A woman managed to visit another country and make it home before bedtime all without taking an extra day off work.
Tina White flew from Manchester Airport to Cologne, Germany, on a 4am Ryanair flight last week (8 July).
The whirlwind adventure saw the 49-year-old spend the day exploring the city before flying home that evening and she says it cost less than the average UK getaway.
- Advertisement -
Tina, a technical administrator, says the total cost came to £145, including flights, food, drinks and souvenirs.
After spending just 10 hours in the city, Tina’s previous opinion of it was completely changed.
“I’ve always had a negative attitude towards Germany – maybe it’s a generation thing and definitely a football thing,” Tina, from Leeds, West Yorks, told What’s The Jam.
“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.
- Advertisement -
“The people were very friendly and I liked the whole vibe of the city.
“It made me want to visit more of Germany.
“I liked how pretty it was, the riverfront, the architecture and the feel of it.
- Advertisement -
“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?”
It’s part of Tina’s challenge to visit as many different countries as possible, which she set out last year.
Tina has visited more than 50 cities thanks to extreme day trips including Dublin, Rome, Bergamo, Italy and Cork, Ireland.
Tina said: “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.
“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.”
During her visit, Tina caught the train from Cologne Airport into the city centre, where she wandered around the famous cathedral before stopping for a coffee and spending time people-watching.
She then strolled along the Rhine riverfront, enjoyed a couple of drinks and headed to Cologne’s famous Chocolate Museum, where she picked up chocolates to bring home.
One of the highlights of the trip was finally trying a traditional German grillwurst.
She also sampled potato cakes with apple sauce while exploring the city’s picturesque Old Town before returning to the airport for her 11.30pm flight back to Manchester.
Her spending throughout the day 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.”
READ MORE: Brit stunned as ‘100-plus’ queue an HOUR then sprint for sunloungers
