Institute of Musicology, University of Cologne
Albertus-Magnus-Platz Cologne, 50923 Germany

The main venue of the spring school is the Musiksaal (map) in the main building (map) of the University of Cologne.

Trams run all over the city of Cologne and you can easily get to popular areas and the main train stations by tram. The nearest tram stop to the venue will be Universität on the line 9, Universitäts-str. on the line 1 or 7, or Weißhausstr. on the line 18. You can find the route map of the trams in Cologne city below:

Tram route map: https://www.kvb.koeln/fahrtinfo/liniennetzplaene.html#lightbox/2/

You can purchase a ticket at stations or on trams. The price of the ticket depends on the area you travel. If you travel inside of the Cologne city, please choose price zone 1b for 2.90€. For a short distance travel, you can travel on a tram up to 4 stops (your boarding station + 4 stops) with Kurzstreckenticket (engl. short distance ticket) for 1.90€.

(Last check of the price on December 2018)

Buses also run all over the city. You can get on buses with the same ticket you buy for trams. Universität on the line 130 or 142 is the closest stop to the venue.

Bus route map: https://www.kvb.koeln/fahrtinfo/liniennetzplaene.html#lightbox/7/

You can purchase a ticket inside the buses as well. 

(Last check of the price on December 2018)

There are also several regional trains that run near the university and easily connect you to Köln Hbf and Köln Messe/Deutz. The closest train stop to the venue is Köln Süd, you can use the regional trains RE5, RE22, RB24, RB26 and RB48 to get there. 

You have to purchase the ticket at one of the machines at the stations before boarding the train. If you travel inside the Cologne city, you have to choose price zone 1b for 2,90€. Please note that on the train you cannot use a Kurzstreckenticket.

(Last check of the price on December 2018)

Airbnb is a cheap and easy way to find a place to stay for the duration of the Spring School. Accommodations can be found all over the city. We recommend the districts listed below, as they are close to university and allow for a short travel to to the venue (University of Cologne). This list applies not only to Airbnbs but also to other accommodation possibilities.

• The University of Cologne is located in the district Lindenthal, near the City Center. Lindenthal would be the nearest place to live next to University.
• Other districts which are close to the University of Cologne are Braunsfeld and Sülz (south), City Center (east) and Ehrenfeld (north).
• Districts where a lot of students live in and which can be reached easily by tram are Zollstock (south), Nippes, Riehl and Neuehrenfeld (north).
• A district that lies on the other side of the river Rhein, but from which you can reach University by tram nicely is Deutz (east).

Here you can find a map with all the districts of Cologne listed above.

Map: http://www.koelner-stadtteile.de

For hostels and hotels, we recommend you to use websites like trivago.com. You will probably come across some of our recommended hostels/hotels listed below!

Hostels

• Wohngemeinschaft
  • 20€~
  • Richard-Wagner-Straße 39, Cologne, 50674 Germany
  • https://www.die-wohngemeinschaft.net/en/
  • A local hostel with a cafe-bar, a theater, and a creative space for exhibitions popular among students. About 15 minutes walk to the venue.

• SMARTY Cologne City Center
  • 68€ ~
  • Engelbertstraße 33-35, Cologne, 50674 Germany
  • https://smarty-hotels.com/
  • There are a couple of other SMARTY hotel/hostel in Cologne, but this SMARTY Cologne City Center located within walking distance to the university. About 17 minutes walk to the venue.

• Black Sheep Hostel, Cologne
  • 21€ ~
  • Barbarossaplatz 1, Cologne, 50674, Germany
  • https://www.blacksheephostel.com/
  • About 15 minutes walk to the venue. A car parking is also available (5€ per night).

• A&O Hotel Köln Neumarkt
  • ca 46€
  • Mauritiuswall 64/66 Cologne, 50676 Germany
  • https://www.aohostels.com/de/koeln/koeln-neumarkt/
  • About 20 minutes walk or about 11 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue. It is located in an immediate vicinity of the streets with bars, cafes, shops, and restaurants (Hohenzollernring).

• Jugendherberge Köln-Deutz
  • 28€ ~
  • Siegesstr. 5, Cologne, 50679 Germany
  • http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/youth-hostels/koeln-deutz450/Portrait
  • About 22 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue. It is on the other side of the river Rhein, but the line 9 will directly bring you to the nearest stop to the university. It is located next to Köln-Deutz train station.

Hotels

• Novum Hotel Ahl Meerkatzen Köln Altstadt
  • 47€ ~
  • Mathiasstr. 21, Altstadt-Süd, 50676 Köln, Deutschland
  • https://www.novum-hotels.com/hotel-ahl-meerkatzen-koeln
  • About 20 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue

• Centro Hotel Ariane
  • 55€~
  • Hohe Pforte 19 - 21, Altstadt-Süd, 50676 Köln, Deutschland
  • http://centro-hotel-ariane.colognehotel.net/de/
  • About 22 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue

• Hotel Conti
  • 64€ ~
  • Brüsseler Straße 40, Cologne, 50674 Germany
  • https://www.centro-hotels.de/en/cities/cologne/Centro-Hotel-Conti/hotel-conti-cologne.html
  • About 17 minutes walk to the venue. It is located in an immediate vicinity of a popular area with restaurants, cafes, and bars.

• Hotel Engelbertz
  • 68€ ~
  • Obenmarspforten 1-3, Altstadt-Nord, 50667 Köln, Deutschland
  • https://hotel-engelbertz.de
  • About 22 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue

• Ariana
  • 50€ ~
  • Zülpicher Straße 339, 50937 Köln, Deutschland
  • http://ariana.colognebesthotels.com/de/
  • About 6 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue or about 12 minutes walk to the venue

• Novum Hotel Leonet Köln Altstadt
  • 60€ ~
  • Rubensstraße 33, Altstadt-Süd, 50676 Köln, Deutschland
  • http://novum-hotel-leonet-koln-altstadt.colognehotel.net/de/
  • About 10 minutes walk or on line 9 (tram) to the venue

• Esplanade
  • 60€ ~
  • Hohenstaufenring 56, Altstadt-Süd, 50674 Köln, Deutschland
  • https://www.hotelesplanade.de
  • About 7 minutes on line 9 (tram) to the venue

• Boutique 009 Köln City
  • 73€ ~
  • Ursulaplatz 9 - 11, Altstadt-Nord, 50668 Köln, Deutschland
  • https://www.boutique-designhotels.com/de/standorte/koeln/hotel-boutique-009-koeln-city.html
  • About 25 minutes on line 133 (bus) and line 9 (tram) to the venue

Because of their omnipresence all around the town, it is obvious that there are some churches that are worth visiting. Above all, of course, the Cologne Cathedral or also known to locals as “d’r Dom zo Kölle” right at the heart of the city with its rich history is worth its while. You are able to just walk through, but it has even more to offer than its glorious insides. There is a treasure chamber that shows the jewellery and clothing of many a century. If you are not afraid of heights, you even have the possibility to climb to the rooftop on over 500 steps (no workout needed afterwards, but it’s worth while). Also a very interesting aspect of the cathedral is its artwork or the catacombs. Alongside the Cologne Cathedral are the twelve Romanic churches of Cologne cultural highlights and definitely worth visiting.

For more information just visit their website:
https://www.koelner-dom.de/home/
https://www.cologne-tourism.com/attractions-culture/cologne-cathedral.html

If you are interested in churches, their different styles and architecture, you will find more information on this page.

If you are not too tired of a whole week of lectures, workshops and have time to pass, the Cologne museums are a perfect way to spend the day (most of all if it is raining). There is a huge range of choices depending on your interest.

If you are interested in arts, the Museum Ludwig is one of the more famous choices. It is a museum for modern arts, where you can easily get lost or pass hours in front of the creations of Rosenquist, whose works are exhibited at the moment. When you get hungry from absorbing art all day, there is also a restaurant you can eat and drink or also only have a coffee.

If you are interested in the more classical arts, not far from the Ludwig, there is the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. It can be seen as the counterpart to the Museum Ludwig for its choice of works, but comparable in the quality of art-education and research as well as the number of collections.

For those who are interested in the history of Cologne, there is a Museum that goes way back to the roman origin of the city. The Römisch-Germanisches Museum displays excavations of the antic era, way before the idea of the famous cathedral even existed. Many of the pieces are in a very good state and show a great part of the way life used to be when the city was still called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis (50 AD) which gave Cologne its name and its patron.

Or the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum. This museum is a very interactive anthropological museum, which invites the visitor to take the discovery of cultures and history into their own hands. In the library-room many books are to be pulled out to see for yourself how globalization and early trade changed our life to what it is now.

Obviously there are many more museums, one that is rather different though is: the Schokoladenmuseum. If you are tired of a whole week of lectures and workshops you can learn about the history of chocolate and maybe even taste one or two pieces of chocolate.

More information on museums as well as exhibitions and events, you will find on this page.

The reason we all are coming together, though, is our interest in music and language, which are a big part of the daily life, too. That is also why Cologne gives so many opportunities to listen to music or the voice of an author reading his or her book.

For classical music lovers, the Cologne Philharmonic is a must-see on the visit list. If you want to end your day to the sound of music and enjoy the explicable acoustics of the concert hall, just choose out of their program. There is more to the story though: Because of a miscalculation during the construction of the subterranean concert hall, you can hear every step that is taken on the roof. So now, every time there is a concert, people have to be kept from walking over the platform that makes the roof of the building. Nonetheless the security does their job well and one can enjoy their evening concert, or, as Steven Pinker would shockingly put it, ‘enjoy their auditory cheesecake’.

For Jazz and Blues lovers Cologne has its treats too, there are Bars like the Tankstelle, Barinton or the Roxy where you can regularly find Concerts and Jam Sessions.
Those who are interested can find an overview on this page.

If you are curios what else Cologne has to offer, you can browse these websites:
http://www.cologne.de/what-to-do/sightseeing
https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/Tourism-g187371-Cologne_North_Rhine_Westphalia-Vacations.html

If you want to enjoy your break with a quick coffee and do not want do stay at the main building with cafe made by a real Barista from the italian coffee and pizza booth, there are a lot of other possibilities.

One possibility would be the Café Krümel, just around the corner of the Library on the Zülpicher Straße. They also serve cake and other dishes.

On the same street right in sight of the Krümel are more nice and cozy cafès like the Petit Noir and the Café Waschsalon. All of them offer a nice atmosphere and coffee or tea.

Still very close, but in the opposite direction, one can find the Café Duddel which is filled with students during their breaks. Here you can enjoy coffee, cake, paninis and very lovely furniture.

Still further on the same street there are even more cafès you can find a great place to spend your break. For example the Café Magnus, the Filmdose or very near by the Café Feynsinn. The choice is huge for a short but relaxing coffee break.

If you would like to explore also the further districts coffewise you should try the Café Kult or the Kaffeehaus near by the south of the city, or the Severinstraße with its many small cafès and patisseries.

Other cafes and opinions are proposed on this website.

As important as coffee may be for long term energy, a good meal must not be left aside. Of course there is many a number of restaurants that serve local dishes and specialities. For those who are interested in local food a brewery might be the perfect place.

Examples of the most famous breweries in Cologne are the Früh am Dom and the Gaffel am Dom, but there are a lot more of them, like the Hellers, the Päffgen, the Peters and much more.
An overview of the breweries in Cologne can be found on this page.

Apart from the breweries there are many other restaurants. On the Zülpicher Straße, where you can find almost all the cafès listed above, you can also find a lot of small restaurants like the Oma Kleinmanns which is most famous for its huge Schnitzel, or the Borsalino, Mango, Barcelos and many more where you can get almost everything. Another ‘german speciality’, the Döner Kebab, is best at the Zülpicher Döner. All these possibilities are on one street and are mostly used by the students for its affordable and tasty closeness to the University.

For the gourmets between us, there are also restaurants all around the city. If you crave an indian Curry the Ginti is highly recommendable. If you like a very healthy cuisine there is the Ecco in the south part of the city.

Anyways you will not starve and there is nothing that you can not get. Just ask the locals and they will be happy to share their experience.

Some of the participants may have to apply for VISA in order to participate in the spring school. Whether you need to apply for VISA or not depends on your nationality (and your current residential status in case you live abroad). Please check with the local German embassy regarding whether you need a VISA or not, and please let us know in the registration form. The documents you need to submit for your VISA application could vary depending on individual situations. Please contact  Nadine Dietrich (ndietri1smail.uni-koeln.de) in case you need supporting documents from the spring school organizers.

Please note that the VISA application has to be done by the person who travels with the VISA. We cannot carry out the VISA application in your place. As the processing of VISA application may take a couple of weeks, we advise you to start preparing for it ahead of time. The decisions on the VISA application will be made solely by the German Embassy in your district. We cannot answer any questions on the process of your VISA application nor ask the embassies to speed up the processing. Whether your VISA would be approved on time or not is solely up to the Embassy. We cannot provide any financial support for your VISA application.