When I last left you on my Tour of Cologne on Easter Sunday, I said I would next show you around the Hay Market. Well, I will, but today I want to show you some signs found in Cologne.
When I went to Ireland in 2007, I started my love affair with old signs, like the Rhein Hotel sign above in the Old Fish Market. In Ireland I started taking pictures of Guinness signs and while in Cologne I realized that capturing the many interesting old signs would be a cool way to document my trip.
There were so many, I could not capture all of them, but I did manage to find a few, like this GIR Keller sign with a ram in Altstadt. Evidently, this is a hotel and event location housed in an old monastery cellar that dates back to the 13th century.
And then there were the cool pub or Brahuas signs everywhere we went. Like this for Wirsthaus Schwejk.
They actually had two versions of their sign, one vertical and one horizontal. I like the little cartoon soldier with his big mug of beer.
This image was captured by our crew of a sign near the Cathedral, or Dom as they call it, for Kolsch, a beer brewed in only in Cologne.
Speaking of pubs near the Dom, Früh am Dom was a huge Brauhaus right across from the Cathedral. The crew captured this sign.
Most of their signs were simple, like the one above. Not as ornate as some of the older pubs, more commercial in appearance.
But they did have this cool beer man on top of their building. He is made from old beer cans. Upcycled Art!
I captured this sign for Bierhaus en d’r Salzgass not realizing that the Poncho’s sign was behind it. I wish I would have gotten a shot of that by itself! Poncho’s is actually a steakhouse. An Argentinian Steakhouse, none the less. Serving only Argentine Bovine. Interesting.
And of course, Lowenbrau is a must in Germany. I love the newer metal sign next to the older scrollwork sign.
This is a pretty sign for Sion Brauhaus. According to their website, they have been a fixture in Alter Markt since 1318. Did you notice that the Sion part of the sign incorporates the two spires of the Cathedral? And I love the dragon and shield.
Now we are getting into some of my favorites, like this whale, complete with spout, for SÜNNER im Walfisch. I love the whale. He is just too cute. And notice the wheat and hops at the bottom? A lot of these signs have variations of wheat and hops. Since that is what makes Kolsch, that is another way to let people know what kind of beer the pub serves. On one of our tours, not in Cologne, our guide explained that many of the old signs were designed so that those that could not read could visually understand the nature of the business in the building just by looking at the sign.
This sign for Peter’s Brauhaus also has wheat and hops featured.
This is my favorite sign, for Brauerai zum Pfaffen. It shows what appears to be a king sitting above his keg with a beer in hand. It also has the hops and wheat theme going for it along with beautiful scrollwork. These signs are works of art!
I wish I could have captured all of the wonderful signs that we saw while touring Cologne. Next will be the Hay Market, I promise!
This is not a sponsored post. This is my experience from my trip with Viking River Cruises. Email me to find out how you can save $100 when you book your first cruise with Viking through their referral program.
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