Breaking News from Cologne

Historic Center to be evacuated

Guten Morgen from Germany.

Today, we woke up to the news that 20,000 residents in Cologne (Köln) need to evacuate due to the discovery yesterday of three WWII-era bombs. The evacuation zone includes the entire Altstadt, including 58 hotels.

I left Köln yesterday at 5:30pm after a short, impromptu visit, during which I stayed in one of those Altstadt hotels. I was around the corner from the Dom, which somehow lies just outside the evacuation zone. I can’t believe how lucky I am!

You can read more about the evacuation from Der Spiegel. There may even be a story in the New York Times by now.

https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/koeln-20-000-menschen-muessen-wegen-bomben-evakuierung-weichen-a-b2ed3148-46fc-49d3-8ec7-4856cbb8f079

Here are a few photos of Köln that I took yesterday and the evening before:

If you’d like to keep up with my adventures in real time, you can follow me on Instagram @ “missadventures”.