For me, the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst (MOK) overlooking the Aachener Weiher (check out the spot) is one of the most beautiful places in Cologne! And it was, by the way, my very first spot as a Spotter for Spotted by Locals. For many years it was basically the café with its terrace by the water that most attracted me. Unfortunately, the café closed permanently in 2021. These days, I return for the place itself and for its artsy urban atmosphere.
The Museum of East Asian Art has a permanent collection of Japanese, Chinese and Korean art and regularly hosts interesting special exhibitions. What fascinates me most, however, is the serene, modest and yet breathtaking architecture of the building by the Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa, a pupil of Le Corbusier. I love roaming the building, enjoying the view over the Japanese landscape garden on the patio or sitting on the terrace watching the ducks and geese on the pond.
Good news: On weekends between 11 am and 5 pm, a mobile café now serves coffee specialities and cold drinks on the terrace.
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"Bärenstark" in Berlin will convince anyone about how vegan fast food can be just as tasty as regular burgers, fries etc!
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In Sri Lanka, as well as in India and Southeast Asia, they ferment the juice of the coconut flower to make a drink called toddy, hence the name of the bar.
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Delicato is a wholesale grocer with high-quality Italian products such as cold cuts, bronze-cut pasta & oil. But not only that: it is also a kitchen bar!
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Next to saving some money, the most important is: You are saving food that would have been otherwise thrown away because of either the best-to-date or how it looks.
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"Goodchild Café" in Cologne makes the best croissants in town. There's no brunch without a pain au chocolat, but the selection here is endless...
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"KölnTriangle" provides what in my opinion is the best view of Cologne, at least in my opinion. You can see the Dome and so much more!
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"Die Mehlwerkstatt" in Cologne is unlike other bakeries: here they still make the dough themselves. Everything is freshly made, warm and delicious...
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Lichtspiele Kalk is an independent cinema with an 87-seat screening room and it shows not only contemporary movies but also children’s and classic movies.
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What struck me the most were the frescoes in the three apse ceilings by Hermann Gottfried. These powerful frescoes bring colors and dynamism to the church.
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To maintain this habitat open and thus preserve the associated species - there is a shepherd with goats and sheep. There are also free tours you can join!
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Knippschild Werk 2 is a rather small family-run restaurant with 30 seats inside and 18 seats in the biergarten, and multiple kinds of Schnitzel!
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In this museum, you can see more than 20 tramways, a model railway, historical props of the Cologne tramway, and technical objects.
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