New LOHSE RAMP opening party. Cologne, Germany

The old Lohseramp was the only real ramp in all of Cologne, Germany, but when it ended up starting to rot after many winters and derelict kids starting fires under the transition, the city finally shut down the ramp and the locals took it apart and salvaged some of the masonite, for a possible future project.

Flip demo – Northbrigade. Köln, Germany

The FLIP skateboards team are half way through a tour of germany, england and sweden. They stopped by the Northbrigade in Cologne this monday, to session the mini ramp and the concrete Owl Bowl.

Under the Bridge – Zoobrücke, Köln – Germany

This is the new skate spot in Köln, on the ‘other’ side of the Rhein, underneath the Zoobrücke.
It is not DIY. Otherwise, it would be much better. But I won’t waste this space complaining about how rad it would have been if there was some kind of a bowl, instead of these little concrete obstacles strewn here and there.

New Concrete: Eitorf, Germany

In progress: In the small town of Eitorf, outside of Siegburg, which is about 20 minutes from Köln, Germany is a fairly decent sized skatepark being built by Minus Pools.

OWL BOWL opening – Cologne, Germany

October 1st was a momentous day in Cologne with the opening of the first concrete bowl in Germany’s fourth largest city. Built by IOU Ramps and the local skaters of Cologne, the OWL BOWL is located at the NorthBrigade Skatepark, which has been open since the 1980s. Skaters from around Germany showed up for the opening party which was graced with sunny skies, which at this time of the year is a treat, as there was just as much chance the rain would shut down the event.

Under the Bridge: Köln – Built It… & They Will Come

A month after the city had a brief but futile attempt to destroy the under the bridge DIY spot built by the skaters of Köln, the Yama Skateboards team from Austria were passing through town on their way to Belgium. We had planned a mini-ramp session at the Lohse Ramp, but Germany’s sketchy summer time weather canceled that plan with intermittent rain throughout the day. Our only option was to hit up the DIY spot…

Under the Bridge: Köln, Germany (building): PHASE II & III

Under the bridge in Köln, Germany, a DIY skate spot had been started a few years ago, and then lay stagnant. With some motivation from the Köln skaters, Phase II was underway, with a pump bump and quarter pipe. Money was gathered for bags of concrete, tools were purchased, trowels were customized, and even a concrete truck made a delivery of fresh ‘crete.