My latest adventures look like they'll be taking me to Cologne and Brussels. I haven't been abroad since before the pandemic. I figured i'll do a two-for-one and visit 2 countries that i've never been to. Belgium and the land of the (former) Third Reich.... Germany. Cologne and Brussels are the target cities. anyone here been? any advice of tourist attractions and places to go? any english/irish pubs (probably irish pubs) to visit if i wanna watch a footy match? I'm a history buff. i see the location of waterloo is nearbye brussels... i might visit there. will probably be going first week of October. is it warm then in Deutschland? i hope it's not cold.
Hey mate. Both are cool cities to visit. Keep an eye on the Champions League draw as I think we've got 3 CL games in October and we seem to constantly get drawn with Borussia Dortmund, much to my own frustration Cologne is a great base for trips to Dortmund though. The Kölner Dom (Cologne cathedral) is the standout landmark in the city, you'll see it as soon as you arrive. The 'Triangle' building is a good viewing platform for views of the cathedral across the weather. The chocolate museum is another popular tourist attraction and there's also a few other museums in the centre of the city. It's quite a compact city centre close to the river. There's a lot of restaurants down near the river and you can take boat tours if you wanted a trip along the Rhein river. A large chunk of the city centre is a shopping district but if you fancy getting away from the touristy areas, 'Ehrenfeld' was a nice neighbourhood to have a wander with lots of street art, independent shops, cafes etc. As far as 'Irish pubs' go, the Corkonian is probably your best bet. It's pretty central, is a good sized pub and has a bunch of TV's that show live sport. As for Brussels, Grand Place is the spectacular square that is a must visit and you can walk down the street towards the 'Mannekin Pis' statue (peeing boy) which is pretty popular. There's quite a bit of street art in the centre of Brussels if that's of any interest. A couple of fun attractions are the "Atomium" and also Mini-Europe which are next door to eachother. I'm not sure where to watch any football at in Brussels, the only time I can recall watching football in Brussels was at the stadium. There is an Irish pub that's pretty central called 'O'Reilly's' but from memory I don't think they had any TV's. They do have karaoke though, I have a vivid memory of a few Spurs fans completely butchering Britney Spears one evening Do make sure you enjoy the Belgian and German beers elsewhere though. There are much better places for drinking in both cities and the beer's really good in both, particularly Belgium. Cologne has a couple of cool beerhalls and Belgium has countless places to drink good beer. The public transport in both countries is pretty good so easy enough to take daytrips to other parts of Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg if you feel so inclined. For a first time visit however I'm sure you'll find plenty to do in both cities without venturing elsewhere. As for weather, it's fairly similar to here really. You might get good weather in October, you might get shit weather in October. Hard to say.
DD a man after my own heart. great advice there pal. yes it's champions league week when i should be going. so will try and catch a game at the nearest anglophone pub. yes as i have seen dortmund is about an hour away on the train so who knows maybe i could grab a game there. if Koln are playing maybe catch a game there? dont think they are though. you don't need to tell me twice when it comes to drinking booze. i certainly haven't waited 3 years to go on holiday just to stay sober the whole time
