Shopping

Thanks to a new ruling in the city of Cologne, you will now be able to shop on three Sundays in March.  On the 7th March in Weiden and Porz-Lind/Wahn, on the 14th in Rodenkirchen, Lindenthal and Ossendorf, and on the 21st in Braunsfeld, Longerich and Poll.  There will be other dates throughout the year - including of course for the Innenstadt (Schildergasse etc.) in May.  If all of that is far too ordinary you could instead, take a little trip to Belgium or Holland and check out the designer outlet's on our doorstep.  In Holland there is the MacArthur Glen Designer Outle

There's nothing like a bit of "trödel" - or junk as it's known in English.

When I was a kid, the seaside was all about two things - sandcastles and a stick of rock.  You never ate the sickly sweet hard candy anywhere else except on a wet, grey, windswept British beach - it almost felt like a consolation prize.  And now you can relive all those wonderful memories in the stick of rock shop "Snoepjes" in Düsseldorf.  It's a Dutch/German concept where they sell different varieties of "Rock Candy" in a bag - you no longer have to break your teeth on the stuff - they cut it up into bite sized pieces for you.  You can also req

Stray off the beaten track once in a while and you'll stumble across some great little shops in the city's back streets.  One of my faves is Tausend Fliegende Fische, a gorgeous little boutique on Roonstrasse, near to Zulpicher Platz.  With its cosy retro look and huge assortment of cool fashion names it's hard to leave the place without buying something.

Broke is a second hand shop with a difference.  It's not musty, smelly or dank and dark - it sells the coolest second hand wares in the city.  Retro sports-wear, cool books, and Mango style magazine, film and and figures.  The branded second hand clothes are all in top condition and with names like Carhartt, Alife, Bench and Adidas you're bound to find the perfect old, but in, item to spruce up your wardrobe.  They also sell new items such as Asian art movies and graphics books, and although everything is a bit out of the ordinary, the prices are fairly down to earth.&nb

The Alter Markt Christmas Market in Cologne became a favourite of mine last year - up until then I'd been very blasé about Christmas markets in Cologne, saying how once you'd seen one you'd seen them all, and comparing them unfavourably with Munich where each has a distinctive and unique character.  Well, someone must have heard me because last year Cologne had an overhaul of its markets, making each one distinctive and unique, and ensuring that a visit to more than one would be truly worthwhile.  The Heinzelmänchen Christmas market on the Alter Markt is delightful.&nb

Christmas is coming - time for cheesy souvenirs for the loved ones.  Personally, I love a "good" souvenir, because it is so easy these days, to buy the same stuff here as you can "back home", it has become a part-time quest of mine to find decent, local souvenirs for my friends and loved ones at home and abroad.

The Christmas market selection is tip-top yet again this year and last year's new kid on the block at the Stadtgarten, is once again one of the highlights.  I took the kids along to the free "Kasper puppet show" and afterwards enjoyed a delicious, thick, freshly made waffle and a sneaky little Glühwein.  There's a great selection of stalls this year, handmade paper goods, thick woolly hats and scarves, handmade bags, bed linen, soap and some really lovely jewellery.  The people at the "Hot Ducks" stand made a big impression with their seed filled duck

If you're pregnant and looking for maternity wear, or a new Mum looking for dead cute baby stuff - visit Bellybutton on Mittelstrasse in Cologne.  Bellybutton used to be just an online shop offering a limited selection of pregnancy and baby clothes, plus a great range of "pure" creams and oils for Mama and baby.  The belly oil was great for warding off stretch marks, and the baby massage oil and body creams were wonderfully soothing and smelt divine.

I live in the city of Cologne. But I happily make the half-hour journey north to Düsseldorf for one very good reason: Japanese food.
You wouldn’t think that this mid-sized German city could be home to great Japanese fare that is even better than lots of what I’ve had in my hometown of San Francisco. But it is. The reason why? Düsseldorf hosts Europe’s third largest Japanese expatriate population, with London first and Paris coming in a close second.