Finally I reached the land of ideas, Germany; the country that I admire since a long time for their technology, history, art, economy and its people. The first city that I set my feet the city of Cologne or in Germany they called it as “Koln”. FYI, Cologne is located in the federal state of North Rhine – Westphalia and the most populous city in the Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. The population kind a over-crowded but the city still manageable even tough I find this city kind a unsafe and dirty in some of the area.
THE LOVE
I love the name of the city, Cologne! that’s the first! I know its not the real name and its only English version of it but still remind me with fragrance whenever I spell it. Forget it! here the reason why I love Cologne:
- Cologne Cathedral or Kolner Dom, you can’t called yourself as the real traveller if you doesn’t have any idea what and where is the location of this iconic building. This is the Germany version of Notre Dame in Paris, France and the local called it as the eternal construction site. Why its so strong? believe it or not it was built for 600 years! from 1248 to 1880, in comparison with Notre Dame, this Cathedral is majestic! that is why this is the most loved landmark by the local and in Germany in general. Its majestic and you can feel the “greatness” inside the cathedral.
- Hohenzollern Bridge, the bridge which crossed the river of rhine is probably on of the famous sightseeing site in Cologne today since you can see almost major part of the city from here. You can also enjoy the river of Rhine which part of WWII. Oh, inside the bridge you can see many “love locks” which were hanged around across the bridge, So make sure you bring your locks and put it hanging on bridge, no worry there is a lot of spaces left.
- The Foods and Beer, to be honest I’m not the one who love German food since I tried them in Netherlands and its not that really good, and expensive too. I mean the stereotype of German food such as sausage, smashed potatoes, and their beers are exceptional. I really enjoy it. The price also wont make your pocket “gone with the wind”, so you should eat more in Cologne.
THE HATE
This is the most sensitive one but since I’m the one who is very outspoken about something, I don’t really care about what people think. Please take this as constructive critics rather than being a hater.
- Dirty and Smelly, in some part of area especially in famous public spaces like in Hohenzollern Bridge is very dirty : a lot of rubbish and unclean pavement. I can smell of p*ss under and upper the bridge. I don’t know why they let this happen. I’m sure a lot of people pi**ing at night in this location. Just No No!
- Unsafe, this is the most controversial topic but we need to highlight it. Cologne probably is the most unsafe city in Germany especially for women. Do you still remember 2015 New Year Eve mass r*pe? and until now only two people are convicted which is very absurd. At the time the refugees and migrants was blamed for this and I can see and feel that when I visited in this city. I’m not going to be afraid to say that I feel really worry when I visited the area where many migrants and refugees lived especially with my female friends. I can feel “hatred” inside their eyes and Its like they don’t like you being there. Its funny since I am also person of color, so its more than “white vs non white”, more than that and I’m sure some of you understand what I mean. So for you female travellers who plan to visit this city make sure you are not alone especially in the area which considered unsafe.
- Over-Crowded, I can even imagine why my many people can stand to live in this city. Its like the whole city 5 millions people, there is not enough spaces especially in public spaces. So if you hate “over-crowded” places, well this is not for you.
In conclusion, Cologne for me is a great experiences. Do I want to revisit this city? absolutely NOT! I will visit another Germany’s city which are unpopular and less crowded.