Adam Grudziński

Travel ·

Koblenz, Bonn and Cologne in two days, with a night in the car

A short trip to the Rhine in June 2023: the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz, an evening in Bonn, a night in the car, and in the morning the tower of Cologne cathedral and a kebab at Lukas Podolski’s.

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Not every trip needs a big story. This one lasted under two days, in June 2023, and consisted of three cities on the Rhine, one night spent sleeping in the car and a great many steps.

Koblenz

The first stop was Koblenz on Sunday afternoon, at the Deutsches Eck, the “German Corner”. It is the point where the Moselle flows into the Rhine, and right above the confluence stands a huge equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I. Across the Rhine, high up on the rock, you can see the Ehrenbreitstein fortress.

The Rhine in Koblenz, with the Ehrenbreitstein fortress on the hill opposite
The Rhine in Koblenz and the Ehrenbreitstein fortress on the far bank.
The equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I at the Deutsches EckA river cruise ship on the Rhine below the Ehrenbreitstein fortress
The Wilhelm I monument at the Deutsches Eck and a ship below the fortress.

An evening in Bonn

By the evening I was in Bonn, which for several decades was the capital of West Germany. In the square in front of the minster stands a statue of Beethoven, who was born here, and nearby, right in the centre, there is a Haribo shop. That is a local product too, since the company’s name is short for Hans Riegel Bonn.

The Beethoven monument on Münsterplatz in Bonn with a Bonn sign in frontThe colourful front of the Haribo shop in Bonn in the evening
The Beethoven monument on Münsterplatz and the Haribo shop, both in Bonn.

I ended the day by the Rhine at dusk and spent the night in the car.

The Rhine in Bonn at dusk, a bridge in the distance
The Rhine in Bonn at dusk.

Morning in Cologne

In the morning I drove to Cologne and started with a walk along the Rhine, from where you can see the cathedral from far away. By about nine I was standing beneath it, and then I climbed the tower. There are more than five hundred steps, and on the way up you pass the belfry with St Peter’s Bell, one of the largest free-swinging bells in the world.

The front of Cologne cathedral with its two towersA huge bell in the wooden frame of the belfryStone pinnacles and scaffolding seen from the cathedral tower
The cathedral from the front, St Peter’s Bell, and pinnacles seen from the tower.

From the top you can see the whole city, the Rhine and the station that stands right below the cathedral. After coming down I also went inside, where the naves are so high that the people in the pews look tiny.

The view from the cathedral tower over the Rhine, bridges and roofs of CologneThe interior of Cologne cathedral, with tall Gothic naves
Cologne from the cathedral tower, and the cathedral inside.
A panorama of Cologne from across the Rhine, with the cathedral and Great St Martin
The panorama from the far bank of the Rhine: Great St Martin, the cathedral and the Hohenzollern Bridge.

A kebab at Podolski’s, and what came next

The Mangal Lukas Podolski sign above the entrance of a restaurant in Cologne
Mangal, Lukas Podolski’s kebab place.

To finish, I had a kebab at Mangal, the chain founded by Lukas Podolski. He was born in Gliwice in Poland, played for the German national team and is a legend of the local club in Cologne. The kebab itself did not survive long enough for a photo; only the sign did.

After that I went to Szczyrk in southern Poland for a week, and on the way I stopped in Oświęcim and at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. I have no photos from that part of the trip, neither from Oświęcim nor from Szczyrk.