Tuxedomoon's bassist and co-composer, Peter Principle Dachert, 63, has died. He was found in his room at Les Ateliers Claus in Brussels, where Tuxedomoon has been writing new music and rehearsing for a new tour. He was the apparent victim of a heart attack or stroke.

The news of his death was announced by Principle's "spiritual brother" Blaine Reininger, violinist and pianist of the band.

www.tuxedomoon.co

Now we come to the final part of our little quest through the city of Amphi.

Nights out

Do you know, that this year Amphi is not the only festival that is taking place in Cologne?

The Art Of Dark days have been scheduled as well. What? Two dark scene festivals on the same dates in the same city? Yes, you got it right. We visited “Art of Dark” shop to ask Kämpfer (the organiser) if he can tell us more about it.

There are various concerts planned for all the three days of the weekend. The list of the bands is varying, from good old 'House of Usher' to electronic newcomers like 'X-O-Planet', including some rock gothic cover bands on Sunday.

And if you do not know yet the German word “Biergarten” it is time to learn it. Kämpfer promised a 'motley black' Biergarten between the Cage (ex. Lalic) club and Art of Dark place. He also thinks that Art of Dark days gives an opportunity to attend concerts other than Amphi, meet the local scene and do some dark shopping. You can freely combine your concerts and party wishes, separately or as an abonnement. By the way the Rathenauplatz (in front of Art of Dark) is a green relaxing zone and it is really nice to take an apero there watching the stars and discussing the world, the universe and the rest.

The other cool clubs to hang out in Cologne include Blue Shell, Luxor, MTC, Underground and Live Music hall. Some signature pubs like Soylent Green and a punk bar Stiefel.

A bit of Steampunk? Yes, please. In the old city centre Papa Joe`s Bar is a very atmospheric pub and you will appreciate the beers and the decoration made of clockwork mechanisms and musical instruments. If you have more spare time Odonien will give you creeps with it’s post apocalyptic mood, weird statues, electric vibes at the car cemetery (see the pictures illustrating the article). If you are also a fan of good old metal Valhalla is one of the places to visit just to see the 'headbanging disco zone'.

If you have kids, they will surely like the nerdy science adventure centre Odysseum, Kölner Zoo or Gerdtrudenhof (farmer’s place:).

That's all folks! But never enough free space to refer all the places we love.

If you feel that I missed something do not hesitate to look up at koeln.de Tageskalender, Stadrevue for events and prinz-koeln.de for their top listings..

For public transportation if you are not alone I really advise you to use a day ticket for 5 people (zone 1B) - even if there are only two of you the deal is more advantageous than a single day ticket. Caution! You can only buy them with metal money from the vending machine (or online, or at a KVB vending points at Neumarkt and Hauptbahnhof), so keep some coins in your pocket before you step on the tram. And no worries - the trams run once per hour the whole night.

That is all for today and I have a feeling that I can predict the future. Amphi or not you will not get bored. ;) Have a lot of fun this weekend of July 2017 and see you at Amphi.

P.S. I would like to thank Kämpfer (Art of Dark), Florian W. (Local friend), Balaji and Florian F. from CS Cologne for their numerous advices and for keeping us up to date.

In Part One I mentioned some cultural, shopping and outdoor possibilities to make your Amphi visit more enjoyable but we cannot live on love/music and fresh air alone, can we?;) Let's see how and where we have good opportunities to feed the inner wolf.

There are a lot of places to eat in Cologne except the old town (Heumarkt). Check out the quarters of Züplicher Platz - Kyffhäuser Str., cafes between Rudolfsplatz - Moltkestr., and places at Chlodwigplatz.

If you are ok with somewhat fancy and not too cheap (10-15 euros per dish) options you can dine at the restaurants frequented by the local creative elite (yes, also hipsters) but which are also really good restaurants indeed. Every dish is delicious and I shall recommend the famous Salon Schmitz and Goldmund. Try Schmitz’s quiche, ice cream and a home riesling sekt (German sparkling wine). Goldmund has high level restaurant food but also offers a giant open library. Feel free to read anything you spot on the shelves.

A cheaper, really healthy and good quality family option is a German-Italian cuisine chain 'Va Piano '. There is one close to the festival area (Köln Deutz). Another hidden insider place in Deutz is Hotelux, offering real Soviet cocktails, meals and tapas. It has propaganda posters bar but also a salon with luxurious Kremlin decoration a garden and… you can even take a selfie with (well… almost) real Lenin.

Sushi? Momotoro is a real and traditional Japanese (RSVP!), but Fischhof is a good (and cheaper) Korean-Japanese alternative - try their tempura!

If you want to eat real Kölsch food try to visit the restaurants around Eigelstein street or just follow the official guide. (Find out what 'Himmel un Äd' is ;) For the beer I personally prefer Kölsch beer at Malzmühle.

What? You do not eat meat? Oh, no problem!

There are a lot of vegan options in Cologne, but Trash Chic is my favourite vegan rock pub and a offering some cool vegan meals with real rock-n-roll attitude.

Habibi is a very popular Lebanese place really close to Art of Dark offering good falafel and hummus but not only that. You could go on a secret date at the garden of “Off Broadway” cinema, just nearby.

The most cosy, budget and homestyle cafes with attitude are Duddel with their cat worship and second hand furniture and Wohngemeinschaft hostel where all the rooms are decorated as if they were been rented by different people.

That's all for the foodie part - look out for Part Three, that will provide some information about the alternative scene in Cologne and little extras.

It's been nearly 50 years since the first Brown Acid Caveat was issued to a million hippies in a field at the first Woodstock Festival. In these dark, more-knowing times The Tear Garden felt it was the perfect moment to mark their 30th Anniversary with a similar warning, especially as their first album back in 1987 bore the declaration, "We Will Pour Our Jars in Reservoirs" on the cover. In fact, we were joking. Despite the madness you may perceive all around you right now, those jars were stashed on the highest shelf of a kitchen cupboard and the key was tossed into the ocean. Our sole wish is to introduce beauty to the medieval landscape we appear to be trapped in right now.
There will be no brown paint splashed around. Beauty survives, even underneath the ugliest, heaviest rock. This is The Tear Garden's 8th record and is testimony to an enduring friendship that spans the aforementioned ocean. After 8 years, The Tear Garden (the psychedelic/experimental/electronic project of Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots & cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy) return with "The Brown Acid Caveat", the culmination of the duo's 31 years of working together. Psychedelic electronic melancholia, fearless experimentation & improvisation combine to take the intrepid listener on a mesmerising voyage of the mind.
Feel the Love. Don't touch the brown acid. EK & CK

www.facebook.com/TheofficialTearGarden

So you are heading to Amphi but plan to stay in Cologne as well?

Great! Here we have gathered some advice for those who want to see more than just the cathedral. Most of the places mentioned here are based on my humble perception of my hometown but I have also asked some other locals for sharing responsibility. ;)

So...here we go.

Museums

Did you know, that the museums of Cologne are co-operating with Amphi festival? Find the full list here. All the museums are good to visit but I will just pick two of my favourites. If you like ethnology, weird costumes and scary masks - Rathenau Joest museum is worth visiting. Are you a pop art/modern art fan? Then Ludwig museum is an absolute must. By the way, the cafe/restaurant at the museum is also worth visiting. Especially at lunch time during weekdays ;)

Shopping

Although Schildergasse is a well known shopping area with international trademarks you can go to the more alternative Belgian quarter, for more local hipster design. Most of my Belgian friends visit the German drugstore chain DM (no, it is not what you think, it is an abbreviation for a DrogerieMarkt;) to get some cheaper make up items. Ready to renew your outfit? You can head straight to “Art of Dark”, the scene shop in Cologne. Among the “motleyblack” clothes they also sell some homemade specialities like home drawn goth Comics (feed your German) and a variety of home made honey wines, and their own festival. More about it in the second part of the article.

Parks and recreation

Here you are lucky - Amphi is organised right next to Rhinepark with a lot of green space and bike tracks around. Do you want to get wilder and grill with friends in a beautiful riviera with trees and sand? Head to Poller Wiesen, Rodenkirchen (follow Uferstraße) or Groov in Zündorf. If you are ready to make some weird surrealist pictures head to a free open air museum Skulpturenpark. You can visit the Zoo and botanical garden (Flora) with your kids right next to it and head to the “right” side of the Rhine with the funicular. Are you in mood for recreation after shopping? Head to Stadtgarten with their jazz club and open air biergarten (check out the cocktails at Monkeys in front - it used to be the best cocktail bar in Cologne with 5.50 euro drinks during the happy hour). The most hip place for students, grilling and partying is Aachener Weiher, an area with a lake in front of the East asian art museum (with a nice garden and a good cafe), where Japan Fondation will celebrate a summer holiday on 22nd of June. If you love being by yourself, just sit with your drink outside at Brüsseler Platz (watch our for the street musicians!)

More advice on eating and partying in the second part... Stay tuned! ;)