ARRIVING TO COLOGNE

 2.3.2026

I woke up at 2:30 am so I could have an hour to relax and get ready before having to leave home. We left at 3:30 am, and my dad drove me to Helsinki Airport. We said goodbye, and I went through the baggage check-in and security check with two of my fellow students and travel companions, Miksu and Saga. Our flight wasn't leaving for the next hour and a half, so we sat at a coffee shop, preparing our powerpoints for the visit to a vocational school in Cologne.

The flight was less than two hours; it went by fast and was quite nice. The problems started with figuring out which train to take to get to Cologne's centre. We got our tickets, which had no information on the train we were supposed to take. So we asked some security/police folk just standing around on the side. They gave us faulty information and looked like they had no intent to actually help us. Thankfully, a very nice lady realized we were lost and helped us find the right train to get onto. 

We met with Mrs. Schwering after getting off the train. We went to a coffee shop and talked about essential things with her, like getting a card, which we can use to ride buses, trams, and metros. We had to wait quite a while in line to get those cards; at that point, our feet already hurt, and we were quite tired. Nevertheless, we got the cards and headed to our apartment by metro. 

The rest of our day, we spent getting used to our apartment and a nearby Aldi, where we got dinner and groceries for ourselves. There were some problems with our apartment, but nothing we couldn't work out by ourselves. All of us were tired and very homesick at that point, but it helped to eat and get a full night's rest.

2.4.2026

Tuesday was our free day to explore the city and get used to our new home. Mostly, we just lounged around and watched television, since we had no hurry to be anywhere, and we were still tired from the day before. We did go explore the city centre a bit, ate at KFC, which I don't recommend, and went home. The trip was great, since we gained more understanding of how the public transportation system works, and we got to see the city and its endless number of kiosks.


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