Beside the Rhine in Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Our main reason for visiting Cologne last December was football, to watch Newcastle United play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League (a 2-2 draw, if anyone’s interested!) And of course there were Christmas markets to enjoy. But we also wanted to see something of the city.

The morning after the match was lovely and sunny, with a chilly wind but some warmth in the sun, so we set out on a walk by the river Rhine.

On our way down to the river we passed Groß St. Martin church, dating from the 13th century. We didn’t stop to go in but did explore the small square in which it sits, An Groß St. Martin. There was a small sculpture of Saint Martin giving his cloak to the beggar, and a fountain, the Tierbrunnen, which unfortunately was dry.

From the river bank we had some good views of the church and of the cathedral beyond. There were some attractive buildings including one labelled as dating from 1234, although I suspect considerably restored if not rebuilt. The city was one of Germany’s most heavily bombed by the Allies, with 95% of its city centre destroyed in over 260 air raids. Incredibly though, the cathedral was relatively unscathed.

We followed the river south until we reached the Deutzer Bridge. We climbed spiral stone steps to reach the road and cross the river at this point. From the bridge we had some great views of the river and could see several cruise ships moored just below us. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).