2 AM in Frankfurt

          Right now its 2:12 AM and I am sitting at the Frankfurt airport waiting for my flight to Dublin that is in four hours. We just got done at Norderney and I'm exhausted and my legs are super bruised. This week has been extremely hectic. I got back to Bonn from Paris late Sunday night, and immediately had to start packing for Norderney. I definitely did not pack the right things. As soon as we stepped out of Norddeich Mole, I could tell I was going to freeze on the little island. The ferry ride wasn't too bad but the wind was insane. After docking on the island, we got off the ferry and went to a bike shop to rent our bikes for the four days we'd be staying there. I never really learned how to ride a bike but I had practiced a little bit before leaving for Germany and was feeling decent about it. When we picked up the bike I practiced a little bit more on a grassy area and was feeling pretty confident. That changed immediately after we left the bike lot. The cars combined with the narrow sidewalks and the constant stop-and-go of our bike group left me feeling extremely stressed and shaky on the bike. Long story short, I fell off my bike in front of a car; so, that was fun.
        After a stressful bike ride, we made it to our hostel. I was not feeling good about my biking skills and was excited to just get to relax at the hostel and do whatever we wanted to do for the night. I practiced my biking skills a little bit more and also spent time playing on the playground at the hostel, which was a lot of fun because I'm basically a kid at heart.
             The next day, we got to go visit the Badehaus. I was so excited for it after learning about all the healing effects of the sauna. It was amazing. My skin felt so smooth after trying all of the salt water pools and doing the mud treatment. Later that night, we had a group BBQ that was a lot of fun.
             The following morning, we visited the Thalasso Museum and went on a walking tour of the city. It was really interesting getting to see photos and recreations of the first thalasso beaches on Norderney. The walking tour also provided with some cool photo opportunities. After an individual lunch break, we began our journey to the mud flats of the island. I biked ahead with some other people (because I'm slow and I'm not afraid to admit it), and once the rest of the group joined us we began our hike. Unfortunately, as we began hiking the rain began to pour. It rained so much that my rain jacket soaked through to my sweatshirt. But aside from the freezing temperatures, the mud flat was definitely a cool experience. We got to see all of the different creatures that lived in the mud flat. Once we finished up with our guide, the rain was still going strong. I was a little nervous to bike home in the rain but I actually ended up doing super well (probably because I was freezing). Me and a group of friends decided to treat ourselves to an evening at the Badehaus after the hike, and it was a great decision. We warmed up in the salt water pools and spent time in the sauna. The night concluded with playing games and going to sleep late.
             This morning was our last morning on Norderney. Me and a group of friends decided to spend this time going into town and getting a look at all the shops. Unfortunately, a lot of the shops were super pricy so I didn't buy anything for myself, but I did treat myself to a cup of coffee at the Conversationhaus (which was super good). After spending half of the day on the island, it was time to leave. We took a ferry back to the mainland and boarded a train headed for Frankfurt. A couple of us on the train to Frankfurt got to experience the luxury of sitting on the floor of a train cabin with bicycles...sooo fun. We eventually made it to the airport and thought we found a good place to sleep, but we were kicked out of the location by airport security. Right now we're all sitting inside a Mcdonalds trying to either fall asleep or stay awake. Even though I know tomorrow will be exhausting, I'm excited to see what Dublin has in store.