During our recent trip to Germany we stopped over in Cologne. We stepped out of the central railway station (Koln Hauptbahnhof), and bam! The Cathedral was right there, in all its glory.

Cologne Cathedral

And just a block or two away, we found Funkhaus Café. This recently renovated stylish café offers a variety of salads, sandwiches, and classic dishes along with cakes and pastries.

Not many people inside because the weather’s so beautiful!

Dora here. Don’t forget breakfast and coffee! Just look at this place. Not many people sitting inside because the weather’s so beautiful! Try to spot my guy in the next picture. See him? ♥ 

loads of outdoor seating

Back to Ernie…Since I had a large lunch, for dinner I ordered Lentil Soup with smoked duck breast. Outstanding, with the lentil being cooked just enough to have a little bite but not mushy, and the thinly sliced duck breast was tender, tasty, and the perfect accompaniment to the soup. This was just the right dish to end a very busy day.

Lentil Bean Soup with Duck Breast, outstanding!

Dora here. The Goulash Spätzle was calling my name. Rather loudly. 🙂

Goulash Spatzle – yes, get it! You won’t be sorry.

Doesn’t that look oh-so-yummy? Well, my friends, it was! My first time ever eating Spätzle, and those noodles were so buttery and soft, the meat so tender…I want to go back to Cologne just for the goulash! And to gasp at that stunning cathedral. Oh, let’s not forget about the ice cream! Check this out.

We capped off an awesome day with ice cream from Eiscafe Brede. A walk-up with loads of outside seating and they offer almost any variety of ice cream that you can imagine. (Dora here. Not sure we ever could have imagined this! And if you’re walking from the train station, just a warning, it’s a bit of a trek. Phew!) We both chose the Spaghetti Ice Cream, mine with strawberries and Dora’s with chocolate, of course. Now this was definitely a different bowl of ice cream.  Just looking at it from a distance, it almost looks like real spaghetti. But as soon as you dig into this dessert, you soon realize that it is creamy delicious ice cream.

Spaghetti Ice Cream…oh yeah! Good to the last noodle.

Dora here. It only took one bite for you to realize, Ernie? Took me the whole bowl. lol. Soooo good! People might’ve stared at me for licking the bowl. \o/

Definitely five forks out of five for both the restaurant and the ice cream!