Gamescom is located in Cologne, Germany. But games are not the only thing I like to do with my time. This year, I dragged my brother with me to Gamescom and actually spent some time checking out this part of Germany. In previous years, you could find me at the event hall from morning till dusk, but this year having my brother meant we needed to explore. With Dann in tow, we booked a day of adventure.
Street market along the Rhine river
Whenever possible, we traveled along the Rhine river. The Rhine is a pretty big river going through Cologne, Germany, providing for a pretty thing to look at with some beautiful bridges in the distance. On Saturday, loads of market stalls had set up along the river, selling antiques, paintings, furniture and more. We took our time looking at the various bits and bobs each stand had. My brother was mainly interested in the old clown items, for whatever reason. These stalls had such a variety of items from glass statues to jewelry to strange clown statues. Along the river, you could see boats and cruise ships making their way down the tide. It was a pretty warm day, so walking around the stalls by the water was very welcome.
Lindt Chocolate Museum
We took some time to explore the chocolate museum located in Cologne, which was big and wonderful. The place had everything you wanted to know about chocolate and cocoa beans. After teaching us all about chocolate and Lindt’s founder, the museum moves into how cocoa beans become chocolate, the process of molding chocolate and then into various chocolate-related items. Showcasing old fashion plates and cups for chocolate related food, molds used to make chocolate and advertisement for chocolate, there is literally everything there. I wrote up a separate post on just the chocolate museum, as we did so much in it. Attached to the museum, there is a little cafe with the most luxurious chocolate foods you could ever taste.
Lock Bridge
The lock bridge is always something you can see in passing or in the distance, but I’ve always wanted a closer look. The idea is couples who visit the bridge leave a lock attached to the gating. This lock normally has a date on it – either the date they visited the bridge, the date they got together or an anniversary. This lock represents their relationship – one unbreakable as it sticks on the bridge. There are hundreds and hundreds of locks along the bridge, all unique in their own way. Some have rusted, some are shaped in unique ways and some are just bike locks thrown up there. Whatever the reason, these locks are really interesting to look at and check out, all attached to such a big bridge.
Treasury at the Cathedral
To end our day, we rushed over to the massive cathedral that you can always see from the distance or by passing on the train. The cathedral has been under renovation for as long as I have have been going to Gamescom, but it is still impressive. We took the time to explore the treasury specifically, as we had already done so much in our day and didn’t have much time left. The Treasury in the cathedral basically holds all of the super expensive stuff the church has been gifted or used over the years. Gold goblets, crosses, crowns – stained glass windows, tapestry, you can basically look at everything that is deemed valuable. This was the perfect last stop on our adventure, as the rooms were air conditioned which was just what we wanted after a long walk across the lock bridge. The rooms were so well lit and the jewels within were captivating. My brother found this to be his favorite part of the day and hopes to come back to explore the rest of the cathedral soon.
Cologne, Germany has a lot to offer and everything is really close to each other. We managed to hit all of these spots while walking around on foot and made it home in time for dinner. The day was packed full of adventures and was really good fun.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!