Cologne a Liberal (and Gay Friendly) Destination

THE man in the wig and Baroque garb is regaling us with nose-wrinkling tales of whale vomit – peculiar stuff in a perfumery. At the nearby Romano-Germanic Museum, a school party is being lectured on what Dionysos, centrepiece of their great mosaic, got up to. One of their number is sporting a stick-on moustache (he has to keep nudging it back under his nose). Other kids around town have painted-on beards and funny hats.

In a tavern full of middle aged troughers, all spangly costumes and rouged cheeks, I order a Halver Hahn – which in German has to mean half a chicken – and get served Dutch cheese in a rye roll... with a beer in what appears to be a large test tube.
Cologne, is a very odd place. But for a weekend away a very gemutlich one, as the locals might say.

The amazing twin-spired Cathedral apart, there’s nowhere better to start than at the wellspring of its most famous export.

Full Story from Manchester Confidential
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