New in Germany

Hi and welcome to Expat.com Tashaj05,

Your post has been moved to the Cologne forum.
Do you have any specific questions?
This might be easier for other members to help you.

Regards
Armand
Expat.com Team

Hey there and welcome to Germany 

I've been living in Germany since my early teenage years and was fortunate enough to experience life in more than two or three German cities. Although I am currently planning to relocate to Hamburg, I must say that Cologne is a beautiful city and will forever be home, to me. Over the years, I found Germans to be quite nicer and a bit more approachable here in Cologne, especially when I compare it to cities like Munich or Würzbug and Berlin.

If you haven't already, you'll soon find out that almost every single German you'll meet will be hell bent on speaking/practicing English to/with you, instead of German, given the fact that you're from the UK. If you don't insist on the fact that you'd rather speak German in a bid to better your language skills, you may never really get to fully learn and practice at all. So again, do it and don't EXPECT anything  but patience, manners and hospitality!

Other than that, Cologne is an extremely open minded city as far as Foreigners. The "Altstadt" (old town) has some  nice buildings, which lie right at the river Rhine. Just next to it is the Cologne cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site. Its worth the climb up into one of the two towers!!!!! (You should like it if you don't fear heights) Colognians love their city. They have their own dialect (Kölsch) and quite a few music bands who sing about the city in these dialects.People from South or North Germany wont be able to understand a word. Its quite the unique music scene.


You may want to  visit a brewery. Youll sit down and get a Kölsch (Cologne beer) right away without asking for it. At the very moment its empty, youll get a new one without asking for it, until you put your beer mat on top of your glass :-) I must admit that the local beer doesn't meet my taste but to each their own. Another highlight is of course the cathedral. You should climb the 386 steps to the top. After that, walk across the railroad bridge and there youll find the perfect picture of Cologne.The bridge and the cathedral Maybe wait for sunset or even a bit more until the cathedral and bridge are lighted. That would make a great picture.

As far as Nightlife,  I strongly recommend you to visit Bars, Shisha bars, pubs, nightclubs packed  all along from the  "Friesenplatz" to the "Barbarossaplatz". These are streets with particular density along Zülpicher Straße and Aachener Straße. Also a party not to be missed, Colognes Reggae Summer Jam Festival in June and the Carnival in February which is a raucous party in the streets with costumes, beer, and blaring traditional German songs and is arguably the best Carnival celebrations in this region of Europe. Personally I tend to escape to Düsseldorf, a neighboring city to party for, I find Düsseldorf to be more High-Fashion, Posh and business oriented 


I think I'll stop here for now. But should you have any other specific questions about Cologne, feel free to send me a PM  und Mach's jut!!!

Hi ...I'm new to Germany. Looking for friends. I'm a software professional. Tried hands in Modelling but nothing worked.

Take care

Thanks

Hi I will be new to Germany in about 3 weeks time. I will be living in Cologne for a year and i'm feeling really nervous. I will be working in a hotel just opposite the cathedral in the city centre but I am worried that I won't meet people when I am there. My German is ok but definitely not fluent and I will need help with it most likely.

hello natlynagh i am a volantary to help you in deutsch sprachen and i thank you for your comprehention