FÜNF

If you couldn’t already tell by now, I’ve been so bad about posting on time... I’m just having so much fun it’s hard to find time to write about all of my amazing experiences!! So this blog is written as if it is two Sunday's ago (6/19/2017).  Pretend it is (: 

So this past week our class went to Norderney. Norderney is a spa island on the northern sea of Germany, and it’s breathtakingly beautiful. We arrived by ferry on Tuesday, got bikes, and began our journey across the island to our hostel by the beach. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and the windy, salty air was so pleasant. The island climate there is said to have healing “powers” for the body, and many German doctors will prescribe their patients a week at the spa on the island for anxiety, lung problems, procedure recovery, and other ailments. Upon arrival, I immediately felt relief from my allergies (which have been a big problem for me in Germany), my hair and skin felt softer, and I felt my general well-being improve. I'm not sure if this was a self-fulfilling prophecy, but either way I felt better than ever... or so I thought. Little did I know the spa (Badehaus) would make me feel 10x as amazing as I felt upon arrival. 

The Badehaus has a lot of history, but it has been renovated many times and was more modern and a lot nicer than I was expecting. All of the decorations followed a minimalist, earthen theme that seemed to maintain a peaceful feng shui vibe. There were three parts of the badehaus that I really enjoyed. The first was the saltzbade which was a dark cave-like pool that you had to go down a few stairs to enter. The pool was filled with water of a very high salt content that made it easy to float in. Typically, people will lay their neck on the side of the pool and allow their bodies to float in silence. It was so peaceful, and I really want to build one of those in my future home. The second thing I loved was the nap room, which all of the other students seemed to love as well. This room is silent and has hanging wooden chairs and four "stone beds" made of heated granite. I loved the granite beds the best because the warmth made it so easy to fall asleep (another thing I would like to add to my future home). I took several naps throughout my time there. Lastly, our program included what I will call a "mud thing" because I can't remember the name. Basically you would go into a room, undress completely, slather some mud on your face, mix another bowl of mud with salt, and cover your entire body (I mean everything) with the salt-mud mixture. Then you would go into a steam room for ten minutes and then rinse the mixture off. After rinsing off, my skin felt way softer than I was expecting, and I felt like a newborn child. It was so refreshing, but what’s interesting is that the mud, which was collected from the island, was actually just worm poop from the beach. The worms on the island will eat the muddy sand, filter out (eat) all of the microorganism, and "poop" out the clean mud. Kind of gross but actually very sanitary! Later that week we got to have a tour of mud flats on the sea, and we walked through (or squished through, if you will) all of the worms, mud, and cockles on the beach. Going back, the spa also had some nice saunas, hot tubs, and pools that were very relaxing and enjoyable. All in all the spa was an amazing experience and gave me the break I really needed after non-stop traveling for three weeks straight (life is so hard (;). 

Another thing we did in Norderney that I really enjoyed was a bonfire that some of the students created on the beach. It was a great time for us to all sit around the warm fire, drink some wine, and sing along to some old songs. The beach was beautiful at night, but the water was extremely cold (~40 degrees Fahrenheit). 

We did so many other things on the island within those four days I cannot talk about all of them without writing a novel, but I tried to touch on all of my favorite things!!

That Friday some of the students headed to Paris with me. Paris was everything I thought it would be and more. It was exciting and stunning and absolutely wonderful. I came with expectations of being treated poorly for speaking English, but everyone (for the most part) was extremely helpful, warm, and kind! I was pleasantly surprised. We stayed in a studio apartment through Airbnb. It was so much smaller than we were expecting but I have nothing to complain about! We had everything we needed, and we were a walk away from the Arc du Triomph and walked past it at least ten times while in Paris. My favorite memory from Paris was the night that we went to the Eiffel tower. Matt, Miguel, Sarah J., Sarah S., Joanna, Hannah Nick, Dae, and I had a picnic in front of the tower as the sun was setting! It was one of the most blissful moments of my life; we drank cheap wine, watched the sun set, and laughed all night long. We even got to see the Eiffel tower light show which happens at the top of every hour!

My second favorite memory was Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is a beautiful basilica on top of a hill that overlooks all of Paris. We brought a picnic blanket, some salami, cheese, and bread, and some wine. We had a great picnic, listened to a street performer sing some great American songs, and watched the sun set. It was surreal.

We also went to Versailles. I went to Versailles as a child, and it was even better than I remembered. The palace is so massive and magnificent, it's truly beyond words. The garden is stunning as well., here's a pic of that:

I really tried to imagine what it was like to be a royal, and wake up in a huge palace every morning with people fulfilling your many wishes and needs. I can't fathom it!! This weekend was one of the best yet, and I got so close with all of my friends. I don't considered it to be the best place I went to, necessarily, but I definitely had the best time here. This weekend was filled with so much laughter and love with my favorite people, and that matters more than anything!! Anyways gotta go! Until next week!