If you arrive in Germany from a 24/7 open-all-hours city, Sundays will come as a bit of a shock. Everything is closed. The streets are empty, there’s nothing to do and nowhere to spend your hard earned cash. But don’t jump back on the plane just yet. There’s a much-loved tradition that will save your sanity and your Sunday.
Sundays in Germany may be horribly boring and thoroughly inconvenient, but you do eventually get used to them. After a while, you may even come to appreciate them as an island of calm in your otherwise hectic working week. They are also the perfect excuse to enjoy a spot of afternoon tea and cake – because hey, what else is there to do? Here are three places in Cologne to enjoy some guilty pleasures on a Sunday.
Eat the chocolate ‘Dreikönigstorte’ at the Schokoladen Museum cafe and you’ll feel your arteries clogging up deliciously with every bite. This stuff is dynamite and the slices are so big you’ll need a doggy bag because you will not be able to eat it all without fainting. Wash it down with a steaming hot frothy chocolate smothered in whipped cream and you’ll be needing an extra long walk home to work off the calories before they do any lasting damage. Combine all that with an unbeatable view of the Rhine and a bustling but kind-of-stylish atmosphere and you’ve got yourself a proper Sunday cake experience right there.
(You don’t have to pay the admission fee to visit the cafe – in fact – you can skip the museum all together and just head straight for the cake).
Schokoladenmusem, 50678 Köln
www.chocolatemuseum-cologne.com
For a much more traditional setting, see if you can get a table at the Cafe Wahlen on the ring between Rudsolfplatz and Zulpicherplatz. This place is so twee you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into your grannies sitting room. From the flowery chintz chairs and waitresses in frilly white aprons to the dodgy chandeliers and flouncy net curtains, it’s an explosion of wonderful kitschiness. The cakes are delicious and the place is heaving on a Sunday so they must be doing something right.
Hohenstaufenring 64, 50674 Köln
www.cafe-wahlen.de
For something less kitsch and a lot more laid back, take a walk down to the Südstadt and after a promenade through the Römerpark, stop at this delightful cafe on the round-about. In summer you can sit outside and enjoy some Südstadt people watching. In winter you can sit inside where it’s cosy, warm and welcoming. With plain wooden floors and marble topped tables, it’s nothing special when it comes to decor, but that’s what makes it so nice and relaxed. The very friendly staff and freshly baked cakes make this an ideal place to sit, enjoy the food and while away a Sunday afternoon with a paper.
Teutoburger Str. 42 · 50678 Köln
cafe-roemerpark.de
Rhine-online 