On Friday, we visited a nearby town called Brühl.  It was really cute with twisted streets and half timbered houses.  It is kind of a suburb of Köln and only took about 30 minutes to get to by train from a train stop very near our house.  I had originally thought we would have to take the DB (Deutsch Bahn) train and the trip for both of us would have been about 60€ round trip.  A little steep in my book.  I managed to actually look up the regional train and find a way to get there for 15€ !! Proud of myself.  (I promise at some point to go back in time and revisit our experiences learning to ride the train or at least to explain the trains to you). 

We had just gotten up and were thinking out loud about what we should do for the day.  We spend a lot of time walking and that leads to either shopping or eating for us and we have decided to try and be tourists as much as possible.  I typed in castles near Köln in my search engine and a palace in nearby Brühl popped up. We decided to go and see it. 

The building we were headed out to see is called the Schloss Augustusburg.  It is a Rococo style palace of one of the Prince Electors of Germany.  It was still in use for receiving visiting heads of state until the early 90's by the government of the former West Germany.  Today it is a quiet tourist attraction very near to Köln but completely overshadowed by nearby Phantasieland, Germany's largest amusement park. 

We took the train down and were pleasantly surprised by the town of Brühl.  We wandered along the main street that actaully leads from the train station to the Schloss.  Cute shops, including a great shop for buying Köln souvenirs, old buildings and a large amount of pedestrian streets make this a very easy town to visit.  As you exit the KVB train area there is a bucherie or bookstore with displays in the windows of historical photographs of Brühlers.  About two thirds of the way to the Schloss is a town tourist bureau with very helpful employees. 

It turns out Brühl  has several attractions.  Schloss Augustusburg and its nearby hunting lodge called Falkenlust, Phantasieland, the Max Ernst museum, a Ceramic Museum, and a Muesum for Everyday things.  In addition, the visitors shop has more brochures on Köln cultural events than I have managed to find in Köln. . .

It turns out much of the town's attractions are not really open in January.  The Schloss will open in February.  Phatasieland on 1 April, and the little museums are only open on certain days of the week.  Luckily for us it is a great town to just wander through.  We enjoyed the local shops, and wandering through the gardens at the Schloss.  The town also has several churches that appear to be worth seeing.  If you ever visit we will have to stop in at the Eis Cafe for one of thier great sundaes, crepes or waffles. 

We can't wait to see Brühl again in warmer weather.