Tina White flew from Manchester Airport to Cologne, Germany, on a 4am Ryanair flight on July 8, spending just 10 hours in the city before flying home that evening. The 49-year-old technical administrator from Leeds says the total cost was £145, including flights, food, drinks, and souvenirs.
Surprising first impressions
Tina, who had never visited Germany before, admitted her previous opinion was changed by the trip. "I've always had a negative attitude towards Germany – maybe it's a generation thing and definitely a football thing," she told creatorzine.com. "I always imagined it to be dark and dirty – again, something that's maybe been told to me in the past. But to my surprise, it was clean and picturesque. The people were very friendly and I liked the whole vibe of the city."
She added: "It made me want to visit more of Germany. I liked how pretty it was, the riverfront, the architecture and the feel of it. It's a great feeling knowing you've experienced another country in a day and that I didn't have to take any more annual leave off. I love visiting the UK but the cost of trains is higher than the cost of a flight so why would you not go experience another country?"
Part of a larger challenge
The trip is part of Tina's challenge to visit as many countries as possible, which she began last year. She has visited more than 50 cities through extreme day trips, including Dublin, Rome, Bergamo, and Cork.
"I lost my dad three years ago and decide that I wasn't going to wait until retirement to enjoy my life, so I started travelling more," she said. "In June 2025 I set myself a challenge of visiting 50 international cities before I turn 50 in Jan next year. I reached this target by April this year. I then decided I wanted to see more countries so this was my next challenge. I'd never been to Germany before and Cologne was coming up cheap. I'd heard mixed reviews about it and thought if I did a day trip I could make my own opinions before spending money on a hotel."
A day in Cologne
During her visit, Tina took the train from Cologne Airport into the city centre, where she explored the famous cathedral, stopped for coffee, and people-watched. She strolled along the Rhine riverfront, enjoyed drinks, and visited the Chocolate Museum, picking up chocolates to bring home.
One highlight was trying a traditional German grillwurst, and she also sampled potato cakes with apple sauce in the Old Town before returning to the airport for her 11.30pm flight back to Manchester. Her spending included £4.25 for an airport coffee, £3.40 for coffee in Cologne, £4 for a grillwurst, £13 for potato cakes with apple sauce and a Diet Coke, £4 for a Diet Coke at the airport, and £12.50 for a meal deal on the flight home.
Tina said: "I do take a refillable water bottle and sometimes take my own lunch and snacks (on these trips), but I wanted to experience some German food. My friends and family love that I take myself off they say I'm an inspiration for the amount of travelling I do. I love a day trip because it allows you to have a glimpse into a new city or country without the extra cost of a hotel, you can then decide if it's somewhere you'd like to return to or not."
