This summer I discovered that Cologne has a clothing-optional area right in the centre of the city, just like two other major German cities, Berlin and Munich. I wonder if it is the same in Hamburg, but overall, Germany rocks!!!
So, on the East bank of the River Rhine in the centre of Cologne there is a picturesque meadow with few trees, an obvious place for some good relaxing time, whether you visit the city or live there. When I went to Cologne this summer for just one day (on the way to a seminar in its suburb) that day was one of the hottest this year, with more than +30ºC, so that place seemed certainly inviting. On top of that, it was conveniently located at the end of my route, so I headed there after wandering through the historic quarters (starting from Cologne Cathedral, of course) and visiting the chocolate museum, from which it’s just across the bridge (well, then some more walking).
This is the view from that bridge, Severinsbrücke.
And did I feel like I was missing sightseeing? Not at all, because the beach has a gorgeous view of the city’s landmarks including the famous Kölner Dom.
Doesn’t it look like a postcard view? Then how about doing a typical tourist thing, taking a photo in front of it!
Normally I don’t take this kind of pics, but couldn’t resist taking one being naked! That’s more like it 😉
But it’s not just a nice lawn with a good view, it’s a riverbank, so of course I went swimming. I was a little worried about the fast current of the Rhine River, but I saw other people swimming and I asked a couple of local guys to show me how they usually do it. So just go upstream and you can enter water from stairs; then just go with the flow, but not too far from the bank! It’s hardly possible to swim against the current, so don’t miss the tip of the peninsula. The water was quite cool, but on that very hot day it was just perfect!
Then I was happy to get some snack, that I grabbed from the leftovers from my previous trips:
a pack of dried turkey jerky that I bought in Oregon and a chocolate bar from Japan.
It was funny to imagine that these two have met somewhere in between lol. The world has become a small place.
On the way back I passed some blackberry bushes with the berries almost inviting to be picked up.
I can highly recommend the place, I will never forget that view!
Active Naturists 
I was there yesterday, I didn’t know about it. It was a nice discovery. You can get there very easy with tramline 7, you’re stop is Drehbrucke.
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hi there, this post is rather old, do you know whether the place is still a naturist place?
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I haven’t been there since then, so I can’t be sure but I don’t see why not
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Thanks for the answer. I’ll check it out next time I am in Cologne.
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