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10 Currents August 2019 Globetrotter By: Max Edwards Cologne’s Garden Retreat Within big-city sprawl, Cologne’s Flora und Botanischer Garten offers unexpected refuge and delight. Located in Cologne’s northern Riehl section, the Gar- den is easily reached. One can walk about 30 minutes along the left bank of the Rhine from the iconic Dom (the Cathedral), or take the No. 16 or No. 18 tram from Neumarkt (central train sta- tion). The Hop On-Hop Off bus also provides direct access. There is no admission charge. This Garden does not tire with a tedious ramble, in spite of its 28.5-acre size. Instead, visitors are provided benches, a café with high-quality fare, and varied scenery. In the Garden’s center is an iron and glass orangery (conservatory), reminiscent of London’s Crystal Palace. The tableau created by the numerous water cascades and fountains [see photo] is both tranquil and inspiring. Visitors marvel at the Garden’s location in Germany’s fourth-largest city, home to 1.08 million people. The Flora-Park, designed in 1864, was a pastiche of French baroque, Italian renaissance, and English landscape gardens. The Flora-Park was combined with the Botanical Garden (created in 1912), and expansion continued. Some buildings were added in the 1950s. Today, the Garden contains continued on page 11 >