Cologne (Koln) rail station
 

Getting some details for my trip to Germany in a two weeks.....is the main train station in Cologne (Koln), Köln Hbf or Koeln Hbf? I assume these are just different spellings of the same station. Just don't want to get on the wrong train.

I am traveling from Amsterdam to Koln, is it easy to buy a ticket at the Central Station in Amsterdam....any tips?

Once I get to Koln, I am picking up my rental car at this address:
Europe Car
Cologne Downtown Office
427 Bergisch Gladbacher Str.

I am assumeing this address is only a short cab ride from Köln Hbf??

Thanks for any help/advice!

Yup, both spellings are the main train station. The "e" can be used as a substitute for the umlaut (ö).

"Mappy" says it's 7.84 kilometers from Hbf to the rental address.

If you go to Google (NOT Google Earth) and type in the address 427 Bergisch Gladbacher Strasse, koln, germany in the search box and hit "Maps" you'll see that it isn't too far from the area of the RR station..yes, a fairly short taxi ride.

Actually, the station Koln Deutz would be even closer

Ask your rental agency where the nearest U-Bahn stop is. The 17, 18, and 19 trains go out that way straight from Hbf - the Mülheim Weiner Platz station is about 600m from your destination, but there might be one even closer.

Yes you can buy your ticket at Amsterdam Centraal. The ticket office for travel outside the Netherlands is upstairs on the second level. The ticket agents all speak excellent English. The trip from A'dam to Cologne takes about 3 hours, depending on what type of train you are on. Scenery on the way down? Well, lots of meadows and cows....

Thank you everyone! All good, useful information. I will try and figure out which station is closest to our car rental pick-up.

If landing at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam you may want to buy your international ticket to Cologne there - rarely any lines and there often are in my years of experience with Amsterdam Centraal Station. Seat reservations are optional on the Amsterdam-Cologne train but advised so get them when you buy your ticket. Trains go frequently so you'll have no problem getting on the train - in fact can always board even if train is full - not one of these obligatory reservation trains.
Go to www.bahn.de for schedules and fares and to even print your own ticket negating all lines and language problem. If you have trouble with the site - which may also have SPAR deeply discounted tickets search Fodors for TimS and LarryinColorado, two gurus on German trains and booking advice for the bahn.de site. But in any case full fare on this trip is not that much.
At Koln Hbf you can take shuttle trains every few minutes across the Rhine to the Koln-Deutz station like Dukey recommends - in this case write your original ticket not to Koln Hbf but to Koln-Deutz via Koln Hbf so you can hop any train between the two. It's also an easy few-minute walk across the train bridge that practically links the two stations.

The walking distance between the stations is most of a mile. When you get to Köln-Deutz, you're still more than two miles from your destination. I don't see any advantage to walking.

U-Bahn update: if you take the 18 train from Hbf to Holweide Vischeringstraße, you will alight about 1000 feet from the car agency. Here is a map from the station to the destination: http://tinyurl.com/jw677

Sorry, I should have mentioned that the 18 train you want is the eastbound one that terminates at Thielenbruch. This is the way it will be marked at Köln-Hbf.

PalQ - if I buy my ticket online, I need to know exactly what train I will be taking? Or can I use the ticket on any train that day. I thought about buying in advance but not sure if I will make the 8:07am train or the 10am train.

I think unless it's a special SPAR fare which perhaps doesn't even exist on the Amsterdam-Cologne route you could use your ticket on any train but lose the seat reservation if it was included.
You really shouldn't have any trouble buying this at Schiphol Airport.
Perhaps German rail experts like TimS and LarryinColorado or WallyK could give you a more definitive answer but i'm fairly certain the ticket could be used on any train on that trajectory.