If you visit one of the many bars at Aachener Straße (Café Schmitz or Herr Pimmock for example), coming from Rudolfplatz, make sure to raise your head right at the beginning of the street at house no. 1.

You’ll see a huge neon sign with the figure of a man lifting a glass of Kölsch, his belly filling up with the beer neon tube by neon tube….But wait – is it really a man? Is it a woman? The sign changes!

After the figure filled up its stomach once, the man turns into a woman, losing its bow tie, getting heels on its shoes and more hair at the same time. Also, the label changes from ‘er trinkt’ (he drinks) to ‘sie trinkt’ (she drinks) and back.

The sign is an advertisement for one of the biggest Kölsch brands, Reissdorf, and has been there since 1968 – meanwhile it has gained official landmark status.

In 2013, there was a public outcry when some of the neon tubes were broken – that’s how much people in Cologne care about their Reissdorf-Männchen. It clearly always brings a smile to my face when I see it! It’s nice to look at during the day, but to see it change from male to female and back, come after sunset.