Scarred by history, the free-spirited city on the Rhine has emerged as a transport hub, industrial and trade fair giant, and centre for education. Jonathan Hart reports There's more than immediately meets the eye to Cologne, one of the cities hosting the current 2006 FIFA World Cup. Yes, the renowned 14th century cathedral (Dom) is the primary attraction and undisputed icon, miraculous survivor of the World War Two bombing that flattened all else in the inner city, it's towering twin spires dominating the chiefly low-rise skyline, including the RheinEnergie football stadium. Yet you only have to stand in the newly designed Central Station, adjacent to the Dom, to realise this is also a key transit point on the high-speed rail network for continental Europe. Only have to drive around the outer ring road to see this is where no fewer than 10 motorways merge. Walk along one of the sparkling concourses of the newly expanded Cologne-Bonn Airport and you will appreciate it is Germany's second-largest gateway and newly designated low-cost hub. Stroll along the banks of the Rhine and you will discover that, with five ports, this is the second largest inland harbour in the country.
Add the largest university in Germany, with 63,000 students, and the fourth-largest trade fair grounds in the world, with meetings and exhibitions space for 12,000, and you also realise that Germany's oldest big city is also one of its youngest, most cosmopolitan and alert, with a great deal going for it beyond a famous cathedral.
Pleasantly unhurried and unassuming, Cologne appears to have suffered little economic fallout from neighbouring Bonn losing its federal capital status, and attendant political bandwagons, to Berlin. Indeed, the opposite appears to be the case, with the city methodically spreading ever outward, expanding its motor, bio-tech, chemical
and media industries alongside a renaissance in civic pride and independence of spirit.
Founded in AD 50 and buffeted by history, Cologne is as liberally minded a city as you'll discover anywhere, an outspoken critic of many federal diktats, magnet for alternatives and host to large gay communities.
Although outwardly appearing rather staid in comparison to, say, Berlin or Munich, Cologne has the Teutonic correctness of neither, comfortable in its unpretentious skin, largely laid-back and both cheeky and cheerful in outlook.
Home to nine separate television stations, the city has a thriving entertainment scene equally at ease with the classic and contemporary in arts, music and special interests – all celebrated in a variety of festivals and wrapped up with a riotous winter carnival that is one of the biggest and most colourful in Europe. Together with an inner city area
that's easy to walk around, there's a good range of shops, museums, indoor spa baths and open spaces, with a man-made beach, watersports and boat trips on the Rhine during the summer months.
Food and drink veer towards the hearty, the local staples knuckle of pork and the light, easy-to-quaff Kölsch beer, your glass automatically re-filled until you have the prescience to call a halt. Facts guide
Currency: Euro (€)
Tipping: restaurant bills generally include service but 10%-15% is discretionary. Taxi drivers expect
around 5%-10%
Time: GMT +1 (GMT +2 from end of March to end of October)
Electricity: 220 volts (Europeanstyle two-pin plugs)
Public holidays 2006: August 15; October 3, 31; November 1; December 25, 26 2007: January 1, 6; February 19; April 6, 9; May 1, 17, 28; June 7
Climate: warm summers (average temperature 20oC (68oF) and generally mild winters, although temperatures can drop to below zero; rainfall spread fairly evenly throughout the year
Airport: 15km (9 miles) southeast of Cologne; S-Bahn trains run from the airport railway station (located between Terminals 1 and 2) to Cologne Hauptbahnhof in the city centre, with a journey time of about 20 minutes and costing €2.20; bus (route 170) operates every 15 minutes from the airport to the central bus station (20
minutes/ 5), while taxis complete the journey in about 15 minutes and cost €25
Hotels: choice includes a new Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Inter-Continental, Dorint Sofitel Mondial, Dom Hotel Le Meridien, Excelsior Ernst, Four Points by Sheraton, Holiday Inn (city centre and airport), Mercure, Renaissance, Santo
Business hours: 08.00/09.00-16.00/17.00
International dialling code: 49
In emergency: 110 (police); 112 (fire and ambulance)
business do’s and don’ts
Do be prepared for a fairly formal approach to business
Do make appointments and be punctual – good time-keeping is a prerequisite when doing business in Germany
Do be prepared for plenty of handshaking
Do use titles, such as Herr, Frau and Doktor, as a matter of courtesy
Don’t be over-familiar at initial meetings – first names are generally reserved for family and friends
Don’t plan to do much business on Carnival Rose Monday (February 19 in 2007) and be prepared to join the
revellers
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