March 2026. Cologne. Germany. With mild alarm I realised that our two lads had actually been to nearly all the Old Town pubs, having arrived a day earlier and stayed out after Monday’s Proper Kolsch Day Out. Never seen them drunk. They recommended “Salzgasse”, but I needed to try the craft bar, which tellingly our… Continue reading A murky interlude in Kolschland.
Sünner im Walfisch
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. Back in Cologne from Dusseldorf, an early night we admired the Dom, then persuaded Mrs RM that despite our exertions, another tick in the 2006 German Beer Guide was required. Perhaps it’s the name, but I’d wanted to visit Sünner im Walfisch, between Heumarkt and Fischmarkt. Nothing like the showpiece Brauerei… Continue reading Sünner im Walfisch
Finally, Schlussel.
March 2026. Dusseldorf. Germany. You can’t come to Dusseldorf and just do one Braurei, even if that one is Uerige. I’d made a list, I was checking it twice. But I already knew I had to pop in Schlussel on the Bolkerstraße, one of the world’s great pub streets. 3 years ago with the lovely… Continue reading Finally, Schlussel.
Uerige, from the inside
March 2026. Dusseldorf. Germany. I realise some of you have never been to Uerige, one of my Top 5 pubs in the world*. So I may struggle to explain the appeal of standing at an outside bench by the Rhine, drinking endless 0,25l measures of an Alt I can only describe as “a bit like… Continue reading Uerige, from the inside
A dash to Dusseldorf
March 2026. Dusseldorf. Germany. Day 2 of our German mini-break (ugh); time to leave Wuppertal‘s anarchism, and head to the teutonic order of Dusseldorf, where the boys would no doubt have enjoyed a cultural afternoon. The DBahn website taunted us with cancellations, and rail replacement buses lined the walk to Wuppertal Hbf, so the sight… Continue reading A dash to Dusseldorf
A Wuppertal Untappd check-in
March 2026. Wuppertal. Germany. We’re following the self-guided tour map for Elberfeld, centre of the nascent tourist trade for Wuppertal. I guess you’ll be wanting to see a pub. Sadly there isn’t a pub guide for Wuppertal, perhaps Mrs RM will do one; but there’s loads of Untappd check-ins; That King’s Head has bottles of… Continue reading A Wuppertal Untappd check-in
100 things to do in Wuppertal….when the Schwebebahn is on strike
March 2026. Wuppertal. Germany. And as you’ll know I have a very precise definition of my “top 100s“. But certainly this suspended monorail in the industrial Ruhr would be in there. Wuppertal, then, “founded in 1929 by the merger of Elberfeld, Barmen, Ronsdorf, Cronenberg and Vohwinkel“, Wupper being the river, and the bear, that binds them together. Wuppertal is a difficult… Continue reading 100 things to do in Wuppertal….when the Schwebebahn is on strike
I❤️WuBÄRtal
March 2026. Wuppertal. Germany. Only three (3) nights in Cologne with the boys, but so much to explore in North Rhine-Westphalia, which kindly lets a group of five of you travel round the state all day for 59,80 euros. We’d had a big argument family planning meeting that first lunchtime in Gaffel and decided to… Continue reading I❤️WuBÄRtal
Cologne, away from the Brauhäuser
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. Cologne wouldn’t quite be in my Top 5 German cities*, yet, but I’ve enjoyed getting to grips with the wider city on two recent trips. And our hotel (Inception, £67 a night) is just far enough out of the Old Town to give a glimpse of a real city beyond the… Continue reading Cologne, away from the Brauhäuser
“What’s Mainzer in Päffgen Kölsch eingelegt Dad ?” TEA AT LOMMI’S
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. Our first of 3 nights in Cologne; I knew I had to visit Gaststätte Lommerzheim (“Lommi’s“) at some point, why not now ? “It’s like the Hare and Hounds” I tell Matt. Frankly, you queue for opening, either for lunch (11) or teatime (4.30), or you miss out. James and Matthew… Continue reading “What’s Mainzer in Päffgen Kölsch eingelegt Dad ?” TEA AT LOMMI’S
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