Monday:
After a few hours of traveling, we arrived in Norderney. I’m not sure why it was, but after we got off the ferry I was already so relaxed. We were assigned our own bikes for the whole weekend. I haven’t biked in years, so I was a little wobbly/nervous at first. But in just a few minutes, I got the hang of riding pretty quick. We all rode as a group to the hostel, which was right by the beach and the sand dunes. After eating dinner, we rode into “downtown” Norderney and looked at all the stores and restaurants. Everyone is so laid back there and it didn’t seem like anyone was in a hurry. I really liked that. We happened to stumble upon the Milchbar, which is a well known bar/restaurant with a great view of the beach. After chilling out there, we returned to the hostel to do sunset tai chi and qi gong on the beach with Dr. Wasser. Although quite chilly and windy, it was an experience I’ll never forget.
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| Tour de Norderney |
Tuesday:
Spa day! After a challenging beach workout at 6:30 AM, we went to the Badehaus. I honestly thought this place would just have a couple saunas and a pool. I was wrong. There were so many different types of pools/jacuzzis, different saunas, steamrooms, a wavepool, and more. This has been maybe my favorite part of the whole trip. First, we were given a tour of the basement. It was interesting to learn how water from the North Sea is pumped into the Badehaus, purified, and used in their saltwater pools. They also use silt from the North Sea to make “schlik.” After receiving a lecture on the many health benefits of Norderney, we had three hours in the spa. We went to the Japanese bath, which had a temperature of over 113 degrees Fahrenheit (I think). I thought it would feel like I was getting boiled alive, but it felt amazing. We jumped in the cold water pool, and then rinsed off in the hot waterfall showers. My favorite thing in the Badehaus was the saltwater bath. This pool had around 20% salt concentration, so you could just lay there and float. Effortlessly. It was wonderful. After that, we rubbed schlik mud all over ourselves and sat in a steam room for about 10 or 15 minutes. I had never done anything like that before, but it was really cool. Afterwards, my skin felt so smooth and I felt like I had been reborn. I also went into a sauna for the first time. Big fan. For some reason it is so nice to just sit there, close your eyes, and sweat. We explored a couple more saunas, laid in the saltwater bath once again, and then wrapped things up. I could have stayed in there the whole entire day. After our spa time, we got some of the best ice cream I have ever had. Later, we tried to play beach volleyball but the ball just kept on flying away it was so windy. We laughed and decided to just walk along the beach again. Later, we had a barbecue and ate smores. Everyone stood around talking and dancing and singing along with country music. Shoutout to Alexa, Bryan, Dr. Wasser, and his wife, Jane for putting this all together. For a second, I thought I was in Texas again. Today was a goooood day.
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| Me in the North Sea |
Wednesday:
Today, Dr. Wasser gave us a walking tour of the town and showed us a Protestant Church. Next, we went into the Badehaus Museum. We were given a tour and we learned about the history of Norderney and how it has changed over the years. It was really interesting to see the evolution of what people wore to the beach overtime. After this, we ate some lunch, and headed out to the mud flats. As soon as we got there, of course it started raining. Although a little hesitant at first, I headed out into the mud flats barefoot and wearing shorts. Our tour was so different than anything I’ve ever experienced. Although the weather was unfortunate, the whole experience was amazing. We learned about the complex ecosystem and organisms in these mudflats. This experience taught me that it’s okay to get your feet a little dirty and do something you never imagined yourself doing. We spent the rest of Wednesday just riding around town one last time on our bikes.
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Our last day in Norderney. Dr. Wasser took us on a bike tour of the island, where we learned about birds, the island’s geology and history, and more. I really enjoyed this ride, especially because there was lots of sunshine today. I felt like a total pro on the bike, and I’m going to try biking around campus in College Station more instead of driving. We got gelato one last time, and then hopped on the ferry back to the mainland. We returned to Bonn for the night, and then woke up bright and early for our weekend trip to Munich!
Friday:
Suji and I got on our train early Friday morning and both exhausted, we slept almost the whole way there. Almost. I awoke to Suji shaking me and saying “Maddie I don’t know why so many people are getting off this train.” Both confused and groggy, we realized we had been stopped at a random train station for an hour. We asked someone what was happening and they casually replied “ah yes the train caught on fire.” It turns out someone was smoking in the bathroom and accidentally started a small fire. Me and Suji got off the train and tried to figure out another route to get to Munich. We were both calm about it, and pretty much just laughed about the whole situation. About an hour later, we caught a different train and finally made it. Once we got to Munich, we basically just walked around for the rest of the day. We saw the beautiful town hall at Marienplatz, got a pretzel and a beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus, and sat people-watching in the English Garten. It was a great day.
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| Stranded in Goppingen |
Saturday:
Today we spent the first half of the day walking around the old town, going into cathedrals, and shopping. We were able to book a last-minute tour to Dachau. In Dachau, we visited one of the concentration camps used during the Holocaust. This was an incredible experience that I’m not quite sure how to put into words. The town of Dachau itself was so pretty, and it’s hard to imagine how such horrible things happened there. We walked through the memorial then went into the old prisoner barracks, which had been reconstructed since the U.S. army had knocked them down. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable on WWII concentration camps. He told us that many times, there would be 7 or 8 people in one tiny bed, and many people would die from suffocation alone. There were only a couple of toilets and washrooms for hundreds of prisoners, and disease spread quickly. Our tour guide told us about the variety of jobs the prisoners had to do; many of them torturous and pointless. He then led us to the crematorium and gas chambers that were used to kill thousands of people. It was truly a chilling and emotional experience walking through these rooms. Although this was a somber tour, it’s something that I think everyone should see at least once. There are still so many minority groups that are being oppressed today, and this serves as a warning to what can happen when we exclude or dehumanize certain groups to an extreme. On a lighter note, we returned from our Dachau tour in the evening, ate at a biergarten, and walked around. Suji and I found out that it was Munich’s 861st birthday! How cool is that. There was a big festival going on. People were dressed in traditional lederhosen, there were concerts around town, and several tents set up. Suji and I sat and watched a band play in the Marienplatz. They played some great songs, with hits from AC/DC, Sting, Rolling Stones, Meghan Trainor, and more. It was such a great time, and we ended up staying at this concert for a couple hours.
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| Townhall of Munich |
Sunday:
We woke up and got on a train to Salzburg, Austria. This town is a FAIRYTALE. It’s a cute little small town with all these gorgeous mountains surrounding it. I was surprised to find out that it really isn’t advertised that the Sound of Music was filmed here. However, being the birthplace of Mozart, there is Mozart chocolates and figurines everywhere. Suji and I ate at this tasty local Thai restaurant, then walked around the old town. We visited the beautiful Mirabell Garten, then went on a hike up or of the mountains. We went to a cafe at the top of one of the cliffs, and marveled at the stunning view of the city. We visited more cathedrals (they are all so cool), and then went to a traditional Austrian restaurant. After getting home, we realized we had walked almost 12 miles that day! You really don’t realize you’re walking so much.
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| Beautiful flowers everywhere |
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| Views. |
Monday:
This morning, we ate at a riverside cafe and walked around town some more. After that, we hunted down an underground bakery that has been in operation since 1160! All of their bread is made from scratch in a wood-fired oven, and they get much of their energy from a water mill right outside of the bakery. I got 3 rolls of bread, and they were so delicious. And yes I have eaten all of them today for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now we are currently sitting on an 8.5 train ride back to Bonn.
It’s crazy to think that in the span of one week, we’ve been to Brussels, Bonn, Norderney, Munich, and Salzburg. Although I love traveling, I have to admit I miss Bonn. I’m looking forward to just chilling this week and hanging out more with my host parents. Ciao!
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