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This trip has been in the making since the beginning of this year. Long before lockdown, long before any of the crazy crap went down. If I'm being honest, I was sceptical about this trip for months. With covid being such a heavy force, I did not believe I would make it to Germany. Even over the past few weeks, so many countries have been thrown on and off the quarantine list, I was scared about Germany being thrown on last minute. I got very lucky that it wasn't. Friday the 28th of August: Now I had a afternoon flight to Cologne. This usually would be very easy for me, living in Crawley, I am a few miles south and a 5 minute bus ride from Gatwick Airport. Though when looking for flights to Cologne-Bonn, I could only find options from Heathrow. This meant I had to trek down to Heathrow, which is a shame. Considering I am literally down the road from one of the biggest airports in the country. Oh well, first world problems eh? Anyway the M25 wasn't too bad, and gotta love a sunny afternoon flight right? Kinda wish I was going here ngl.. I was pretty excited to see my plane had Europa Park on it. I will be back to you Europa, I promise. That evening was mostly just checking in, walking around, and a schnitzel. Because schnitzels are the best thing about Germany and Austria and you know it. Who cares about culture, landmarks, or anything else? Saturday: Saturday was my sightseeing day. Now the most iconic thing in Cologne is the biggest, and the only thing to survive the war. The Cathedral is huge. A impressive sight. It can be seen from most of the city, and overall its just cool. The Old Town around it is even nicer. Tons of cobbled streets, many restaurants, and overall a lot of charm and quirkiness. Cologne may not be the prettiest city in Germany, but it definitely has charm. Though my highlight had to be their chocolate Museum.. As a hungry bast***, I approve of this museum. Perfect for those who love to get their cavities refilled like myself. Its a shame 2020 sucks tbh. You can even get your own creation done at the Chocolate museum for 5 euros. I got a bar of white with a bunch of nuts in it. Cos I like nuts, get over it. This day was finished by a river cruise down the rhine. Because it would be rude not too. Sorry for the bad photography, I was drinking beers left and right. Overall a very quirky city. its not the most beautiful, or the most historical, but its a fun place that has its quirks. Anyway next blog I will deep dive into Phantasialand. Prepare folks, its going to be a long one..

Your thoughts share similarities to my own when I visited. Cologne is an interesting city with quirks but definitely not the best looking by any means and if anything industrial. The Cathedral is ace though! The Chocolate museum looks nice and I hope to visit there if I return again. 2020 has been an unacceptable year, surprised that statue hasn’t been more vandalised.

Hard to tell with Covid restrictions how busy the park will be (and some things may have changed, so this might not be perfect), but... -Taron will always have a queue. If you're not one of the first ones there, you may as well leave it for later (it warms up and rides a bit better later in the day anyways). -If the weather is good, River Quest will have a very long queue. It has a bad throughput too. One to get done earlier in the day if possible. -It might be different with Covid, but the Fantasy area (where Winjas is) opens at 11 some days. So try and head over there for then. -The Berlin rides (carousel, Maus au Chocolat and Wellenflug) usually open before 10am. -As Crazy Bats has no VR, it will run really well. Likely won't have much of a queue. -Colorado Adventure has a physically short queue line, so don't be alarmed if the queue looks long. On a good day, even if the queue is really external you can be on in under 30mins. -If you're pressed for time, I wouldn't bother with Feng Ju Palace or Wakobato. The latter you should only really do if you want a relaxing ride to do and you've got the time. -Hollywood Tour (indoor boat ride) has been closed for a long period of time due to maintenance. So you don't need to bother trekking up the hill past the Crazy Bats entrance. -Don't miss out on Tikal! It's not exactly hidden, but the closest thing they have to a hidden gem imo. -Ride Chiapas a bunch of times The park is open until 7pm so even if it is busy you should get on everything. Most queue lines close 15mins before park close, but when busy, the park sometimes close their queue lines earlier, but these are always advertised. The advertised queue times are usually pretty accurate, but sometimes a bit off with the likes of Taron and Black Mamba in my experience. Most of the park's food places are great, so you can't really go wrong there. It's a small park with a lot of stairs and you will probably double back on yourself more than once throughout the day. Always worth looking at a map / the app to find your way round; it's pretty accurate.