Cologne

General information

Cologne is the 4th biggest city of Germany with nearly one million inhabitans. Located 51°N, 6°E, at the Rhine River. Founded by the Romans. Cologne's famous Cathedral is one of the most visited sights in Germany. Also famous is the Carnival and the local beer called Kölsch. Touristy map of the inner city Cologne has an International Airport For more general information, view Cologne on Wikipedia, available in Dutch, in English, in French, in German, in Italian, in Polish, in Portoguese, in Spanish, and in Swedish. Check also the Google Map of Cologne

Tips

Contents

[hide] 1 General information 2 Tips 3 CouchSurfing Community 4 Meetings 5 Public Transportation 6 In Case of Emergency 7 Hosts only 8 Frequently Asked Questions 8.1 VISITING COLOGNE 8.1.1 useful links for people who visit cologne 8.1.2 How to transit from/to the airport at night 8.1.3 How to book a Cologne area public transportation ticket in advance 8.1.4 Where to store luggage over the day? 8.1.5 where to get a vegan breakfast? 8.1.6 What are the must-see's for Cologne? Which places to visit at daytime? 8.1.7 Have you got any ideas about visiting breweries? 8.1.8 Which cafes/bars/clubs to visit? Where to go out? 8.1.9 cool music venues in Koln? 8.1.10 Where to sleep in Cologne if not couchsurfing? 8.2 JAUNTING AROUND COLOGNE 8.2.1 Where to hike near Cologne? 8.2.2 Where to get a temporary/permanent bicycle? 8.2.3 How to plan a bicycle tour? 8.2.4 Where to play basketball? 8.2.5 places to show our theatre performance, maybe in (free) theatre projectsplaces? 8.3 SETTLING IN / LIVING IN COLOGNE 8.3.1 how to find a place to stay and live / flat? 8.3.2 where can I unlock my mobile phone? 8.3.3 Where to get a cheap haircut? 8.3.4 Fitness studio in Rodenkirchen? 8.3.5 Which dentist to see? 8.3.6 If one wants to buy/hire a Tail Suit, dinner suit where does one go in this city? 8.4 TRAVEL AWAY 8.4.1 How to get out of town by plane? 8.4.2 How to get out of town by train? 8.4.3 How to get out of town by street/car? 8.5 MOVING OUT 8.5.1 how to rent out my flat? 8.5.2 how to get a job in UK/US/AUS? 8.5.3 studying in an English speaking country, are there alternatives to Erasmus? study fees? alternatives? 8.6 COUCHSURFING RELATED 8.6.1 How to get a colorful profile on Couchsurfing? 8.6.2 FAQ maintenance 8.7 BONUS 9 annual events in the Cologne/Bonn area 9.1 in Cologne 9.2 in Bonn 9.2.1 RhEINKULTUR -- RHINE CULTURE 9.3 in Hürth 10 See Also Finding Hosts

Cologne seems to be a very wanted spot for couchsurfers. Local public transportation connects Cologne quite well with the outskirts. So it could be a good idea to broaden your couchsearch to a 10-20km circle in order to find hosts in the surrounding suburbs who are not so overrun with requests, even if their cities are called Leverkusen, Bergisch Gladbach, Brühl, Frechen or Wesseling, they're really not far from Cologne. Info about door-to-door connections, timetables and ticket tariffs can be found at http://www.vrsinfo.de Travelers who like to think a bit more complicated in order to slowly build up something simple can try and learn about how to contribute and eventually profit from a beta-stage local couchpooling network here. Wifi Spots

This is a list of wireless hotspots. Cheap food

There is always a variety of cheap food at the university cafeteria

CouchSurfing Community

2008-12-21 the couchsearch found 1901 Couchsurfers in Cologne. A good way to meet couchsurfers in Cologne are the meetings. Visit and join the Cologne Group to get to know us! Meetings

Monthly Meetups (We are currenty establishing monthly meetups on the 15th of each month.)

January 15th 2009 February 15th 2009 March 15th 2009 ... Upcoming Events (by date)

3rd Jan: Meat and Great Come "meat" some new friends at the Wurst Crawl! We will be making our way around Cologne, sampling the wurst of Germany. I'll put a schedule of places once the date's a little closer. No vegetarians allowed! Unless you're the kind of vegetarian who enjoys watching people eat a lot of mystery meat.

19th-24th Feb: Cologne Carnival 2009 Dozens of different things to do at a hundred different places (pubs mainly...) - and yet it's always exactly the same: dress up, * go to a pub (maybe watch a parade first to collect a bag full of the candies they throw!) and then start drinking so that you can * endure the typical Colognean Carnival music that you'll be exposed non-stop to for up to 5 days in a row... Also it seems to increase chances to get laid or at least find somebody to make out with ;-D Which doesn't concern us at all, of course, since CS is not dating site (he noted with utmost indignation)!!!

Additionally to announcements in the Cologne Group, the very latest info is now always available at one glance in a google calendar. You can contribute or modify it follow these instructions.

Got any other helpful links? Tell us here!

Past Meetings

Christmas-Market-Crawl 2008 5th-7th Dec 2008 Xmas Market Crawl

Carneval 2007: 14th - 20th Feb 2007 Carnival in Cologne There's a Carnival Guide for visitors on the official homepage of Cologne, also available in French, Dutch, and certainly German... get smart about the festival its places and habits a little ahead so you can smoothly mingle with the party folks right when you arrive.

Christmas party meeting 2006: 8th - 10th December 2006 Christmas party meeting

Who wants to help organize CS meetings in and around Cologne?

Please send a CSmail to one or more of the persons listed below or post in the Cologne group if you are interested in meetings or have a suggestion.

Ulf Kleinings -- frequently organizes meetings, moderator (or animator) of the Cologne group. Finn Kölzer -- motivated host and surfer,city ambassador, organizing meetups and events. YOU? -- got a hot tip? an idea? a good location? or just curious? Click here and join us!

Public Transportation

Cologne has a tight-knit web of tram/underground stations (map) and bus lines (map). You can plan your route by address, point of interest, or by station at the timetable information: Tariff tips: Tickets within the city area (including even the airport) are called Zone 1b. At Bundesbahn ticket machines type the direction code 2000 to get them. Buy bulk to save: If you are a group of 2-5, consider saving money with a 1b group daypass for 9,50 Euros. Single daypasses are 6,40 Euro, single rides 2,30 Euro. For trips beyond the city borders view the tariff info and the complete tariff table (pdf).

Other Transport Discounts The Welcome Ticket available for 24, 48 or 72 hrs, offers free inner city rides as above plus discounts on many sights and activities.

Regular tickets of theaters, philharmony, opera, zoo, sport events and trade fair usually include the bus/tram ticket for the date of their validity, so watch out for the vrs logo on event tickets:

see also the #VISITING COLOGNE section of the FAQ

In Case of Emergency

EMERGENCY NUMBERS Emergency operator: 112 Police : 110 Emergency Doctor/Ambulance: 19222

HOSPITALS Again, should you need to get yourself medical attention, ...TO BE COMPLETED...

EMBASSIES & CONSULATES There are however several country consulates in the city, should you need any help or information. The countries represented are currently: Bangladesh, Switzerland, China, Italy, Monaco, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Norway & Pakistan. ...TO BE COMPLETED...

LAST MINUTE HOSTEL ...TO BE COPLETED... until then, see the FAQ section below: #Where to sleep in Cologne if not couchsurfing?

YOUR LOCAL CS AMBASSADORS If you have any questions that are not asnwered through this list, nor this wiki page for Manchester, you may want to ask the nearest CS ambassador. Current Köln's resident CS ambassadors are:

Ulf Kleinnings Global Ambassador Finn Kölzer City Ambassador Cori Carl Nomadic Ambassador You can also seek advice to the Bonn ambassador, Tom Asten

Hosts only

In der Hot Hosts Cologne Gruppe gibt es die Möglichkeit, wie an einem schwarzen Brett die Couch-Anfragen, die wir ablehnen mußten, zu posten, um dem Anfrager trotzdem weiter zu helfen und manchem Gastgeber im Kölner Umland, der vielleicht gerne öfter Gäste hätte, auch noch einen Gefallen zu tun. Hier können wir ein lokales Gastgebernetzwerk bilden. Schreibt Euch also ein, wenn Ihr zuviel oder zu wenig Anfragen bekommt.

This group is ONLY for hosts from Cologne and nearby, to forward untaken couch requests on an internal message board. Travellers don't post here, but in the Cologne group, if ever. As a traveller looking for a couch can, however, ask the people you contact to forward your request to the Hot Hosts in case they cannot host you. Remember to provide them the group link, as they might not necessarily know about it yet. Information is power!

Frequently Asked Questions

(per mid-07/2009)

This little FAQ is mostly made of quotes taken from the forum posts of the quoted pages. Here and there I added a hint of my own. All the links start with http:// so every one should be clickable immediately.

Despite I am not out for keeping it current, I hope this first collection will be useful. It's intersected into:

VISITING COLOGNE JAUNTING AROUND COLOGNE SETTLING IN / LIVING IN COLOGNE TRAVEL AWAY MOVING OUT COUCHSURFING RELATED Additionally, there is a Couchsurfing wiki, including a Cologne page: http://couchwiki.org/en/Cologne

VISITING COLOGNE

useful links for people who visit cologne

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=348208

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne http://www.vrsinfo.de/eng/index.php useful timetable for public transport http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Stadtteilportrait&search=tag gives "you videos from the local tv station, each making a picture portrait of the different parts of the city. this should give you a good non presskit picture idea on how the city really looks"

How to transit from/to the airport at night

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609

"one way to make it to the city from the airport at 2am -- by train: http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml" "maybe it would be a good idea if you took 1day ticket, so you can enjoy the city better."

How to book a Cologne area public transportation ticket in advance

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609

"you can't book them probably because it's a very short trip, 4 stops. You're best off buying them at one of the ticket machines at the airport. They are either on the platforms itself or before you walk down the stairs to the platforms, I don't quite remember. It should cost 2,40 or 2,60€." see also: useful links for people who visit cologne

Where to store luggage over the day?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3029609

"There are lockers at the train station, close to the main doors and the info point. Can't tell you how much they charge, though. But I think they are quite secure because it's a sort of underground system." " there are lockers on each railway station. If your luggage is big, you will find some big lockers at the Cologne main station (Köln Hbf)."

where to get a vegan breakfast?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1351713

"Osho's Place (www.oshos-place.de) at Friesenplatz is a vegetarian restaurant, so I am sure they'll have some vegan food too :)" "Osho's is *sometimes* vegan but doesn't offer much. If you want a German style brunch (i.e. bread with spreads) you can check out either Morio in Nippes or Cafe Schmitz on Hansaring ... Schmitz usually has a vegan soup and salad listed too. / All 3 of those places serve coffees with soymilk [...]. If lunch is better, the Stadt Raum in Belgisches Viertel offers a vegan option every day, too. Hope you find something."

What are the must-see's for Cologne? Which places to visit at daytime?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1494508 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828

"'Zweitausendeins', a stunningly cheap, cultivated modern antiquarian" bookshop http://www.zweitausendeins.de/unsereLaeden/?d=382 "My three favorit places in cologne are the cathedral (you can go up there an see the hole city!), the chocolate museum and the zoo." "there is a nice 'zoo' in [GYANDA's] part of the town with geese and sheeps and other not so exotic animals..." "I can definitely recommend the museum Ludwig right next to the Römisch-Germanisch-museum (thats close to the dome). / They have a very interesting collection of contemporary art." http://www.museenkoeln.de/museum-ludwig/ "my sister loved the Flora, when she came here and she also was travelling on a ship of the K-D (dinner and music)..." "Cologne is not so much a city to sightsee but a city to do things. [...] a good place to start is the city of Cologne website" http://www.koeln.de/ "hang out at Aachener Weiher" "the Ropeway across the rhine for a nice view of the city" "Visit the BIERMUSEUM (you´ll find it on google), a Pub offering almost 300 different sorts of beer." "For History: There's bits and pieces of the old roman city wall everywhere at the center. you should be able to get a map of the exact locations at the tourism office (inside central train station)" "If you like old buildings you might want to take a look at some of the churches. There's at least three of them on every corner, and although they're not as big and impressive as the dome many of them are worth a look." "if you are interested in architecture, you'd probably go to the new 'Rheinauhafen'. It's an old harbor-area [...] the old harbor buildings which have been renovated now are much prettier." "When I had some visitors from Japan, they enjoyed a cruise on the River Rhine." "If it's your first time in cologne, you should of course visit the cathedral. [...] And it's fun to climb up the cathedral as well" "for a nice city view including the cathedral I can recommend the KölnTriangle-building in Deutz. It has an observation deck on the top, where you can get by the elevator." http://www.koelntriangle.de/index_eng.html "If the weather is fine check out Bruesseler Platz.Very nice to hang out."

Have you got any ideas about visiting breweries?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=989637 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1075710 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493

"you can visit e.g. the brauhäuser http://www.cologneweb.com/brauerei.htm http://www.koeln-magazin.info/brauhaeuser0.html and get to knwo the typical 'kölsche gemütlichkeit'" "You can search for example at google for guided tours to some breweries (koelntourismus for example) in the old town ... that would be enough for one afternoon ,)" "There are more breweries in Cologne than you could visit on one evening [...] a lot of smaller ones" Malzmühle Gaffel Früh Weißbräu "There you can see the difference between Kölsch, Whitebeer and others." -- http://www.weissbraeu.com/index.htm Früh am Dom Haus Sion, "Sion (initially and now the Colognean Breweries Association) offer the "Brauhaus Wanderweg" (Brewery House Hiking Trail) - http://www.sion.de/html/kultur/brauhaus/index.html"; "brewerey tour for example a the Sion Brewery. It costs 8 € per Person [...] They accept 25 people at maximum."; "Guided tours are only during the week from Monday to Friday."; "tour is in GERMAN" Em goldenen Kappes Walfisch Päffgen in der Altstadt Päffgen Brewery near Friesenplatz. "[T]he somewhat bullying behaviour of the beer waiters towards the guests is an integral part of the show which lost its authenticity in other local breweries." http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/ "Gaffel, Gilden, Malzmühle, Päffgen & Sion, (to my knowledge) don't offer" a "brewery tour" "And then there are a few free-lance city guides offering brewery tours: http://www.koelsch-ede.de/ http://www.nicecity.de/touren.htm http://www.spurenlese.de/html/kolsch-kunde.html " Braustelle in Ehrenfeld: "home brew according to German beer purity plus monthly special fancy beers" http://www.braustelle.com/big/index.html -- "Cologne's smallest brewery is the 'Braustelle' in Ehrenfeld at least that's waht they say: http://www.braustelle.com/ "

Which cafes/bars/clubs to visit? Where to go out?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=857693 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1025122 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2444952 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3120845

"check out stadtrevue.de, there you can find everything whats going on in our lovely city" Engelbat's, a cafe/bar "where everything is made of wood", taste their crepes. http://www.mytravelguide.com/restaurants/profile-78628405-Germany_Cologne_Engelbat.html Päffgen Brewery near Friesenplatz. "[T]he somewhat bullying behaviour of the beer waiters towards the guests is an integral part of the show which lost its authenticity in other local breweries." http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/ Braustelle in Ehrenfeld: "home brew according to German beer purity plus monthly special fancy beers" http://www.braustelle.com/big/index.html "Em Goldene Kappes, Nippes. Best Köbeses,Muscheln, Kölsch" "apropos: you like beer, thats good. but do you like schnitzel, too? if yes, you must visit "bei oma kleinmann" at zülpicher strasse 9. colossal portions of fried potatoes and giant schnitzel! definitely a must-visit!!" "best cocktail bar in town is the "Rosebud", close to Zülpicher Straße. I can also recommend my favorite pub, the Jameson." "Nice Cocktails in the Scheinbar too. Brüsselerstr. 10" "for cocktails I can recommend you the Bar two-orange at the zülpicher street, its quite new but really cool... or MAX, also at the zülpicher..." "For Village People Roonburg" "Best Clubs: Subway, Artteater" "Beehive (casual, student oriented but with a great 'Austin Powers' kind of look :-)" "DeLite (nice and quiet, nice cocktails)" "Ivory Club (bit more trendy, but nice dancing floor downstairs)" "the bar by the West Bahn Hof (sorry, I forgot the name), it is a quiet lounge but the lighting and environment are charming" "Underground is pretty big and free entrance, it has i think 4 dance areas, and a beergarten" "'zwoeins' (Roonstr.), the 'Boogaloo' and the 'radioone' (great strawberry daiquiri!- Zülpicher)" "in Ehrenfeld: Simrockstraße a small Cocktailbar, sorry forgot the name" "in Ehrenfeld 'die Küche'" "Gottes grüne Wiese (Antwerpener Str.)" "früh pub, right near to the dome, Am Hof 12-18, yeah its a bit touristic, but 'kölsch', too." "the area around zülpicherstr./Rudolphplatz/Friesenplatz is cool, nice bars and clubs." "as there are in the town lots of pubs (in the südstadt, student-quarter around zülpicher strasse, etc), you wont die of thirst." "Zuellpicher Strass is full of nice cafes, bars and resturants... many of them are original and have good prices / there u can find Habibi resturant, they have nice falafel" "La Lic (Naehe Zueplicher Platz) / Art Theater in Ehrenfeld / Herbrands in Ehrenfeld" (Rock) http://www.dark-cologne.de/2009/2009-02.html "A really nice place to go - especially at night - is the Osman 30 in the highest tower of the Mediapark (very close to Cinedom [...]). [...] The Osman 30 is a very good and definitely not a budget restaurant, but many people go there and just have drinks - inside or on their great rooftop terrace where you have an amazing view all over Cologne." "for partying check night portals such as nachtagenten.de ; stylecharts.de tillate.com & morgengrau.net while i recommend morgengrau.net totally." "for party-dates i usualy check out morgengrau.net or subscribe to partyspam.de and you will always get a newletter with all partys arround" "sensorclub also got some nice partys from time to time." cool music venues in Koln?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=128071 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=857693 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1025122 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1344493 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2444952 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3164828 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3120845

"if you are interested in electronic music you will find a 'timetable' with all valuable infos here: http://morgengrau.net/" "before visiting an'honest punk-, hardcore-, underground-, etc. concerts you should glance at : http://punkstelle.de/kalender.htm" "for classical music: http://www.koelnklassik.de/" "for sacred music: http://www.kirchenmusik-koeln.de/" "we have Hard Rock Cafe and sometimes they have live bands which are very good. We also have a very good Jazz club in alt markt . It is free u just pay for drinks." "I recommend a look on bartime.de where you can search for events and happy hours - also for Aachen! I also suggest to take a walk around the Zülpicher Straße and Kyffhäuser Straße. You may find some live music there." "for music events i check this site out.. maybe it can help you too http://www.koeln.de/koeln/was_ist_los/konzerte?SDBVIEW=GROUPDATA&SDBORDERBY=Datum1&SDBOFFSET=5&SDBGROUP=Kategorie&SDBFILTER=&SDBSEARCH= hopefully u can cope with german" "i usualy check out morgengrau.net or subscribe to partyspam.de [...] electronic music every week." "check www.morgengrau.net - The Köln electronic music portal for events." "http://funky-high.rautemusik.fm/listen.asx online funky house music for anyone that is interested !" "try gewölbe 9 / westpol @ trainstation west. Hans-Böckler Platz 2, 50676 Köln" "Bogen 2 at the main trainstation is pretty cool http://www.bogen2.de/ " "there is the electrokitchen in köln deutz, they usualy play more forwardpushing minimal sound ;-) http://www.elektrokueche.com/ " "for breakbeat / drum&bass check out gebäude 9 or also bogen 2 http://www.gebaeude9.de/programm.html " "I would recommend to check out 'Gebaeude 9', 'Odonien', sometimes 'Stadtgarten'" Where to sleep in Cologne if not couchsurfing?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1605967

"I think this page should help you: http://www.hostelscentral.com/city-754.html " "meininger-hostel: http://www.meininger-hostels.com/meininger-hostels/ho-s-tel/staedtehaeuser/koeln/ " "I can recommand:" http://www.hotel-colette.de/ "in Sülz, which is a nice and green part of the town, in 20 minutes with the tram you are directly in the center of all shoppingmiles if you would want to and Sülz has many nice cafes and restaurant/bars, without being a very loud part of the town... additional park and forest are nearby... / costs are - if i resume it rightly - 39 Euro for a single room..." "I am working in 404 Hostel in Cologne I can recommend it :-) Double Private room costs 40 Euro and 6 or 4bed dorms are 16 euro a night! It is a really small Hostel with a nice atmosphere :-) Coffee Tea Wifi free all day and a small breakfast is also included! Here is the Homepgae : http://www.404-hostel.de/html/start_eng.html " JAUNTING AROUND COLOGNE

Where to hike near Cologne?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=457364 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=989637

"nordeifel to the east of cologne" "nordeifel around nideggen" "Siebengebirge [...] is wonderful, esp. in wintertime when there are less paople around!" Königswinter -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drachenfels_(Siebengebirge) -- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6wenburg_(Siebengebirge) (no english link) / http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bad_Honnef "from 'schöllerhof' near altenberger dom to a vantage point 230m high, then to the dhünntalsperre and zigzag back to the starting point, passing this http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Haniel old industrial magnates villa that is within the forest", "a circular hut with a roof and a fireplace somewhere along the way" and a lake; Altenberger Dom http://is.gd/yFN5 + next bus stop http://is.gd/yFO2 "Sion (initially and now the Colognean Breweries Association) offer the "Brauhaus Wanderweg" (Brewery House Hiking Trail) - http://www.sion.de/html/kultur/brauhaus/index.html"

Where to get a temporary/permanent bicycle?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=650586 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3126198

"Radstation" sells "used bicycles from 30€ to 55€". http://www.mobil-im-rheinland.de/t-systems/opencms/de/html/01_Bereich/Weiteres/Fahrrad/Radstationen/Radstation_Koeln.html + http://www.radstation.de/ Check Muskelkater, if I remember correctly they do have second-hand bicycles. muskelkater köln

How to plan a bicycle tour?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1210935

"there are lots of biking tracks ('Radverkehrsnetz NRW')" "For North Rhine-Westphalia there's [...] an online planer" with "the ability to export the track to your GPS device" http://www.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/"

Where to play basketball?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2928538

"I sometime play at 'Hansaring'. Right next to the school is a little park and it has a Bball court. And there is also one at 'Hans-Boeckler-Platz'." "Near the trainstation Deutzer Freiheit is a nice court in front of the Rhein." "at Kierberger St is another streetball court, here: http://is.gd/zAG5 4 baskets in place"

places to show our theatre performance, maybe in (free) theatre projectsplaces?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3253114

try this: http://www.kulturbunker-muelheim.de/ maybe check out www.stadtrevue.de, and have a look for some events which will fit to yours so you will find good locations. f.e.: http://www.stadtrevue.de/index_service_tageskalender.php3?rubrikid=11 SETTLING IN / LIVING IN COLOGNE

how to find a place to stay and live / flat?

sources: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1304577 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1517027 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1873447 + http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=2284308

"try your luck in this list, my Professor gave to me: http://www.studenten-wg.de/ / http://www.wg-gesucht.de/ / http://www.immobilienscout.de (Markler Provision!!)/ / http://www.ohneprovision.de/ / http://www.wohnung-jetzt.de/ / http://www.immowelt.de/ / http://www.onlinemarkt-koeln.de/ / http://www.studenten-wohnung.de/ / http://www.wgfuerdich.de http://www.wg-welt.de/ " http://www.studenten-wg.de/angebote_lesen.html?stadt=K%F6ln http://www.studenten-wg.de/angebote_lesen.html?fuer=1-Zimmer-Wohnung http://www.quoka.de/ http://www.kalaydo.de/ "I believe you should take [...] Bonn, plus is super close with the train. Why? Coz is super hard to find anything in Cologne... [...] you can search in all those websites they gave you here... the process its quite exhausting, veeery exausting..." "come by the Mensa in the university and there are alway many students looking for roomates (EG, that is the ground floor). The Mensa is located on Zulpicherstr 60, something like that, and [...] you can reach it with line 9 train. M-F 11 to 21 hrs, or Sat 11-14 hrs.Also look for any [gender-specific] club, or in your work organization. (The interview process will be a pain in the ass... so get ready!)" "That one was VERY useful too" http://verwaltung.uni-koeln.de/international/content/e138/e1536/living_eng.pdf "Wo man wohnen will: Belgisches Viertel / Ehrenfeld / Köln Süd / Deutz" "Kann mir jemand erklären was genau ne Genossenschaftswohnung ist, bzw. wie das ganze mit den genossenschaften und berechtigugnsscheinen funktioniert?" -- "Einen Wohnberechtigungsschein bekommt man in der Regel, wenn man ein so geringes Einkommen hat, dass man sich die 'normal teuren' Wohnungen nicht leisten kann (was bei den meisten Studenten der Fall sein dürfte). Kann man bei der Stadt beantragen und hat dann damit die Berechtigung, in Wohnungen einzuziehen, in die man nur mit WBS kommt. Die, die ich bisher gesehen habe sind ganz schön, hat mit dem klassischen Bild einer 'Sozialwohung' wenig zu tun. Also ruhig mal ausprobieren." http://www.wg1896.de/

where can I unlock my mobile phone?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1290678

"i unlocked it 4 days ago, just go 2 the Turkish :)" "i think you will not find such place easily in germany. i did the lock/brand removal during a trip to poland, its no problem there." "There is a website which offer this kind of service: http://www.smartmod.de/catalog/handy-entsperren-unlock-c-60.html?osCsid=b2737ff241fb650059af59f6fed0509b " "This site is also interesting: http://davinciteam.de/index.php?lang=DE "

Where to get a cheap haircut?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1150803

Junge Michaelis academy / Ehrenstr. 41 / 50672 Köln / Tel.: (0221) 4 99 43 59

Fitness studio in Rodenkirchen?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3308013

"Ulfs basement is a gym-kind-of-place. In Rodenkirchen." "there's the obligatory 'Kieser Training' ( http://www.kieser-training.com/ ) opposite the post office which is not really cheap but really high class and unlike most the others they stress the health factor much more than 'looks' [...] but they don't have a SPA or anything like that" "From Moselstr. you're can quickly get to www.basicsports.de where I used to go to for a couple of months - they are pretty cheap but [...] they don't have a SPA or anything like that either." "The ASV ( www.ciao.de/ASV_Bonner_Strasse_Fitness_Koln__126873 ) has at least saunas, if I remember correctly, and it's also a place where you won't see [...] but people who rather care about their fitness and health" "McFit ( http://www.ciao.de/Mc_Fit_Koln__Test_3139086 ) - some kind of fitness discounter since they offer very reasonable quality for top prices..."

Which dentist to see?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1186050

"Lute Smink on Luxemburger Str, super nice and competent." "Dr. Blau, Ebertplatz 1. Also super nice and competent."

If one wants to buy/hire a Tail Suit, dinner suit where does one go in this city?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1910783

"either you start at kvb-tram stop Neumarkt and go to the 'SCHILDERGASSE' or you start at Dom/Hbf (cathedral/main station) and start your shopping trip via 'HOHE STRAßE' / extremely easy to find something there! / dont ask for shop names, youll find out yourself immediately!" "I would suggest ANSON'S, Peek & Cloppenburg or HANSEN. You will find all of them on the SCHILDERGASSE."

TRAVEL AWAY

How to get out of town by plane?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1260739

http://www.skyscanner.net/ http://www.whichbudget.com/ http://de.momondo.com/Default.aspx http://www.swoodoo.de/ http://www.wegolow.de/ http://www.billiger-reisen.de/ http://www.expedia.de/ How to get out of town by train?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1533995

http://www.raileurope.com/ http://www.raileurope.com/ http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml "The website seat61.com has a huge amount of info on travelling internationally by rail." additional options:

ticket sharing ("hitch-hiking by train") http://www.bahnticket.de/html/mitfaher.html http://www.autofrei-wohnen.de/mitfahren-bahn.html How to get out of town by street/car?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1533995

http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/ - drivers often post their mobile numbers http://www.mitfahrzentrale.com/ - mitfahrzentrale gets in the way between you and the driver, phone numbers rarely available additional option:

http://www.raumobil.de/ see also within this wiki:

hitchhiking rideshares Survey of CarPooling services MOVING OUT

how to rent out my flat?

Special travel info about Cologne look at Wikivoyage and the Hitchhiking Wikia. cf. how to find a place to stay and live / flat?

how to get a job in UK/US/AUS?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3143116

"I would recommend him to move to the uk and look for a job once he's there. [...] At the beginning you normally can't expect to find a good job on your field (with your ba studies and so) but work like waitress, barista, customer assistant in shops ect .. Depending on your english level you can try to apply directly for a job in a big bookstore, cinema, .. Here it is usually required an advance level as you must interact a lot with customers. [...]" "Oxford, Cambridge are the [cities] that offer more [jobs], as every single college needs catering staff. It's generally easy to find a job in one of the colleges. Also there're agencies that offer a lot of work-hours from one week to another, usually in colleges/private schools and hotels. The best time to move to these cities is last week of august / first week of september." "cities that could offer a good posibility could be Edinburg and Manchester .. or even Liverpool. In London there's always a job to find, but you must be prepared to live VERY far away from your workplace and pay expensive rents so .. depends on him really." "It's not gonna be easy to find a job from here" "normally you can expect to find a job in a couple of weeks (that was the average in Oxford while I live there)."

studying in an English speaking country, are there alternatives to Erasmus? study fees? alternatives?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3143116

"I did a subsidized course for EU students, which was very cheap at the time. It does not exist any more but somewhere else some of those courses still take place. [...] you can find the locations here: http://www.globusidiomas.com/ingles/course_adults.htm [...] However I would recommend you to try to find out the name of the colleges/schools and book directly yourself. It's gonna be a lot cheaper" "For tips on working this book is pretty good: 'Work Your Way Around the World' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Work-Your-Way-Around-World/dp/1854582747 " "He could [...] apply to internships with companies located in English speaking countries. Most internships are for about 3 months, so the country doesn't have to deal with the paperwork surrounding visas." "this is where a list of stipendium programms whether for studying or for working/practising can be found: http://europa.eu/pol/educ/index_en.htm" COUCHSURFING RELATED

How to get a colorful profile on Couchsurfing?

source: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=1775776

"Youl'll find a guide at http://www.couchsurfing.com/wiki/Customize_Your_Profile "

FAQ maintenance

I (dagobart) subdivided the FAQ in a manner that reflected a process of coming to Cologne, staying here, leaving Cologne.

The questions and answers are taken from the Cologne CS forum, scissored down as much as possible without hurting the meaning, as people want quick answers instead of tons of text to dig through. Otherwise they could use Google directly, couldn't they?

I avoid as much work as possible by simply copypasting. I avoid verbalizing questions/answers myself as doing so tends to affect a FAQ to become the maintainer's toy hobby to the extend of getting angry if anyone only touches it...

To get the questions/answers, I don't monitor the forum, but after a few months I dig back through it until the moment in time the FAQ was edited latest. I don't read all that stuff written in the meantime. Instead, I only skim threads that likely have questions/answers inside. I read the thread and pick only questions, and answers to these questions, I omit side-issues ("noise"). This applies especially for only temporarily valid data or not confirmed guesses.

Here, I put the gathered content in a simple format:

the questions as a headline, stripped short then the source thread(s) I took the question/answers from, i.e. the URLs one empty line then a bullet list of all the answers (I put into quotation marks) BONUS

self-introductions of well-known people from the Cologne CS group: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=869646#gpid869646 on "Ulf's" ARCHE: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=879777 annual events in the Cologne/Bonn area

Likely, Cologne local CSers will attend any of these events. Feel free to join.

in Cologne

in spring: lit.cologne -- literature festival Museums Night -- Nacht der Museen -- visit all museums in Cologne with only one ticket in Bonn

end of September: Pützchen market -- Pützchens Markt RhEINKULTUR -- RHINE CULTURE

is a huge music festival takes place at the end of June/early of July takes place outdoors, in the Rheinaue (rhine meadows park) can be visited free of charge, though you are not allowed to bring your own drinks got discussed 2009 in the Cologne group at: http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3229095 http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1224&post=3274345 in Hürth

in November: Jazz Night See Also trash:Cologne hitch:Cologne