Germany: Twilight in the Town of Rodenkirchen (Cologne) on the River Rhine

The town of Rodenkirchen is part of the greater Cologne area and lies along the River Rhine. I stayed here for 4 days last year for business matters.

The hotels in the centre of Cologne were fully booked on the week I was visiting and the only available rooms were either too expensive and way beyond the business budget or too cheap and dodgy-looking that I wouldn’t want to be caught dead sleeping in it (read: safety precautions and bed bugs alert).

So I did a wider search and came across this small 4-star hotel in the Rodenkirchen area, approximately 20 minutes with the car to the city centre but perhaps 30-40 minutes with the traffic and roadworks situation in Cologne. Since I will be coming with the car to Cologne, Germany, commuting locally in the city will not be a problem.

Here is the location of Rodenkirchen on the map of Germany.

Not too far away from Cologne city centre but you need a car to stay here.

The 4 days I stayed here was the longest I have ever stayed in Cologne, and just like a local I participated in road traffic, driving to and fro the office and the conference area, and then back to my hotel in Rodenkirchen. I have to admit that it did felt quite different to be driving in a different city where the plate numbers weren’t yellow. But after a day, the city started to grow on me. I drove around like it is my own city, like I live here. I qeued up in traffic jams, which made me really grateful that I actually live in traffic jam free Netherlands. One of the many things Dutch people usually take for granted.

I felt so at ease during my entire stay that I even entertained the fictional idea of living and working in Cologne, Germany. I don’t know, it was just a very strong feeling I had. I really felt at home there, although looking at the circumstances right now, it is a far-fetched idea and is not going to happen. But one thing for sure, nobody knows the future.

In Rodenkirchen I managed to do a little stroll along the river one twilight evening. We finished a bit early at work and I didn’t have dinner appointments so I took the chance to go back to my hotel to relax a bit and do the stroll.

I have read that Rodenkirchen is famous for its floating restaurants on stilts, as well as for its beach during summer. I was here around mid-September and the weather wasn’t really that great so it was a little bit cold than I would have wanted to.

These pictures are my souvenir shots of my stay in the town.

The hotel where I stayed at in Rodenkirchen, Atrium Rhein Hotel. It was relatively big and the black French windows you can see can be totally opened to reveal a small balcony. I did not like the two separate beds though.

The narrow street to the River Rhine which is just around the corner from my hotel. I am loving the twilight colours here.

One of the floating restaurants on stilts. You can see the Cologne skyline far ahead.

A very popular restaurant in town along the Rhine.

The Zum Treppchen restaurant in Rodenkirchen is the oldest in the area, circa 1656! I was contemplating on eating here on my last night but decided not to. It was too formal for me to be dining alone and there was a more casual restaurant around the corner from the hotel that I really liked.

Fixing one of the jetties.

Travel Period: September 2015
Destination: Rodenkirchen, Cologne (North Rhine Westphalia), Germany

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