Hub of hope

The train is late, very late. After a two-and-a-half-hour delay, it rolls into the train station at the Cologne/Bonn Airport. Normally, that kind of delay would mean a lot of stress in Germany, for passengers, but also for Deutsche Bahn rail employees.

But none of these passengers are complaining. More than 500 people disembarked the special train and took the escalator up to the tent camp that has been set-up in front of the main terminal without as much as a grumble. Many of these people have experienced so much worse over the last weeks and months, that a late train is simply too trivial to matter.

Sultan is just happy to be here. He left his hometown of Kunduz, in Afghanistan, on his own. He has been traveling for three weeks.

He says that he is 16, but despite attire fitting for his age - red track suit top and beat-up sneakers - he looks much older than that. The stories that he relates from his arduous journey are not the type of things that should belong to youthful memories: "We were beaten by police in Hungary and Bulgaria. We were just thrown in jail." He says that it was simply awful the way that refugees were treated by authorities there. He too, arrived in Germany via the so-called "Balkan Route," traveling first through Iran, then Turkey and eventually Europe.

He is enthusiastic about his reception in Cologne, never leaving out words of thanks: for authorities, for the city, for the volunteers. He has big plans in Germany: "I came here to study, to get an education." He hopes to find a brighter future here. His smile when we part gives the impression that he has no doubt that things will work out.

Warm welcome - with Internet and halal food

The smiles on peoples' faces, you see them all around and you feel them as well. Despite the long trek, despite the obstacles, despite being in a foreign country. The people are - in their own quiet way - happy. The press secretary of the city of Cologne, Georg Timmer, cannot escape the upbeat mood, either. He is especially proud of the WiFi that has been installed in the station: "That has been a real success. The refugees have a great need to communicate, they want to get in touch with their families," whether in Europe, or at home.

That is understandable, but it is even more remarkable that authorities actually thought that far ahead. And everything else has been tailored to the refugees needs as well: The food that is available is "halal." Signs in English, Arabic and Pashto guide the way to the small tent camp. There is even a prayer room. Besides the cellphone charging stations, the prayer room is the most frequented place in the camp, says Timmer.

With all of the "extras" it is easy to forget to mention that every refugee receives something to eat and something to drink upon arrival. A clothing area has also been set-up for those who don't have much more than the clothes on their backs. The city is bracing itself for the next few days, and for the next few weeks. The tent camp at the airport will serve as a first shelter. From there, refugees will be distributed by bus to 47 reception centers throughout the state.

Happy about pennies from heaven

Sherifa can't stop smiling either. The 24-year-old is from Ghazni, a city in central Afghanistan. She seems tired and a little shy, but relieved: "I am so happy to be here." She says she couldn't take it in Afghanistan anymore - the constant hardships, the unfair treatment of women, she just wanted to get out. She cannot say what her plans are here, adding, "whatever I do, it will be positive."

Many here feel the same way, whether they come from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq or Pakistan. Most say that their motto has simply been,"I have to get out of here." Few of them have actually been able to give much thought to how they would live their lives after that.

Most of them have given far too little thought to it, says Delal. The 22-year-old is one of more than 150 volunteers working at the camp. Her father, a Kurd, also had to flee the Assad regime. She says she wants to give the people of "her home" something in return.

Beyond simply translating, she tries to help prepare people for their new lives here in Germany. Many new arrivals have very naive conceptions: "Many paint a pretty rosy picture," says the young engineering student from Bochum. "I know that from my own surroundings. Many families think that money falls from the sky here. I try to tell people that it will be a rocky road for them in Germany."

She says that even her own family is not free from the Germany bug, and that she has to get going now, "to the train station." Even though she has been awake for 26 hours, she has to go meet relatives. She has to accompany them to the citizens registration office - where she will translate for them.