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Cologne
,→South towards Bonn, Koblenz, Frankfurt am Main, Nuremberg
|map = <map lat='50.93982519613568' lng='6.961555480957031' zoom='12' view='3' height='500' width='350'/>
|country = Germany
|pop = 9911,395 024,346 (30 June 200731 December 2008)
|state = North Rhine-Westphalia
|plate = K
|motorways = [[A1 (Germany)|A1]], [[A3 (Germany)|A3]], [[A4 (Germany)|A4]], [[A57 (Germany)|A57]], [[A59 (Germany)|A59]]
}}__NOTOC__'''Cologne''', or '''Köln''' in German, is a big city in [[NordrheinNorth Rhine-Westfalen]]Westphalia.
Cars number plates starting with the letter '''K''' are registered in this locality. While the following are localities in the neighbourhood of Cologne: ''(LEV - GL - SU - BM) clockwise from the North''
=== South towards [[Bonn]], [[Koblenz]], [[Frankfurt am Main]] ===
To get out of '''Cologne''' to the South towards [[Bonn]] or [[Koblenz]], the best possibility is to go to the ''Verteilerkreis Süd'', a big [[roundabout ]] where all vehicles that are heading for the motorway to the South or West are passing by. There is also a petrol station beside it and a traffic light where one can ask people for a lift. If you're headed to [[Frankfurt am Main]], take the train to the last stop ''Königsforst'' (tram U9), walk straight for about 15 min. Then after a right turn you are on a decent on ramp of the [[A3 (Germany)|A3]], most of the cars will go to [[Frankfurt am Main]] or can drop you at least on the ''Rasthof Siegburg'' (about 20 km South), which is it worth for long-distance rides.:''[[User:Frixge|Frixge]]: I hitched at Königsforst in August 2011 by chance. And found it hard to imagine that people would stop, because it is outside of town and a lot of people ignore hanging out hitchhikers. But the next times I went there I got a ride in 5 to 30min. Especially it is easier to get southwards, because there is no other option than the A3.'' [[File:Dariocraigmalaysia.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|Craig]] & Dario hit the road for '''Thumbing Asia West to East''' (Königsforst always a good option!)]]Another possibility for the [[A3 (Germany)|A3]] direction [[Frankfurt]] is to take the train “RB 25” from the main station in the direction “Marienheide” or “Overath” for EUR 3.20. Leave at “Stümpen” and turn right and go up to the “Kiefernweg” and turn right. Follow the street that is later called “Dammelsfurther Weg” up to the “Pestalozziweg” for maybe 500 meters and turn right. Now you pass the Autobahn and turn right again in the “Plantage”. Follow this way a few hundred meters through the forest and you will see a service station on the right side. Maybe you have to climb a fence. Now you are on the a station without oil station but much traffic and it's easy to get a ride there. It takes approximately 40 minutes to reach it from Cologne Hbf (main train station). :''[[User:Hash|Hash]]: Hitched at this spot successfully in July 2017, took about 25 mins but got a good long distance ride to Nürnberg. Climbing the fence is probably necessary - there is a good place on the western end of the station where the fence has larger gaps for a foot to fit in." :''[[User:Furkanyigit|Furkanyigit]]: In 2019, December, I hitchhiked to Nuremberg from that gas station. It is quite hard to arrive there but you will find a ride %100. I bought a ticket "3" for Siegburg costs 5.40 € then walked to Shell Gas Station (Wst, A3, 53721 Siegburg, Germany). I did not need to climb the fences, if you surround from the left side of the park you will see the path. I used maps.me application for that. And go to exit of the gas station, show your destination and thumb up! Furthermore going in direction of FFM you can use the traffic lights at the ramp Köln-Dellbrück (Mülheim/Buchheim) or at the ramp onto the 55a (Frankfurterstraße). Ask the driver to bring you at least on the ''Rasthof Siegburg''. To Köln-Dellbrück you can catch the bus 159 in direction ''Buchheim'' to ''Gronauerstraße'' for example at ''Wiener Platz'' (3 stops). To the ramp at Frankfurterstraße take bus 151, 152 or 153 to ''Beuthenerstraße''.:''[[User:Frixge|Frixge]] mostly waited between 5 and 15 minutes. But I once waited two hours at Köln-Dellbrück. It was early in the morning. Maybe most of the traffic at that daytime is local.'' === North or East towards [[Berlin]], [[Dortmund]], [[Hannover]] and [[Münster]] === Hitching in that direction seems to be legendarily difficult unless you take a regional train and walk an hour. Several experienced hitchhikers got trapped countless hours and decided to take a train instead. Nevertheless it's of course possible to hitch out of Cologne, experiences about this vary extremely. So far there are four options: * '''Option 1:''' Close to the city, you may want to try one of the on-ramps in the North East of Cologne. On-ramp ''Köln-Dellbrück'' (exit 26 on the [[A3 (Germany)|A3]]) seems to be good for hitchhiking in direction Remscheid or further along the A1. Also traffic North the A3 passes here. There's no hard shoulder but some green space to stop cars ~60m behind the Autobahn sign. Another possibility is to ask the drivers directly at the traffic light with an extra lane for the motorway. You can get there by taking the metro U18 to ''Holweide-Vischeringstrasse'', cross the railways towards the main road and to the left you'll find the on-ramp. Or Follow the description for ''Köln-Dellbrück'' (see south towards). You just have to walk a bit more. Make sure to have a "Remscheid" or "RS" sign in case of going towards A1 because there is only one tiny resting area ahead of the A3/A1 crossing and as of 06/2011, it is mainly used as a meeting spot for male homosexuals.
=== East towards [[Siegen]] or [[Gießen]] ([[A4 (Germany)|A4]]) === Trying to get onto A4 seems to be as difficult as getting anywhere north-east. [[User:Caro|Caro]] tried Mid-July 2010 to hitchhike at the on-ramp in Merheim, giving up after 3 hours using the following spot. One but long (and maybe worthwhile) possibility is to go to petrol station ''Aggertal''. Take "Regionalbahn (RB) 25" direction Marienheide Bf. Get off at Overath Bf and take bus 310 direction Gummersbach. Get off (2nd halt) at Klef/Hotel Lüdenbach and walk 20 minutes to the petrol staion. Check [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Klef&daddr=Unbekannte+Stra%C3%9Fe&hl=de&geocode=FZ5pCQMdtIFvAA%3BFZ52CQMdD6xvAA&mra=ls&dirflg=w&sll=50.948613,7.31123&sspn=0.01287,0.027595&ie=UTF8&ll=50.950154,7.312946&spn=0.012869,0.027595&z=15 map] before! From there you can go anywhere eastwards, including long distance rides too. :''[[User:janpa|janpa]] suggests to not take the bus, but hitch to the petrol station from Overath Bf. It's probably faster to take a lift to the on-ramp, and then directly to the petrol station, since it is only two kilometres. From Köln it takes about one hour to get to the spot.'' === North towards [[Düsseldorf]] or [[DortmundNijmegen]] === Take the tram no. 5 or 13 to ''Nußbaumer Str.''. There is an onrampon-ramp. A lot of traffic goes in your direction, but it is very dangerous for drivers to stop there.[[User:Perilisk|Perilisk]] tried this spot in 2008 but was unsuccessful and uncomfortable stopping cars there. [[User:Clint.hotvedt|Clint.hotvedt]] tried this spot a few times in the fall of 2009 and was not able to get out for some hours as well, in the end accepting a ride to Ausfahrt 26 ''K-Worringen'', where it was much easier. At least for direction [[Krefeld]]/[[Nijmegen]] this user recommends riding the S-bahn to ''Worringen'' and try it from there, average waiting time around 30-60 minutes. === West towards [[Aachen]], [[Maastricht]], [[Eindhoven]] and [[Belgium]] === On the motorway ring around Cologne, to the west of the city, there's the motorway service area ''Frechen''. You can reach it by catching a train to Königsdorf S-Bahn (around 20 minutes). Turn right on the stairs at the station, walk through the car park, turn left on Augustinus Straße, walk straight for 2 minutes and then turn right on to Marienhöfer Weg. Keep walking up this path into the forest for 5 minutes. Eventually you will come to a crossroad with the service station on the left. There you can get lifts to the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] from one of around 200. Trucks are going in the direction of [[Aachen]] or [[Maastricht]], at least. Another way to get out of Cologne in that direction is to go near the [[A4 (Germany)|A4]], Exit 11a Klettenberg and 11b Köln-Eifeltor. When at the latest, walking slightly North there is an extra lane that looks like an ideal place for people to stop, and slightly South of it is a big truck stop and petrol station where you can try and ask people. To reach these exits from the centre, take the tram U18 to "Efferen" (for 11a) or to "Eifelwall" and then bus 138 to "Güterverkehrszentrum". This option is especially interesting to know if you get trapped in Cologne while trying to cross the Ruhr area.
== Hitching In ==
When you arrive Cologne via the [[A1 (Germany)|A1]], it's difficult to get into the town centercentre, because the motorway is very far outside. One option is to get off at the exit '''Köln-Niehl'''. There is a tram station, close to the motorway, in east direction, 15 minutes walking. At daytime, you can get to the town center centre in like 15 minutes.
From the same motorway ([[A1 (Germany)|A1]]), you may as well get out at '''Köln-Lövenich''' and catch Tram #1 on Aachener Straße direction downtown down town at either ''Bahnstraße'' or ''Mohnweg'' stops.
You could as well try to catch a ride from the A1 onto the A3. And then get off for example at '''Köln-Dellbrück'''. There you walk 5min in direction west, catch the bus 159 to ''Wiener Platz'', where can get a tram.
Coming from the South on the A555 or through the A4, you may as well as the driver to leave you at the ''Am Verteilerkreis'' roundabout situated just at the complete end of the A555, at the ''Kreuz Köln-Süd'' (Junction A555-A4). The driver can really leave you at a petrol station and gain the motorway back with complete ease.From there, you can walk along the Bonner Straße to catch a bus to the heart of Köln.
{{IsIn|North Rhine-Westphalia}}
[[Category:North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Germany]]
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[[trash:Cologne]]
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