Büdchen am Nikolausplatz Cologne

A personal story

Julia from Cologne

About me I am a geographer and city-addict! Whenever I go on holiday, my destination is a city. From time to time I long for hiking in the countryside, but I always feel relieved to be back in an urban environment. Cologne is the city where I was born and raised and after my studies, and some experience abroad (in France and Brazil), I came back and settled down here. Now I am q...
""Büdchen am Nikolausplatz" is the Büdchen I work at in Cologne. That's right - I'm selling sweets, ice-cream and coffee, and I couldn't be happier!"

The kiosk located at the corner of Remigiusstrasse and Lotharstrasse in Sülz is the "Büdchen" of my childhood. Playing or roller skating in the streets, my friends and I used to seize upon every opportunity to spend very small amounts of money on sweets of any kind.

Since those days, this Büdchen experienced a come-and-go of many different operators - some of them running the small kiosk for years, others just for a short period of time, but the general appearance was becoming more and more shabby.

In early 2016 my friend Martin took over the Büdchen. He refurbished the old hut and when he re-opened it in spring 2016, I immediately fell in love with the coffee machine and the new design and alignment of the kiosk. And...well...for more than four years now, I find myself selling sweets, ice-cream and coffee and chatting with people on Wednesday afternoons.

Meanwhile, a group of enthusiasts (and also Spotter Steph) joined Team Büdchen.  We all share the same goal: bringing together our neighbourhood. Our non-profit project is gaining momentum and we are very grateful that we can count on the support of so many amazing people! <3

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Cologne Spotter Julia

About me I am a geographer and city-addict! Whenever I go on holiday, my destination is a city. From time to time I long for hiking in the countryside, but I always feel relieved to be back in an urban environment. Cologne is the city where I was born and raised and after my studies, and some experience abroad (in France and Brazil), I came back and settled down here. Now I am quite sure, that I won’t leave anymore. I am working as a freelance journalist and editor specialized in urban development in the area of International Development Cooperation, and I have ...

About this spot

Remigiusstraße 59

Cappuccino:

2.30

Oct 18, 2025

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