Norderney and Rome Adventures

This week we have spent the entire week in Norderney. It has been really fun, but I definitely did not pack right. I knew we were suppose to pack somewhat warm clothes, but I did not realize how cold it was here. I made the mistake of only bringing one pair of long pants and one jacket. The first day we had a long train ride. For the first hour of the train ride, we just worked on the neurophysiology of music exam. We had to take a ferry over to the island. Once we got off the ferry, we checked out bikes from a bike shop and rode over to the hostel. I thought riding a bike was going to be difficult for me, but I actually got the hang of it right away. Over the next couple days in Norderney, we went to the badehaus, mudflat hiking, and several different kinds of tours. My favorite was the badehaus, which was probably everyone else’s favorite too. I was pretty nervous at first, the idea of undressing in front of my classmates and rubbing mud all over my body was a weird concept. After doing it though, I don’t know why I was even worried in the first place. It was a very relaxing experience, and no one seemed uncomfortable. The next day my skin felt so smooth. Some of my favorite areas of the badehaus were the 5 meter shower and the fire bath. My least favorite part was the mudflat hiking. I think the experience would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t raining the entire time and I had packed the right clothes. Because of this, I found myself freezing cold the entire time, so much that I couldn’t even focus on what our tour guide was saying. I also stepped on a shell, which sliced the bottom of my foot open pretty bad. It made walking the next couple of days pretty painful. Once we got back from Norderney on Thursday evening, I had to pack another bag that night to leave for my flight to Rome, Italy that next morning at 5 am. We spent Friday through Monday in Rome, where we visited Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Sistine Chapel, and Palatine Hill. It was a tiring and hot couple of days, but we made the most of it with our Best of Rome All Access Passes. We got back at about 2 am last night because our train was delayed. I am glad we didn’t have the hospital today, because I would have been a mess. One of the things I have been most excited about on this trip is to observe some surgeries tomorrow. I will also be visiting Switzerland over the weekend, which I think will be my favorite place to visit in Europe. P.S. Happy Birthday Jackson! :)