On yer bike: Cologne

Cologne, Germany’s fourth most populous city, is particularly attractive to the budget-aware visitor as the centre can be explored on foot and the whole city is easily accessible by bike. An extensive network of cycle paths and an all-round bike-friendly mentality mean that this really is an enjoyable place to cycle. I have always felt far too unsecure to cycle on the roads in the UK, but in Cologne I found myself happily whizzing from one place to another feeling like superwoman on two wheels. Actually, make that environmentally-friendly-Superwoman on two wheels.

Happy punters on our cycle around Cologne!

So, if you feel like going green and saving on public transport costs while you're at it, get on yer bike. It may be a case of beg, borrow or steal (although that last option is not advised - you probably won't be able to out-cycle the Polizei...), or there are various hire options available including Cologne's answer to the Boris Bike: Callabike. These silver bicycles with the red DB logo emblazoned on them are dotted around the city, and if you register online (callabike.de) then you can enter your unique customer code into any of their bikes to use it straight away. There is a charge per minute (€0.08), but you will not be charged more than €15 in a 24-hour period. If you are intending on staying in the city for a while then you could always do as the locals do and head to one of the many flea markets (Flohmarkt) to bag yourself a bargain bike. I picked one up for €40 at the Kölner Stadt Flohmarkt just off Universitätstraβe (every Saturday).

Anyway, once you have got your hands on a bike one way or another, read on for a few places well worth a visit if you want to see the best of the city without spending a fortune...

Top Ten Cologne - Food for every occasion!

Cologne is an extremely diverse city, which is reflected in its vast array of food outlets. Whether you fancy traditional or exotic, a quick nibble or a gourmet experience, Cologne's culinary establishments cater to your every whim. I have put together a list of some of my favourite places, all of which satisfy slightly different needs.

Breakfast time

A typical German breakfast will always involve mountains of fresh brötchen (bread rolls), cheese and cold meats. As tasty as these can be, I often found myself yearning for the cereal-based brekkie I normally had back home. Then one day my boyfriend told me he had a surprise for me. We went out, stomachs rumbling as I had been told I could not have breakfast first, and he lead me to Brüsseler Straβe to the cutest little muesli cafe, aptly named 'Yummy!'

Perfect breakfast

A pick 'n' mix style display filled with every type of cereal you could imagine, along with dried fruits and chocolate coated  nibbles, lies to the left of the counter. You take a bowl, help yourself to as much as you want, and then order milk, yoghurt or fresh fruit to go with it. Be warned though, the price is according to the weight, so don't go too crazy! An impressive selection of chai latte flavours is the final detail that confirms this cafe as one of my favourites in Cologne, and even my meat-and-cheese-obsessed boyfriend enjoyed his breakfast.

Wherever I hang me knickers...

I think a turning point for many avid travellers comes when they realise that they no longer have only one place to call 'home'. If home is simply where you feel 'at home', that opens up a whole host of options. If 'home is where the heart is' then friends and relationships made along the way can add to the confusion. I guess most of us are lucky enough to have one place where our roots lie... but when I have lived and loved, earned and learned in a new place I often feel my relationship with the setting itself evolving from a whirlwind affair into a long-term romance; no matter where I move on to, those few special places will always tug away at the old heart strings.

Via Etsy

Mad for Karneval

In Cologne Karneval time is so important that it has been named as the fifth ‘season’, kicking off with a whirlwind day of costumed alcohol consumption on 11^th November (‘Elfter Elfter’) and culminating in a six-day party extravaganza in February. This is no tourist event or youth rebellion; here the overwhelmingly native German crowd brings together the fresh-faced, newly legal drinker and the veteran Karneval-goer in a mass of crazy, ridiculous, and often entirely impractical outfits in order to celebrate… well I have no idea what actually, perhaps beer? Or the quashing of the German stiff ‘n’ sensible stereotype? Certainly watching my boyfriend flail his arms around gaily whilst dressed in a ghastly old blue wetsuit and entirely random mullet wig made me stop and think – we were wrong all along; the Germans DO have a sense of humour, we just don’t get it!*

Why Tommy Girl hit the road

It’s time for some background information, focusing in large part on who is Tommy Girl, and why on earth is she travelling? Well, my hypothetical inquisitive friend, she is a 22-year-old graduate from Britain who has been driven to where she is today by her three great passions: languages, travelling and writing. Oh alright, there may be a boy involved too…

Here we go...

My suitcase is packed, Ryanair online check-in completed, all-important Facebook status announcing my departure posted. The comfortable, repetitive routine of university life is behind me and ahead lies... well I'm not really sure yet, but it's certainly going to be a change. As a linguist and a travel fanatic I am extremely excited to find out what my next journey away from the good old UK will bring, as I venture over to the land of lederhosen, beer and sausages to work for the next few months.

I have lived abroad before - five months studying on the Island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean, and six months working on the Costa del Sol in Spain - but this experience will be a whole new challenge. Whereas before I was protected by a thorough understanding of the native language of my newly adopted (or perhaps fostered) countries, this time I will be heading into linguistic pastures unknown... OK, I have taken the odd evening class, and visited Germany several times over the last two years, but there is none of the reassurance that comes from building up a knowledge of a language over many years in an educational environment. I will be testing out the alternative: jumping in at the deep end. I anticipate a lot of treading water at first, flailing my arms eratically as I struggle to string a sentence together, gasping for air as I completely embarrass myself with a language faux pas or two... but by December I intend on being Olympic material. Well, Commonwealth at the very least.

My route is not exactly direct either; first stop is Madrid to babysit a couple of turtles, dodge Catholics when the Pope comes to town, and generally try not to melt in the city that is known as 'the Frying Pan' during the summer. Then my boyfriend and I will be hiring a car and driving to Andalucia, hopefully seeing Cordoba and Seville en route to the coast, whereupon I envisage throwing myself into the sea without delay in an act of desperation caused by the intense overheating that my body will have suffered in the preceding week and a half. At the end of the month we will board the plane (Ryanair once again, I like to travel in style...) to Cologne, and the German adventure begins!

So, for now it is adios amigos, no idea when I will have the internet again, but sporadic entries will undoubtedly follow in the near future...

Besitos, TG xx