Shopping

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.

Mums and Dads from the UK and the US are often a little disappointed by the toy selection available in Germany.  While they adore the traditional wooden toys, there's a sad lack of educational but fun, not overly expensive toys on the market.  In the UK "The Early Learning Centre" is a magnet for anyone who wants their kids to learn as they play.  So just in time for Christmas Karstadt has got its act together and opened the Imaginarium store in the toy department.  It's a Spanish company who produce toys and accessories for kids from 0-10 (approx), and not jus

I stumbled across a marvelous chocolate shop in Cologne yesterday - I hadn't seen it before as I rarely visit the Du Mont Carré shopping arcade.  It's aptly named "chocolat" and is a sleekly designed chocolate emporium on the ground floor of the shopping arcade on Breite Strasse.  You'll find a huge selection of designer chocolate from the likes of Dolfin, Galler and Venchi, plus freshly made pralines and truffles, and hot chocolate to take away.  If you're a chocolate fan you will think you've died and gone to heaven.  Düsseldorf and Bonn chocaholi

We all know that the first stop for British and American food in Germany is www.english-shop.de - but have you actually stepped into the shop recently?  Have you checked out the latest range of books in stock?  Have you seen the variety of American goods on offer these days? 

We all know that the first stop for British and American food in Germany is www.english-shop.de - but have you actually stepped into the shop recently?  Have you checked out the latest range of books in stock?  Have you seen the variety of American goods on offer these days?