, or just simple between two slices
of bread with some ketchup or mustard. Our Bratwurst was served with Bratkartoffeln, and
as the name might already tell you, yes they are roasted/baked potatoes. To top it all off,
we also had a small salad on the side, and of course some gravy to pour over the sausage
and the potatoes. The last time I had a Bratwurst, was just a simple one in a bread bun
which was nothing compared to this one! Even though it was a bit pricey for a Bratwurst, it
was worth all of it! The serving size let alone was huge, and the taste was absolutely
amazing! I had never felt so much at home as when eating the Bratwurst. This meal, for
sure, I will never forget, just like the waiter! We had a very kind and welcoming waiter, who
was up for any joke! If I ever come back to Cologne, if not for the sausage, but then for the
waiter, I would definetly come back to that restaurant!
Adress:
Heumarkt 77
50667 Cologne

5. I hope I was able to give you some insights of what to expect to eat and drink when visiting
Cologne. Unfortunatley, if you dont like beer or don’t like meat, then Cologne might not be
the right choice for you..Joking, of course! Yes, we Germans also have vegetarian options
and sometimes drink water too ;).