Did you know that Pope Johannes Paul II was buried in Cologne? Because I didn’t. That’s why you go to church! (And go to the basement)

I dedicated my only day in Cologne to the past. First stop was the cathedral. Besides being bigger (actually a lot bigger) than the other churches I have visited on this trip, it was nothing more than a church. It’s a big like taking the ferry north along the Norwegian coast – rocky coastal line and mountains have a certain “wow”-effect for a limited time. It is what it is. Rocks.

Sorry.. back on track. Next stop – Walraf-Richartz Museum to see the exhibition “1912” about the modernists of that time. I can describe this exhibition with one word: Manifique! (Pardon my French) No, but seriously. The exhibition is actually a remake/tribute to the exhibition in 1912 and the stories, anecdotes and explanations, they have written on the walls in every room (the exhibition consists of 8 rooms) are really informative and help you get the full picture of the era. They have paintings by Munch, Cézanne, Gauguin, Picasso and last but certainly not least – van Gogh. Bonus fact: In the museum’s collection of old pictures, they have a more than 750 year old painting (actually it’s an icon) – pretty impressive, huh?

Back at the hostel I met up with the other guys. Sam was taking it easy, but the three Chinese were scribbling one postcard after the other. I am not lying when I say that they probably had at least 50, if not 60.

The next morning, I was up early and had more than enough time to get to the pick-up point of my ride to Munich. Not having felt great the last days, I did not want to stand at the roadside in potentially crappy weather looking for a ride, so I had fixed that through Mitfahrgelegenheit (a German carpooling site). But of course the trains had a problem and I was stranded at two different stations for some time, which led to me being 5-10 minutes late. Stupid as I was (and still am!), I did not have the driver’s number, so I could only hope that they would wait for me… They did. Soon the two German girls and I were on our way to Munich. About one hour into the trip, the girl on the passenger seat opens the glove compartment and takes out a CD. This is not just any CD – it’s David friggin’ Hasselhoff!! My immediate reaction was laughter and the following sentence “You DON’T hassle the Hoff.” Unfortunately, I had to sit through track after track of half American half German schlager constantly thinking about where the hell I put my earplugs. I even tried to locate my multitool as I actually wanted to cut my ears out. Damn that guy is bad! Fortunately, I survived the drive to Munich and I was dropped off a bit out of town quite close to a big forest/park. As I had arrived one day before the others, I did not have a place to stay, I decided to go ancestral and camp in the forest.

It did not take long before I had found a suitable place in the forest and had started building my shelter. I had bought some plastic bags as a backup (something I greatly appreciated later that evening!). At about 19:30-20:00 I was in my sleeping bag under my shelter listening to the rain. Of course it had started raining. Why wouldn’t it?

At about 23:00, my back was cold and sore as I did not have a mat to lie on and my make-shift bedding of moss did not provide enough insulation. Not sure if my slanting health was due to bad eating and sleeping habits of the days prior or because of all the David Hasselhoff “music”, I decided to pack up start walking towards town. I did not know how far from the city centre I was, but after about 1,5 hours walk (with my backpack) I was in a Burger King getting some coffee and power on my phone. At 01:30 they closed and I had to continue. The partying people dressed in traditional Oktoberfest clothes I had seen, when entering the Burger King, had left and the area was now totally deserted. At about 02:30, I reached the city centre and entered another Burger King situated in the train station. People were having the time of their life and I was having coffee. Time passed and the sun eventually rose as I left the train station and headed for a new place to sit. Starbucks had opened and it was now only a matter of hours before I was meeting up with Giannis from the summer school in Helsinki.