On the previous post on my blog, I was updating the stories on Day 1 until Day 7. Then, I would like to continue on Day 8 on 05 December 2019 (Thursday). This day we started our day after breakfast at the hotel around 07:00 am. This day we've to check-out from the hotel around 08:30 am but we've to standby at the lobby hotel area, around 08:00 am. On Day 8, we're going to the Cologne, Germany for a half-day tour around the city of Cologne before we're going to Frankfurt, Germany.

The journey from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Cologne, Germany is taken around 3 hours 30 minutes by bus, but it's depended on traffic too. The view from the bus along the journey to Cologne, Germany is beautiful. I can see a few places have snow. 

Around the afternoon, we arrive at Cologne, Germany and the first place that we're visited is Cologne Cathedral. The Cologne Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day. At 157m (515 ft), the cathedral is currently the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church in the world. 

It is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width, 3.6:1, of any medieval church. Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248 but was halted in 1473, unfinished. Work did not restart until the 1840s, and the edifice was completed to its original Medieval plan in 1880.  

Cologne's medieval builders had planned a grand structure to house the reliquary of the Three Kings and fit its role as a place of worship for the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as "a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value" and "a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe. 

TIP 20 – This area has a lot of people and tourists. (Please be careful from the pickpocket). It is having a few souvenir stores too if you're looking for some of the souvenirs. But I would like to remind you here, the owner of the souvenir stores is old people so it's taken the time and you need to be patient while you're shopping.

TIP 21 – This area also has a restaurant that serves Halal Foods so as Muslim tourists, you can look at some of the Halal foods around this area too. 

Then, we're moving to the Cologne Central Mosque. The Cologne Central Mosque is a building commissioned by German Muslims of the Organization DITIB for a large, representative Zentralmoschee (central mosque) in Cologne, Germany. This mosque is being inaugurated by Turkish President Erdogan. After the controversy, the project won the approval of Cologne's city council. 

The mosque is designed in a non-Ottoman architectural style, with glass walls, two minarets, and a dome. The mosque is proposed to have a bazaar as well as other secular areas intended for interfaith interactions. As the mosque will be one of Europe's biggest mosque and the largest in Germany, it has been criticized for its size, particularly the height of the minarets. 

What's I can say, among the mosque, I have been visited along trip this in Europe. I'm happy to say that Cologne Central Mosque is the most wonderful and modern mosque I have been seen. This mosque also has a few Halal foods restaurants for Muslim tourist if visit this mosque, you can eat Halal foods here. 

After pray and lunch, we're moving to Frankfurt, Germany. The journey from Cologne to Frankfurt, Germany is taken around 1 hour 50 minutes by bus but it depends on the traffic too. 

TIP 22 – Some public toilets in Europe have to pay with some amount. For example, my mom and sister went to the public toilet at the petrol station; they have to pay around € 0.70 (RM 3.36) in the machine but the coupon receipt has appeared amount € 0.50; which is you can buy anything by using the coupon of € 0.50 (RM 2.40) in the shop inside of the petrol station. In another word, the fee of the public toilet is around € 0.20 (RM 0.96) per entry. 

TIP 23 – For me, mineral water that sells from the driver bus is cheaper rather than outside. The mineral water fees on the bus are € 2.00 (RM 9.60) but the driver bus-only accepts coins. 

The place where has been visited once we've arrived in Frankfurt, Germany is Römerberg. The Römerberg is a public space in Frankfurt, Germany. It is located in front of the Römer building complex, the seat of the Frankfurt city administration since the 15th century. As the site of numerous Imperial coronations, trade fairs and Christmas markets, the square is the historic heart of the medieval Altstadt (old town) and today a popular tourist destination. 

Paulsplatz, another historic square, is to the north. The Old St Nicholas Church and Historical Museum are to the south. Beyond that is Mainkai on the River Main. On the west side of the square is the reconstructed Römer medieval building. To the east is the Dom- Römer Project and beyond that is Frankfurt Cathedral. Römerberg is a major location for the outdoor Frankfurt Christmas Market. 

At the moment of the Frankfurt Christmas Market was open, I can see a lot of people went to this market to try many foods and buy some Christmas kinds of stuff. It is also the place to hang out with friends and family. It's a nice place but it's too packed for me. 

After we visit the Römerberg, we're supposed to have dinner at the Nur Malaysia Frankfurt Restaurant but it's because of heavy traffic so the Nur Malaysia Frankfurt Restaurant staff have to pack our dinner and sent it to our hotel.

In Frankfurt, Germany; we're just staying 1 night at the Tryp By Wyndham Frankfurt Hotel. It's a great location because in the center of Frankfurt City and just in front of the hotel is available for Tram, Bus, or Taxi. It's easy to move around the city for the tour. Once we arrive at the hotel, the Nur Malaysia Frankfurt Restaurant staff already arrived with the setup of our packing dinner. 

At this time, the Tryp By Wyndham Frankfurt Hotel takes time around 15 minutes to our check-in room process. But the problem is the small lift so it's taken like 45 minutes just to get into our room. Our room is the Triple Standard Room and it's really big for us. It's made it easy to open our luggage without any problem and we take this chance to re-packing our luggage carefully before check-out on the next day. The room is complete with kettle and complimentary of tea and coffee. I like this hotel room. I want to say something about our dinner by serves from the Nur Malaysia Frankfurt Restaurant – again this food frustrated to me. The menu is Ayam Masak Kurma (in Malay) but in English, the menu dish is maybe chicken cooks' dates; but the style of cooking this dish is like a boiled chicken with dates. I can't eat well our dinner so I just eat some food that we bring from Malaysia. After dinner, I take a bath and sleep for the next tour. 

That is all my stories on day 8 of this trip. Just for your information, I have been writing the extra note tip about Dream Trip to Western Europe in November 2019 based on my experience during this trip. Feel free to read it. Here, the link to the continued stories about the Dream Trip to Western Europe in November 2019 – Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, and Day 12.