A City of Twinkling Lights and Snowy Nights

By TJ Ball · Cologne, Germany

Fun fact for those of you who don’t follow international business news or care much for German economic policy — Germany doesn’t have Uber. Something my friend Matt and I learned the hard way shortly after we landed in Cologne, Germany in mid-December of last year. After a solid twenty minutes of haggling with taxi drivers in our broken French and very broken German, we finally found a cab driver we decided wasn’t going to rip us off. A short ride later and we arrived at our Airbnb, a simple apartment in a quiet suburb of the city. With only 36 hours in this enchanting German metropolis, Matt and I wanted to make sure we spent our time wisely, so we quickly dropped off our bags and set out for downtown around 8pm.

The friendly woman who owned the Airbnb recommended we take a fifteen minute ride on the U-Bahn to get downtown. Heeding her advice, we only had to walk a minute or two to get to the Konigsforst station. Before we knew it, we were stepping out at the Heumarkt stop into a winter wonderland. Across the street from the U-Bahn station stood a wooden archway, with what seemed to be thousands of dazzling white Christmas lights beckoning us from just beyond. As we passed under the arch we were immersed in a sea of smells and sights — grilled bratwurst off to one side, freshly made waffles and crêpes off to another, the thick smell of spilled beer and muhlwein wafting from just a little bit ahead, and from all around the undeniable, fresh scent of pine needles.

Large German cities (and even small ones too) are known for their bustling Christmas markets that take place throughout the month of December, reaching their peak in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Christmas markets have been a holiday tradition in Germany for hundreds of years, with the first markets in the region taking place in the 1300s. Every German city has their own local twist on this authentic tradition, with some being particularly known for live music, German desserts and meats or even homemade Christmas décor. Within major German cities you might even find multiple Christmas markets — again each with a particular theme.

One of the ways by which markets differentiate themselves from each other is by having their own unique mug. When you purchase muhlwein, hot chocolate,or another hot beverage, it is served to you in a Christmas-themed mug which you can then carry throughout the market. When you’ve finished you can then either return the mug to a nearby vendor and get a few euros back, or hold onto it and keep it as a souvenir to remember your trip! Needless to say, Matt and I each brought a few back.

Though Cologne’s Christmas markets are truly magical at night, you can experience most of them during the day as well (and be a little warmer too). After a night of wandering through the vintage-looking stalls at Heumarkt, we returned to our Airbnb and had a nice jet-lag sponsored rest. The next morning we packed up all of our things and set out again for downtown by U-Bahn1. Though we hopped off at the Heumarkt stop again, we decided to walk along the Rhein for a bit to check out a different Christmas market that we had spotted the night before. As we drew closer to the Harbour Market we noticed a rather imposing structure sitting just behind the market’s quaint wooden booths. We soon learned that this structure was in fact Cologne’s chocolate museum, where you can learn about the history of chocolate, see it made and most importantly sample a large selection of chocolate in the museum’s gift shop.

“Though Cologne’s Christmas markets are truly magical at night, you can experience most of them during the day as well.”

Strolling through the Harbour market, Matt and I noted that this market had a greater emphasis on selling seafood, chocolate desserts and handmade Christmas trinkets. While Matt wandered through the stalls of homemade jewelry, knit scarves and figurines in search of Christmas gifts, I went to a food truck selling fresh seafood. Regardless of what it was, it made for a perfect three euro brunch, nicely complimenting my morning cup of hot chocolate (served in a Christmas mug of course).

“Though there are obviously some things that are so unique you may feel compelled to drop a little extra cash on them — lucky for you (and me) Cologne doesn’t have too many of these things. If you’re not the type of traveler who is content to just walk around and hop between shops, sights and free events, Cologne will change that for you — especially if you’re there around the holiday season.”

Though it had become abundantly clear the night before that I should’ve done more to brush up on my little knowledge of German, I was somehow able to ask the woman behind the counter what her favorite dish was at the truck. She promptly pointed to one fish sandwich that vaguely looked like smoked salmon — then again most of the sandwiches did.

For the rest of the day, Matt and I wandered through several other markets, down some cobblestone streets and into a few churches. Despite it being chilly, it was incredibly fun to get a sense of the city and see its major attractions just by casually walking around. I’m personally a huge fan of budget travel. Though there are obviously some things that are so unique you may feel compelled to drop a little extra cash on them — lucky for you (and me) Cologne doesn’t have too many of these things. If you’re not the type of traveler who is content to just walk around and hop between shops, sights and free events, Cologne will change that for you — especially if you’re there around the holiday season.

One thing that I would say is worth a little extra money is having some authentic German food in one of the beer houses or taverns. There’s a number of places to pick from, each with their own version of traditional dishes and every one serving Kolsch — a type of beer made in Cologne.

We stopped by one to have a late lunch and seek refuge from the cold. Even if you’re not super big on German food, these taverns make for a great opportunity to observe locals going about their daily routines. Before we caught our train for Amsterdam, we made sure to stop by one last market, located just next to the city’s central train station and Cologne Cathedral (Kolner Dom). Though slightly more commercial and touristy than some of the city’s other markets, this one certainly had the largest variety of food, trinkets, souvenirs, ornaments and gifts. With a huge Christmas tree at the center of all the stalls, and the 800 year-old Kolner Dom as the backdrop for a myriad of beautiful lights, this is one spot you have to be sure not to miss.


This article was published in the Spring 2018 issue, Budget Travel.

TJ is a DC native who grew up in Southern Maryland, where he enjoys spending time sailing and driving around listening to country music. His favorite city that he’s been to is Istanbul, Turkey because of its intersection of so many rich cultures, manifested by the many different types of food, architecture, religion, art, and spices which brighten the city’s streets and give it life.

Guac is an award-winning travel publication run by an interdisciplinary group of students at Cornell University. We aim to inspire our readers to celebrate cultural diversity and view the world with an open mind through delivering unique stories from people around the world.

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Guac is an award-winning travel publication run by an interdisciplinary group of students at Cornell University. We aim to inspire our readers to celebrate cultural diversity and view the world with an open mind through delivering unique stories from people around the world.

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Guac Magazine

Guac is an award-winning travel publication run by an interdisciplinary group of students at Cornell University. We aim to inspire our readers to celebrate cultural diversity and view the world with an open mind through delivering unique stories from people around the world.

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