Can I join the Nights Watch now?

After this week my next question is “when can I go back to the badehaus?” This week has been full of so many exciting new experiences and has been a highlight of this study abroad experience so far. The week started out with an early train ride to Norderney island and getting used to riding a bike again. The saying ‘it’s just like riding a bike’ never made more sense to me since it was very easy for me to pick the skill back up again. The next day was our badehaus visit which was an amazing experience. I definitely made sure to try everything while I was there. My favorite things were the 6 meter shower and the firepool (hot tub). I also ended up really enjoying the mud steam room even though if I’m honest I was really nervous for it. Along with the mud treatment, the sauna’s also exceeded expectations and were super relaxing. The whole experience was so great that I ended up going back after the mud walk the next day. After the mud walk, the saunas were needed. I was very excited after hearing from a friend about it but because of the weather I was not a huge fan. The rain and wind were so cold that my hands turned blue. I also have more issues with my back when the weather is colder which did not help. If I ever return, which hopefully I will, I would like to try the mud walk again but on a day with slightly better weather. Overall the week on paradise island was a great experience of getting to bike everywhere and learning about the culture of the island and the badehaus.

After Norderney, I traveled with Bridgette and Maddie to Ireland. We spent the first part of the long weekend in Belfast. Belfast was absolutely breathtaking and so much fun. We finally got the experience of driving on the opposite side of the road which was very trippy. In Belfast, we had an adorable BnB in the suburbs and Friday night had some great home style Irish cooking. Everyone was so friendly and I love the accent. I didn’t realize how nice it was to have everyone around speaking the same language but frankly it was comforting and made me feel less like an outsider. Ireland also had very interesting and diverse people. Saturday morning, we traveled into Belfast and went on a Game of Thrones tour taking the scenic costal route. We saw a bunch of amazing film sites including Castle Black, Iron Islands, and Caves where they filmed some important scenes for the show. It was so fun how recognizable they were. Along with the GOT sites, we also saw some amazing Irish countryside, a castle, and the giants causeway. The tour was definitely worth it and when I told my family (very big fans of the show) they were extremely jealous. Belfast was so great I didnt’ want to leave but also was very excited to experience Dublin. We traveled to Dublin Sunday morning and got to sightsee and do the Guinness tour. Later in the evening, we met up with a big group that also traveled to Dublin for the long weekend. We got to experience a couple of Irish Pubs with live music and dancing. The weekend ended so fast and I wasn’t ready to be done but I look forward to the classes and excursions in the upcoming week, especially the hospital visit.