The Longest One Yet...

Wow what a fast, on-the-go weekend and week this has been. My weekend started off in Paris. A bunch of us rode the train to Paris after class and then took an uber to our hotel in Versailles. Some of us started Saturday with a cute brunch at a café right next to the Palace of Versailles. We tried authentic crepes and enjoyed nice conversation. Then we got a grand tour of the Palace. It was much larger and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. We got to see the famous hall of mirrors which was insane. There were mirrors everywhere and chandeliers hanging through-out and it was gorgeous. Three of us toured through the entire palace including the gardens and the Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon. We spent almost the entire day there before meeting up with another group to get ready for our first ever rave at the Palace of Versailles.

There was a group of 9 of us that all got experience the most lit event of the century. This was the first ever rave at the palace and they even got Tyler the Creator to perform at it. It was incredibly fun and the most insane event I have ever been to. I was surprised because there weren’t many disruptions with drunk people or belligerent people, and we didn’t encounter any pickpocketing situations. It really was a special and super fun rave and I would highly recommend it. Sunday rolls around, and me and a couple others took the train (and an uber because public transportation in France is a true nightmare) to Paris to do some sightseeing. We started at the infamous Eiffel Tower. We walked all the way around it and got some amazing pictures. Emily got to meet up with a friend from America and we all had a nice lunch at a café along the river. We then tried to go to the Louvre museum, but after waiting in line for about 15 minutes they said the museum was full, but at least we got to see the glass pyramid in person. We then decided to just wander through Paris until it was time to catch the train back to Bonn. We bought authentic macaroons and they were fantastic. We walked all the way down to the Arc de Triumph and then it was time to head to the train station for the ride home. We got in around 9:30 pm and it was time to unpack and then pack all over again to meet at the train station at 7 am to go on our first week-long excursion as a group to Norderney. 

The travel to Norderney was quite long but we all worked on our midterm for our Neurophysiology of music class so that made the time pass quite a bit. Once we arrived, we got to ride a ferry and I experienced some of the most intense wind I have ever felt in my entire life. We rented bikes for the week and rode them to our hostel on the western end of the island. My girls and I were in a 5-person room together and it was a blast. However, it is going to be a very long time before I ever want to even look at another bike. My pelvic bone is bruised beyond belief from the bike seat and riding a bike in the massive winds on the island was so dang hard. We had a group dinner together, and then it was time to go do Tai Chi on the beach at sunset. With the wind it was freezing outside, I couldn’t feel my hands or feet it was crazy. However, we still decided to run and dip our feet in the even more cold North Sea. That was such a great experience to be on the sand at sunset and just work on destressing.

     Tuesday was by far my most favorite day of the week. We started off with a tour of the badehaus which is a spa/bathing house that specialized in thalasso therapy. We got an amazing tour and lecture from a doctor on the island about Norderney and the effects of thalasso therapy. After we were loaded with information, they gave us time to relax in the spas and try out all the amenities at the pool. They had warm saltwater pools of different temperatures, including a pool that mimicked the Dead Sea with its high salt concentration. We then got the once in a lifetime opportunity to get a mud scrub treatment. We mixed mud from the North Sea with salt and then scrubbed it all over our body. We then sat in a steam bath for 15 minutes before washing all the mud all. My skin now feels baby smooth and I really did feel reborn afterwards. We then explored the various saunas that were up on the top floor. They had different ones with varying temperatures and my favorite was the 90-degree celsius sauna and then we took a “polar plunge” into the super cold freshwater dipping pool. That was the most refreshing experience of my life. We then danced and sang the night away at the group BBQ at the hostel. We cooked pork, chicken, bratwurst and so much more. We even got to make smores at the end and that was the first smore I had ever had. 

     Wednesday was my least favorite day. We had great tour of the Bademuseum where we got to learn about the history of Norderney and why it is such a popular thalasso bathing destination. Dr. Wasser then took us on a mini city tour where we got to visit the church in town and see the furthest western end of the island. We then had lunch before heading off to do our mud flat hike. I was so freaking excited for the hike and then things turned extremely bad very fast. It started to pour raining as soon as we arrived at the destination. On top of the rain, the wind began blowing really fast and that made the rain hit even harder and made it a million times colder. We were all in shorts and no shoes to do this mud flat hike and we were soaked from head to toe. I was not a happy camper because I hate being wet and cold because I am always cold anyways. I tried so hard to get into it and really immerse myself in the experience but I was too miserable from the rain and I ended up cutting my foot on a shell that was buried underneath the surface of the mud that I couldn’t see and it is right in the fold of one of my toes. I know the hike would have been so much fun had the weather not been so bad but man I was just miserable.

We were all angry, wet, and cold afterwards having to bike in the rain and everything. We all hopped in the shower to warm up and were sitting there angrily looking at our cut up feet from the shells and soaked shoes and backpacks. We needed something to cheer us up, so we decided to go out for dinner and go back to the badehaus spa for some much-needed relaxation and destressing. Going back to the badehaus was the best decision we could have ever made. It really destressed us and it was ladies’ night on the sauna level, so we had all the saunas to ourselves, so we got to have the full experience together with my good girl friends. We went back and had some drinks in one of the guy’s rooms and laughed and talked and really bonded. We woke up today to pack and leave, and then we had some free time to wander around the island. We had a great lunch in fancy fur chairs and got to wander through various little shops around the city. I even bought some mud from the badehaus to take home and share with my family so they can have a similar experience that I had. We are now on the train ride home, and while I am sad to be leaving, I am very happy to be moving on to my next adventure. The fast-pace doesn’t stop yet seeing as we will arrive in Bonn around 11:30 pm and I leave for Palma de Mallorca, Spain tomorrow morning for 4 days. I can’t wait to spend my days on a beach, in warm weather, with the sun warming me completely. More to come in the future.