The Footy Travelers sometimes enjoy in-kind hospitality in exchange for a mention. What we share is always honest, and we only point you toward places we'd happily return to.

There's a truth about travel so obvious (an axiom, if you will) that it barely needs saying: wherever you go, as the tourist—that person who sticks out a bit—you tend to experience the best of that place thanks to its hospitality. Not just the hospitality industry, but a place’s broader sense and value of hospitality. 

Especially on a first visit, you form judgments, more often than not ones that extend beyond a single destination. Not yet having experienced the differences between regions or cities within a new country, you extrapolate. You start telling yourself you're learning something about a country's people, their values, their priorities. All of it filtered through front desks, restaurant servers, hotel lobbies, and tour guides—through a place’s ‘hospitality’.

Which brings us to ‘German hospitality,’ and Köln (Cologne), where we had planned to spend some of the first few days of our recent knockout stage project, Chasing the World Cup Spirit (thank god our prediction that Germany would come out of Group C and play in the first few days of the Round of 32 was successful!). More precisely, to this idea that German hospitality is a bit of an oxymoron. To this notion that there is none.

Somewhere along the way, Germans seem to have picked up a reputation for being very, well… German. Reserved. Functional. Direct. Dare we say, humorless? And so, we showed up to Köln with two opposing ‘truths’ in the back of our heads, one of which would necessarily need to prove itself to be the ‘lie’ by the time we left. Which one would we experience, or in other words: would the best of German hospitality fit a standard travel expectation, or a lower expectation based on a less than flattering stereotype? Equally important, what judgments might a footy-seeking traveler form on a visit to Köln? Well, we f**cked around and found out for you…

The first hints of one of these accepted ‘truths’ breaking came well before the trip. Corresponding with all sorts of tourism boards, DMOs, and hospitality industry contacts—trying to get a grip on the best cities to target for such a crazy idea that Chasing the World Cup Spirit was—one in particular stood out from the start: Visit Köln. Footy travelers wondering how deeply ingrained the sport is in a city’s overall culture should be pleased to learn that it was Köln who not only understood the essence of Chasing the World Cup Spirit, but who was excited to make our stop in the city known as ‘The Longest Bar in the World’ one that was filled to the brim with fußball.

From the recommendations for bars and pubs to watch the World Cup games from, to the connections with the inner circle of the city’s footy culture, all the way to the extra mile effort of providing spots to keep on our radar for post-match grub on a future visit during the Bundesliga season, Visit Köln unquestionably became a critical partner in helping The Footy Travelers start our fast-paced, whirlwind tour on the right foot. 

As for the city itself, Köln’s old town charm blended with its modern, raw, German edginess was the perfect place to transition us out of the mega-stadium, “everything is big” environment of host country USA. Even with the heat wave flattening a large swath of Europe at the time, the Rheinpromenade made for a pleasant walk and a fitting venue near the heart of the Altstadt for the Sunday market that greeted us off the train. Then there's the Kölsch culture, which delivered a delight all its own. Think Churrascarias, but for beer: your coaster does the talking. When you've had enough, you flip your coaster and the rounds stop coming. The 0.25-liter "Stange" glasses (less than 8 ounces, under a half pint) all but force you to sip slowly—and after a coast-to-coast group stage adventure, slowing down is exactly what we needed. We lingered. We took our time. We moved at a pace neither of us is really used to Stateside. 

On paper, that might look like German practicality and efficiency in its purest form perhaps. But in practice, we found it did the exact opposite of what the stereotype suggests: it freed our servers from the mental overhead of tracking who wanted what next, and let them spend that energy on humor and hospitality instead. A ‘rigid’ system, it turns out, can create room for a much looser (and more pleasant) human interaction.

Generalities aside, the most genuine hospitality we found was in the southern Altstadt — and it's there we'd tell any footy traveler heading to Köln to base themselves. Specifically, for the sake of two places in particular.

For Americans who haven't come across the Minor Hotels portfolio, NH properties are solid 4-star options for footy travelers who consider themselves city explorers—the kind who prioritize location and value over flash or extravagance. They tend to sit in prime city centers, which, as walkers and public transit enthusiasts, is exactly where we start every accommodation search. And while this one is modern and design-forward, you might not be surprised at this point to hear that the highlight of our stay wasn't the spacious, contemporary comfort. It was the warm welcome and attentive service we honestly weren't expecting (no offense, German FFTs!).

We knew we were in the right place from the moment we walked in. Say what you will about welcome drinks, we've stayed in plenty of chain hotels along the way and most don't bother with the gesture at all. NH did. Add a personal note and a gracious, if not delicious, gift waiting in the room (German chocolate and Kölsch bon bons) and we briefly forgot we still had an entire ad hoc knockout-stage itinerary to sort out across Europe and, as we'd soon find out, West Africa.

Speaking of which, the rest of our itinerary is where the hotel earned its second round of appreciation. The lobby-level co-working space is genuinely solid. Spreading out across actual desk space isn't something two footy travelers researching flights and plotting next stops can do comfortably in the confines of a shared hotel room. So if you're a footy traveler who also happens to be a business traveler, or simply one with the ability to "work" remotely, consider this another reason to post up at NH's Altstadt address.

Our second Altstadt-Süd recommendation is a five-minute walk, door-to-door, from the hotel. While the Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum (DSOM) isn't exclusively about fußball, the beautiful game is surely one of its headline acts.

The German football exhibit alone justifies the entry fee: the very first pair of "soft ground" football boots, an iconic early edition of the adidas Predator, and a match-worn pair belonging to Germany's own Lukas Podolski. Head up top and the rooftop opens onto two small-sided, open-air pitches—netted goals included—where the more active (or simply more playful) footy traveler can kick it Rhineside and work up a proper thirst for that crisp Kölsch. The views don't hurt either, with Das Kölner Riesenrad and the Hohenzollern and Deutzer bridges all sitting in frame.

But the number one reason to get to the DSOM sooner rather than later is "Fabric of the Nation."

This World Cup–focused exhibit presents a selection of historic jerseys—German kits alongside plenty of other nations'—and walks you through the evolution of the German national team shirt, right up to the recent and slightly controversial swap of the predominantly green away kit for the now-iconic pink of Euro 2024. Get there soon, though. The exhibit closes September 1, right as domestic German fußball comes roaring back.

There's FC Köln, of course. Matches at the RheinEnergieSTADION are less than a 20-minute ride west on Stadtbahn Line 1 from Heumarkt, right in the center of town. And if you've got kiddos in tow who care more about animals than away kits? Perfect. FC Köln's mascot, Hennes the goat, lives at the Kölner Zoo—so even that zoo day comes with a side of footy.

All in all, we’re not entirely sure where stereotypes about the Germans’ relentless efficiency, strict punctuality (certainly not from the current state of their train system), or rigid, lack of humor crossed over into their sense of hospitality. Nor would we be confident in that origin story if we could even pinpoint it. It certainly wasn’t from the brand of welcoming and gracious hospitality we experienced.

Having visited Germany twice in the past year (Munich for a Bayern match during Oktoberfest is a must!), we can, however, confidently say that it’s not just Köln that deserves a footy traveler's attention and time—an eminently walkable city, no shortage of footy to build a trip around—but Germany as a whole. Seems to us like it’s a land full not only of fußball and hefeweizen, but a whole lot of warm, humorous, and sure, reliable German hospitality.

Now if only Deutsche Bahn would fall in line!

Does chasing the World Cup spirit sound like something you’d want to experience? Interested in joining us on the next trip? Register your interest on footytravelers.com!