Braustelle-Helios Weizenier

Braustelle, is the smallest brewery in Cologne, and we discovered it on a vlog while researching things to do in Cologne, and it really was quite a find. When we walked in, it was not very busy, and the bartender was able to read us the menu in English, but within 10 minutes, the small brewery and restaurant was bursting at the seams. People were everywhere, most ordering their version of the Kolsch, but others trying some of their other beers, including an Alt and a fruit beer brewed with hibiscus as well called the Pink Panther.

Of all the options, I decided on the wheat beer and was not disappointed. This overflowing pour into a weizen glass was a light gold color, opaque with the suspended yeast. It has a phenolicy aroma and had a slightly sweet malt smell too. What it was absent of though was the typical banana ester aromas for the style. It had a very wheaty taste, almost like soft dough, but was again absent of the typical yeast flavors for the style, but this did not retract from this refreshing brew. It had a nice medium-light body and mouthfeel that finished very nicely. Additionally, it paired well with the sauerkraut in my meal, making me very happy in my choice at this small brewery.

After Cologne, we made our way to the beautiful Lucerne, although we almost missed our first of three trains for the day leaving Cologne and jumped into the car with the doors closing behind us. We honestly would not have made it, had it not been for a helpful German lady on the street informing us that the train station we were looking for, a different one than the central station, was in fact the way from which we had just come. In light of the near miss, we arrived in Switzerland happy and excited. With heavy rain forecasted for the next day, we changed around our itinerary a bit in order to summit Mt. Pilatus in the sun and warmth.

A cable car is the easiest way to the top, although you can hike most of the way before having to take an additional gondola to the top when it gets too steep. Because of time constraints and not wanting to spend 5 hours hiking to get there, we took the car directly to the top, and while the 40 minute ride was frightening, the views were breathtaking and you got both views of the lakes, the foothills, and the imposing mountain in front of you. Once we reached the top, we got out and walked around on the well established paths to different lookouts. The views here were just as spectacular if not even more at the top, but be sure to hold onto your hat because it is very windy up there. Again, on the gondola down, the views are just as impressive, but nearing the second to last stop, we got out and decided to take the hour-long walk down the rest of the way. With our legs burning from the steep descent for much of the way, we made it to the bottom tired, but really glad we got out and enjoyed the scenery up close, and we can kind of say we hiked on a mountain.

When we made it back into Lucerne, we decided to also take a cruise of the lake because that too would be much nicer today when the weather was gorgeous. Luckily here too, we just made it on board the last cruise of the evening as it was getting ready to pull away from the docs. The lake was incredibly tranquil with the Alps providing a stunning backdrop to this amazing place. The cruise lasted about an hour and pulled in just as it was getting dark. While the mountain was amazing, I enjoyed the cruise more on account of the the peacefulness of the lake as opposed to the rugged mountain.

Before heading to our AirBnB for the night, we walked through one of the city's two covered bridges and picked up some dinner. Luckily for us, our accommodation was fantastic with the apartment actually being inside a hotel, so we were practically living in a hotel room.

The next day, as predicted, it poured, but we made the best of it. There was a farmers market along the river in the morning, and I bought some local cheese, which may have been some of the best I've ever had. Although the flavor was a little odd, a bit oniony, the intensity of the flavor and the freshness of the cheese is like nothing else. We then made our way through the old town along cobbled streets, and stopped to wander along the old wall. We stopped into a few chocolate shops, but were shocked at the high prices compared to the much more affordable Belgium. We also stopped by the Lion Monument before, being cold and wet, relaxed in our AirBnb for the afternoon.

Lucerne was an incredible city and the views cannot be topped, but if I were to do it again, I'd make sure I had the financial resources to really enjoy the city as opposed to scrapping by on chips and salsa from the grocery store.