Get practising your oooohs and aaaahs, by the end of this weekend you'll have a crick in your neck and and you'll have worn out your vocabulary of appreciative noises as the 'Kölner Lichter' explodes over the city of Cologne. This annual fireworks display is an extravaganza of rocket propelled gun powder synchronised to music.

Great food, great service, a view across the river Rhine to the majestic Siebengebirge, sunset, twilight, candlelight and desserts: if that sounds like the perfect dinner to you - then this is where you'll find it. The Bastei in Bad Godesburg used to be a station for the passenger steamboats that operated on the Rhine. It's now a restaurant and beer garden with a perfect view of the river. It's situated on the slip road that leads to the car and passenger ferry: as you sip a cold beer you can watch the little boat chugging across the river, fighting the current at a 40° angle.

The weekend of 12th and 13th of June sees a merry mix of medieval and modern festivities to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Godesburg castle. Visitors to Bad Godesberg will be treated not so much to a time warp as to a time tunnel, with a medieval market at one end and modernday retailing at the other. Set in the historical grounds of the castle, the ‘living history’ market will offer traders’ stalls, with replica jewellery, clothing, toys, leather goods and many other fascinating items.

The Cologne Zoo never seizes to deliver top class attractions. Who would have thought they could improve on the Elephant Park? Well they have - with the brand spanking new Hippodom. This recreated African river landscape gives visitors the chance to see hippos from a whole new perspective: they may waddle somewhat comically on land, but underwater they swim with a certain elegance and grace. Hippo fans will already know the hippo family well, Albert, Jenny, Afro and baby Kavango, and may fondly remember their old home in the Victorian style pavilion that once housed the elephants.