Cologne

Those who said that money couldn’t buy happiness obviously don’t know where to dine. The 2,000-year-old city was our final destination. With not much of a budget to spend, it is the perfect place for our last stop. For those who love beer, this might just be your heaven. With beers selling cheaper than water, no wonder Germans have a very high tolerance of alcohol.

The trademark for Cologne has to be the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral that spans a height of 157m. Yeah, my friend and I had a hard time climbing up the Cathedral. For elderly to climb up, it’s difficult as the stairways are pretty narrow with annoying kids playing and not moving forward. That said, the view at the top (if you made it), showing Cologne in a nutshell is definitely worth the visit.

Something out of the norm, visiting the theme park Phantasialand was something different in our trip. Not that visiting a theme park was different but WE WERE THE ONLY 2 ASIAN KIDS IN THE WHOLE THEME PARK. I particularly find it amazing that we managed to find this theme park that is located far away from the city. Anyway, the theme park was pretty awesome except the fact that the Asian food almost killed me. The so-called “noodles” that cost $7 EUR tasted like rubber band. So if you’re ever craving for Asian food in a European country, hold it. Hold it till you fly back to your hometown regardless of whether its 5, 10 or 15 years.

So we were looking at this tower ahead of us (picture below) wondering what ride it could be. We thought to ourselves “its probably just for looking at lame interiors. Nothing harmful…” Mother of God did we walked straight right into our worst nightmare. As we were sitting down onto the seats (it was pitch dark), we didn’t know what was coming. About a minute or so after everyone seated, the sound of the machine began to work… In a brief moment, the seats shot up right to the peak of the tower and paused there. You know the moment where you and your friend looked at each other and realized what a terrible decision you’ve made? Yeah, it kind of was that situation for us.

The tower that got us jaw-dropping

And that was it, the end of our 3-week long Europe trip. The satisfaction gained from travelling to so many places without our guardians is immense. Come to think of it, it was pretty crazy…

You know how some people claim they want to travel but couldn’t because of money or fear of safety? Well with the right budget and proper planning, you’ll make it. As regards to travelling alone or faraway places, get out of your goddamn comfort zone.