The next morning we left bright and early for Norderney. Since I heard about this program, Norderney was the place I was most excited to visit. We got off the train and got onto the ferry that would take us to the island. It was about a 45 minute ferry ride so we hung out on top and watched the waves roll past the boat. When we arrived on the island we immediately hopped on bikes to get to the hostel. This was the beginning of my favorite day yet. We went on a bike tour around the island led by Dr. Wasser. It was a little tricky at times riding around with 25 other people, but we managed to make it without any serious accidents. After the bike tour, we had some free time before our dinner. There was a large grassy area beside a basketball court(ish) and soccer field. So Alana, Jules, Kathryn, Emily, and I grabbed a volleyball and passed for a while. It wasn't long before I spotted a soccer ball and we got a game going. It felt so good to run again and score a couple of goals on the guys. It was in the middle of this game that I realized Norderney was my favorite place. It wasn't even the fact that I was playing soccer, it was more of the atmosphere and attitude of the entire group. It was dinner time now, and Henning was on the grill. He grilled some good brats, with sides of potato salad and cole slaw. We ate and went back to playing on the playground, like most 19-21 year olds do. There was a short zip line that was a ton of fun. Carter and Gabe came over and began pushing each of us to see just how fast and high we could swing on it. It was going well until they gave me a really good push and my feet flew up past the cable that held the zip line, where my foot got a little caught and I fell to the ground. It was absolutely hilarious! After everyone was able to catch their breath they came to check on me. Marissa managed to get this one on video, so we can all relive it when we need a good laugh. That night we all went to the beach. Juliette, Nick, Dae, Henning, Gabe, Carter, and I had the bright idea that we would swim a little in the North Sea. The boys all stopped to take a picture before getting in the water, but Jules and I went straight to the water. It was absolutely freezing as we ran in, but once you were in, it was not so bad. This one of the coolest things I have ever done. We did not swim for too long before wrapping up in our towels and heading back to our rooms where we could wash all of the salt and sand off and curl up in a warm bed.
Wednesday was a day we were all looking forward to. Fairly early that morning, Alana, Carter, Juliette, Gabe, Abby and I woke up to see the sunrise. I am not much of a morning person, but I am very happy we did this. The beach was empty, beautiful, calm and everything you could ever want in that moment. Today was also spa day at the Badehaus. There were numerous pools of varying temperature and salt concentrations. My favorite one was the high salinity pool which was in a dark room where everyone just floats. It was incredibly relaxing, to the point where I almost fell asleep. There were many steam rooms, a shower that falls from six meters up, and varying degrees of saunas. I don't think I have ever been so relaxed in my life, especially when this was a school day for us. We all experienced a mud treatment which we were pretty apprehensive about at first, but we quickly got over it. It was a thick layer of mud that when rinsed off I felt like a new person. I went into every sauna, including the traditional Finnish sauna. I did not stay in there for very long because it was just too hot. After a glorious afternoon of sweating and laying in salt baths, we ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. When lunch was over, we rode our bikes back to the hostel and immediately decided to play a little sand volleyball. Gabe, Carter, Kathryn, Jules, Emily and I played a little 3 on 3, but had to end after our second game (we will have the championship game when we get back to College Station). The program had a tour of the mud flats this night. I was not quite sure what to expect from the wattwanderung, but it was actually really cool. Our tour guide taught us a lot about the ecosystems and really loved the island. Surprisingly, nobody fell in the mud, but whenever we stopped I would slowly sink further down. As we finished the mud tour, the sun was setting making it picture perfect. The golden hour. After making it back to the Haus Detmold, a group of us went back to the beach to continue watching the sunset (which I am convinced the sun never completely sets here because there is always a glimpse of light even after midnight). After hanging out by the fire and hearing a couple of pirate stories from Henning, we decided to call it a night around 2AM.
The last day in Norderney was a bit shorter. We went to a museum about the island and the Badehaus, then took a ferry to the mainland. We grabbed a bite to eat before getting on our trains to Paris. I did not want to leave this island, even though I knew our weekend would be great. I can definitely say that this week in Norderney was one of my favorite places and I hope to be back.
- Hailey
Wednesday was a day we were all looking forward to. Fairly early that morning, Alana, Carter, Juliette, Gabe, Abby and I woke up to see the sunrise. I am not much of a morning person, but I am very happy we did this. The beach was empty, beautiful, calm and everything you could ever want in that moment. Today was also spa day at the Badehaus. There were numerous pools of varying temperature and salt concentrations. My favorite one was the high salinity pool which was in a dark room where everyone just floats. It was incredibly relaxing, to the point where I almost fell asleep. There were many steam rooms, a shower that falls from six meters up, and varying degrees of saunas. I don't think I have ever been so relaxed in my life, especially when this was a school day for us. We all experienced a mud treatment which we were pretty apprehensive about at first, but we quickly got over it. It was a thick layer of mud that when rinsed off I felt like a new person. I went into every sauna, including the traditional Finnish sauna. I did not stay in there for very long because it was just too hot. After a glorious afternoon of sweating and laying in salt baths, we ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. When lunch was over, we rode our bikes back to the hostel and immediately decided to play a little sand volleyball. Gabe, Carter, Kathryn, Jules, Emily and I played a little 3 on 3, but had to end after our second game (we will have the championship game when we get back to College Station). The program had a tour of the mud flats this night. I was not quite sure what to expect from the wattwanderung, but it was actually really cool. Our tour guide taught us a lot about the ecosystems and really loved the island. Surprisingly, nobody fell in the mud, but whenever we stopped I would slowly sink further down. As we finished the mud tour, the sun was setting making it picture perfect. The golden hour. After making it back to the Haus Detmold, a group of us went back to the beach to continue watching the sunset (which I am convinced the sun never completely sets here because there is always a glimpse of light even after midnight). After hanging out by the fire and hearing a couple of pirate stories from Henning, we decided to call it a night around 2AM.
The last day in Norderney was a bit shorter. We went to a museum about the island and the Badehaus, then took a ferry to the mainland. We grabbed a bite to eat before getting on our trains to Paris. I did not want to leave this island, even though I knew our weekend would be great. I can definitely say that this week in Norderney was one of my favorite places and I hope to be back.
- Hailey
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