Events

If you like coffee, but don't like paying Starbucks prices anymore - hot-foot it down to Schildergasse on Saturday 10th October and enjoy a green oasis of calm, laid on by those nice folk at Jacobs Krönung Coffee.  They'll be setting up an outdoor "living room" with 40 green sofas and a free cup of Jacobs Krönung coffee.  It's the perfect antitode to a day's busy shopping on the Schildergasse.  The 40 sofa's, which will be hard to miss, can be found on the corner of Schildergasse and Zeppelinstrasse, between 10am and 12 midnight, with coffee available to a

Didn't manage to make it down to Bayern to wallow in a beer strewn tent with busty Frauleins and leather clad "Jungs"?  Never mind - you don't have to go very far to find something similar right on your doorstep in Cologne.  You can experience a very watered down version in the Oktoberfest tent next to the Sudstadion, although their motto is "....sogar mit den richtigen beer" - they mean Gaffel Kolsch - which is arguably a very far cry from a "Maß" of Oktoberfest Helles.  Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped the locals from donning the traditi

Yes folks, it's Marathon time, if you haven't signed up there's still time, and if you're not up to the run, take a look at the Marathon Messe in the Rhinepark - the second best thing to taking part. This year is the 13th Cologne Marathon and promises to be another record breaking year, last year's winners were Robe Tola Guta (ETH) with a time of 02:29:39h,and Sammy Kurgat (KEN) who actually broke the marathon record with a time of 02:10:03h.  Over nine thousand participants from 57 nations took part in last year's race with 7,553 reaching the finishing line.

If you're a little bit squeemish, this show is probably not for you. If however, you're interested in the workings of the human body, you might want to take a look. The controversial show "Körperwelten" (Body Worlds) by Gunther von Hagens, rolls into Cologne from September 19th until January 31st. It's fascinating, it's repellent and it's a journey into "plastination" that you'll find either eye-opening or stomach churning.