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Tags: Sports Travel / Football / Germany Travel / → All Tags

Sports Travel: It's The Stadium, Stupid

American football isn't the only sport in which teams use their old stadiums as scapegoats. In Cologne, Germany, the stadium in question was just renovated three years ago--but it's already jinxed, according to football club FC Köln's head coach Christoph Daum, who blames the RheinEnergieStadion for his team's woes.

Daum promised to take FC Köln into Europe's top division when he was hired last year, but not getting there isn't his fault: "This isn't a football stadium, it's a torture chamber," he told reporters of the team's home, first built in 1923. "There are things that happen here that you can't explain." Spooky, or kooky? Maybe Daum could ask the World Cup teams who played and lost there last year for some back-up; speak up, Sweden, Switzerland, and Togo!

Related Stories:
· Coach blames stadium for poor record [Reuters/Yahoo!]
· Cologne Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: tannij77]

Tags: Marilyn Manson / Churches / Art Galleries / Cologne Cathedral / → All Tags

Marilyn Manson In Germany

We're not quite sure which part of this story is the weirdest bit--you decide. First, it turns out that scary rockstar Marilyn Manson paints watercolors, enough of them to create an exhibition that opened in a Cologne gallery this week. (Of course, these are no pretty landscape watercolors, but if you must see them, check the Brigitte Schenk Gallery).

Second, Manson decided to visit the towering Cologne Cathedral, as any sensible tourist would do--it's really something. But the staff wouldn't let him in. He claims it wasn't because they recognized him, but simply they objected to his lipstick. So the joke going round? Goths can't enter Gothic cathedrals.

Related Stories:
· Hotels in Cologne [HotelChatter]
· Marilyn Manson Barred From Cologne Cathedral [Spiegel]
· Cologne's Chocolate Museum [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bruno D Rodrigues]

Tags: Will Smith / Movies / → All Tags

Happyness and Boredom in Germany

While we thought Will Smith's new movie The Pursuit of Happyness was kind of gooey sweet, if a fair stretch from reality, some German movie-goers had a much worse opinion.

They fell asleep this week at a Pursuit of Happyness screening because they were so bored--and ended up locked in the cinema in Cologne when the staff went home for the night. Luckily, passing firemen heard them banging on doors and called the police, who got them out of their Will Smith nightmare.

With both the big industry-insider European Film Market and the huge Berlin International Film Festival due to start in a week, those guys'd definitely be hoping there'll be some more interesting films there. With a record 702 films showing at EFM and some 370 at the Berlinale, something's got to appeal to their taste.

Related Stories:
· Will Snooze [Ananova]
· Movie Set Travel: The Pursuit of Happyness [Jaunted]
· EFM Screens Record 702 Films [Hollywood Reporter]

Tags: Shopping / Restaurants / Food / Music / → All Tags

Craftista! Cafe and Store in Cologne

There are few things we fear more than an angry, militant vegan. Similarly, there are few things we love more than a happy, friendly one. You can mingle with the latter variety at Craftista!, our favorite commercial space in Cologne.

The newly opened store-and-cafe hybrid is located near the Hansaring train station--that means direct access from the airport on the S13. Craftista! is part record store, part crafts store, and part vegan cafe. The record store (a small room in the back) sells independent music and posters, and its bargain bin actually contains stuff you might want. The main room houses the cafe and a display of hipster crafts for sale. There we picked up a hand-knit scarf, so fresh and local we can still smell the Rhine on it, for about €20. The cafe serves sweets and coffee and is packed on Saturday nights, so be ready to fight gently for that vegan sachertorte.

[Photo: emortality]

Related Stories:
· Dinner in Cologne [Jaunted]
· The Hotel Chelsea Abroad [HotelChatter]

Tags: Jaunted Field Trips / Food / Languages / → All Tags

Dinner in Cologne

We found ourselves in Cologne, Germany, on Saturday and felt utterly compelled to procure our supper from the grocery store next to our hotel. It's too bad our foreign food market obsession couldn't wait until morning, because we really wanted to title this post "Engrish Breakfast." Alas, it was not to be.

We settled on a cup of aloe yogurt and some Corny free snack bars. The Emmi brand of yogurt--it's produced in Austria--is actually available in America, but only in tamer flavors. The above cup tasted like vanilla with gelatinous chunks of neutral flavor mixed in--basically, not like body lotion. We dug it.

As for our 24 hours in Cologne, they were great. We sped out of the airport in record time and got off the S13 train at the main station. The Dom was staring us down right there, so we crept inside for a peek--you might as well if you're there. The rest of our day was spent wandering around and record shopping (tip: if you're looking for records, the area around Hansaring station is a great starting point). More on our favorite store in Cologne is coming soon.

By the way, we only cheated the train ticket honor system twice. Are you proud or are you proud?

Tags: Museums / Chocolate / Tourist Attractions / → All Tags

Cologne's Chocolate Museum

The Chocolate Museum in Cologne is so cool, even real people from Cologne like it. It's dedicated to the history of chocolate and chocolate production, and houses its own chocolate factory. Visitors can get up close and personal with the production process, and with every incarnation of the bean. Fewer chocolatiers than you might think actually process their own cacao beans, not that it's easy (Jacques Torres is one exception to the norm). So a trip here really will teach you something you can't learn just by scarfing truffles back home.

The museum offers guided tours, and a special exhibition called "Appetite for Art," featuring the chocolate-themed work of Annette Wessel, just wrapped. After a tour, you'll eventually end up in the cafe and/or gift shop. If you expect that to be the best part and can't quite wait, you can check out both for free at any time. Of course, it doesn't really count as "free" when you end up ordering every one of the fourteen kinds of chocolate drink the cafe offers. You can down them all while overlooking the Rhine.

Admission is €6 and the facility is closed on Mondays. During the week, operating hours are 10 am-6 pm (weekend hours are 11 am-7 pm). Signs are in German and English; Guides tours in English are available.

[Photo: Miss Lazy]

Related Stories:
· Newark to Cologne: $266 All-in on Continental [Jaunted]
· Chocolate Coverage [Jaunted]