plus, i will be getting back whatever taxes i paid on the award ticket as the $251 i am paying is an all-in price after taxes. that probably brings the next outlay close to $210'ish, i would imagine.

and, now it looks like i will be getting around 21K miles if we get both 2K mile bonuses.

Time to start reading. Maybe start here.

http://frommers.com/destinations/cologne/

Cologne (Koln) is well liked, but I'm not sure I'd want to spend all my time there. Do you want to visit "a city," or the countryside. No reason to rent a car for a European city. If you want to tour the countryside, a car is a very good idea (a "midsize" is going to be what you think of as a small car -- fine for a weekend drive). For German countryside, I like the nearby Mosel Valley, but I'm not sure I'd like it in late November.

http://frommers.com/destinations/the...878010001.html

Cologne is definitely worth a couple of days' stay. Aachen is about 1 hour away by train and as was mentioned previoiusly, Brussels, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are not far. The Neuschwanstein castle is in Fussen in southern Germany but about 5+ hours away.

Anyone interested in watching bobsledding, there is a world cup race in Winterberg (about 2 hours from Cologne) February 15-18th.

I think it's hellish sitting in coach on the 752 from CLE-EWR, not sure how we're going to make it to CGN. Luckily we got the exit row at least.

What an awesome fare, anyone tried it reverse? (CGN-EWR)
Doesn't seem to work...

Is it really that terrible to sit in coach?
:confused:

Just got one for this week-end!thanks OP and thanks to the person who brought this up again earlier today!I wanted to go to AMS and have been looking for something cheap for days!till yesterday it was at $298+!I owe you a lot!$100 savings that will go for car rental!Anyone out this week-end?leaving friday 11/17 back monday 11/20

what happened to your punctuation?do you not believe in spaces after sentences?just curious. :D

I was too excited :D

No one going this week-end? I was hoping on some CO elites willing to link PNRs and put me on a better seat... :eek:

I have 27C outbound and 23D inbound.Please!I'm used to exit rows on AA and widebodies over the pond :D

Is this 2,000 mile bonus each way or 2,000 for the whole RT?

In the past, I have earned the 2,000 miles IN EACH direction where CO's promo language was written this way. Of course YMMV.

too excited to hit the space bar?i do have to say,that's a first!i also see you aren't a big fan of periods!i enjoy exclamation marks as much as the next guy (even more than jake jarmel) but i do throw in a period every so often. :D

I was actually hoping in an offer to re-sit me... :( anyone this week-end?

c'mon it's cheap :D

fly co to see the yanks-

I've noticed your not a big fan of capital letters. Are you always too excited to hit the shift key?

Most certainly Cologne is the place to go, yet I would be considered a bit biased having lived my whole life here...;-).

As to getting around, Cologne has a very decent public transport system that gets you everywhere in the city pretty reliably and at a decent price (6 Euro for the unlimited-ride day ticket). You can find a system map here. Single rides are 2.20 Euro each. The airport is well-connected to the city with a train-station at the basement of both terminals, and there is no surcharge for this station (you can buy the day ticket upon arrival and then take the train into the city at no extra expense).

Cologne's most known attraction is the Cologne Cathedral, the world's third largest gothic cathedral and the third highest church of the world. Constructed over a period of 600 years (talk about construction-delays...;-)) between 1248 and 1880 it has been the highest building of the world between 1880 and 1888 with it's twin-towers at 157 meters. For more details, look here.

If you are into museums, Cologne has lots of them ro offer as well. You can get a general overview here. I would reccomend the following museums:

• Museum of Romanic-Germanic culture
• Museum Ludwig for contemporary art
• Museum of Chocolate History

Especially the last one is my personal favourite...

As for beer, Cologne is also the place to go. Cologne is home to a beer called "Kölsch" that is only brewed legally in and around Cologne. It is a light-colored fare that tastes very refreshing and is very popular. There are about 30 different brands (sadly down from about 100 only a few years ago) and is a must-try when you are here. Along with this beer there is a culture of "Brauhaus" where brewers sell their beer and typical local food. My suggestion would be a visit to either the Brauhaus Sion or the Brauhaus Früh which is a little more tourist-oriented (both are about a two minute's walk apart from each other). More authentic but also more out of the way woud be Brauhaus Paeffgen.

If you like to do a city-tour, apart from the regular pay-for tours organised from Cologne's tourist office (daily at 11am and 2pm departing right across from the cathedral's main entrance, 15 Euro per person) there is a free tour operating 11/23-11/30 departing the Chamber of Commerce at Heumarkt daily at 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm (got that from today's newspaper). The Tourist Office also offer a 90 minutes walking tour of the City every Saturday at 1pm with english commentary.

Another thing to do and see is the Christmas-Markets in Cologne which open on 11/23. There are several places where these are held, most notably the one right in front of the cathedral. Makes for a nice stroll before heading out for the evening for dinner and some nice Kölsch.

Finally, when you have seen enough of my home-city, Cologne's airport is one of Europes largest Low Cost airport in Europe. It is the home-base of Germanwings und HLX that take you to a wide variety of places in Europe, starting as low as 19 Euros one-way all included (you must be lucky to score such a ticket, however). Also Easyjet, Wizzair and Skyeurope.

Any more questions, just let me know.

Greetings - Dirk