In my last blog, I left off noting we had a long trip to our next destination, Cologne. Even though it seemed long, we made good time on our journey. I even fell asleep for a little bit.

When we arrived at Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg, our home for the next two nights, I was in awe of the building, a former castle. We were greeted by the welcoming staff and handed the keys to our rooms.

Since we arrived midafternoon, we had some downtime before meeting for pre-dinner drinks at the lobby bar. We toasted with Champagne and talked about our excitement to explore the area, as none of us had been to Cologne before. After a round of drinks and fun conversation, we headed to dinner at the hotel’s Trattoria Enoteca where we ordered a sampling of appetizers and I ordered fish as my entrée — all delicious. For dessert I had a sampling of refreshing sorbet with flavors like lemon, raspberry and strawberry. After a night of yummy food and drink, we headed to our rooms for a good night’s sleep before our day exploring Cologne.

In the morning I enjoyed a light breakfast at the hotel’s breakfast restaurant and then met the rest of the group in the lobby to head into town for a walking tour of the city. We met our guide in front of breathtaking Cologne Cathedral, where she filled us in on the history of the church and the surrounding buildings and businesses. I thought the cathedral was stunning from the outside but was taken aback by the interior. The church featured rows and rows of pews with visitors from all over offering a form of prayer, several stunning stained-glass windows, paintings and more. If you are ever in Cologne, I advise building a good amount of time into your schedule to explore the many areas and floors of Cologne Cathedral.

We continued our tour with a walk to the Rhine River, passing by a part of the road preserved from Cologne’s original form. After World War II, many of Cologne’s buildings and landmarks were damaged and had to be restored, so it was refreshing to see some of the older, untouched parts of the city. Throughout the tour we learned about the olden days of Cologne as well as the newer traditions, including its Carnival, offering six days of fun and celebration. We ended our tour at the famed Peter Brauhaus brewery, where we had lunch.

At lunch we ordered a round of traditional German beer and delicious bites to fill up on before heading out to explore more of the town on our own. We walked through some of the main shopping streets in Cologne, going in and out of different boutiques, cafés, chocolate shops and more.

After exploring, we headed back to the hotel to shower and freshen up before heading to dinner at the hotel’s Restaurant Vendôme, an experience in and of itself. Come back next time to hear more about it!

— Mary Melnick, social media & editorial coordinator