Some pics taken last weekend…
Approaching the city of Cologne from the north, 30 minutes before sunset.
Flying right past all the sights, first and foremost, the “Kölner Dom”, of course.
The Dom in more detail. Unfortunately, after the events of New Year’s Eve 2016, its forecourt is nowadays populated by police forces most of the time.
From the other side, looking north.
The Old Town, in more detail.
I then flew down the river Rhein to Frankfurt, where I was lucky to be granted a crossing of the EDDF CTR “along the river Main”.
Unfortunately, this was just after sunset, which is the worst possible time for photos, but anyway. The sights still were good.
Approaching Downtown from the West.
Starting from the foreground: the train station, the red light district, the business district.
Another view of the Frankfurt skycrapers, with the Taunusanlage in between.
And finally, the “shopping district” of Frankfurt, with the Gotheplatz, the Hauptwache and the Zeil.
(Note: I had my emergency landing sites well briefed).
Great pics Bosco!
We can also see the EASA building: it is along the river Rhine, on the other side of the railway from the Kölner Dom (Cathedral). Between EASA and the railway there is a dark blue building, which is a concert hall. The Agency looks like a cruise boat seen from above.
Nice views, Bosco. I visit Cologne from time to time but only land at EDKB (Hangelar) or EDKL (Leverkusen), and it has never occurred to me to request such a scenic CTR crossing – is it easily granted and if so, on what route?
Nice pictures!
Ultranomad wrote:
is it easily granted and if so, on what route
Very easily granted along the river Rhein (low approach included, if you want). However one has to take care not to enter Charly-airspace just west of the CTR, which is >1500ft there (CTR is up to 2500 ft). EDDK TWR is VERY relaxed 
Ultranomad wrote:
and it has never occurred to me to request such a scenic CTR crossing – is it easily granted and if so, on what route?
They are very, very flexible and quite used to people wanting to circle above the cathedral. The biggest problem might be one or two SEPs already circling there.
Similarly, EDDL is quite open to sightseeing across the city of Düsseldorf.
boscomantico wrote:
Note: I had my emergency landing sites well briefedAnd these would be? (I mean this question for real)
Stunning! This is a real Mainhattan counterpart 
Does one get easily cleared for that Main river route?
@Ultranomad: As said by others, totally normal and easy. “Everybody and his dog” does the panoramic tour of the cathedral when in the area of Cologne, which is why I usually don’t do it, but my last time was 14 years ago, so I thought to myself I could do it once again now.
In fact, one can usually receive clearance for any (reasonable) request inside the German CTRs.
@Flyamax: in fact, Frankfurt is probably the most difficult of them all in Germany, but that is because EDDF is really the only airport in Germany which has more or less constant stream of arrivals and departures. Plus, the airport layout is not very suitable for messing about VFR inside the CTR. This has become worse with the new runway 07L/25R a few years ago (sometimes jokingly referred to as “Wiesbaden Intl.”).
As always, your chances depend on
-traffic situation
-the controller
-your R/T
In any case, nowadays, again due to 07L/25R, clearances are usually to “remain north of the river Main at all times”, which is a pity, because the best views are from a quarter mile to the south of the river. In fact, after I received my clearance as above, I asked “any chance to fly just a quarter mile south of the river?”, and the reply was “negative”.
He probably didn’t trust me to know how much a quarter mile is…
@Arne: in the case of Cologne, it’s easy; you can see the “beaches” on pics no. 1 and 4/5. Frankfurt is definitely more difficult. I could name the sites to you, but as a non-local, these places will not say anything to you.
boscomantico wrote:
you can see the “beaches”That was my first guess too, but it’s difficult to see how long they are.
