Bonn Breakdown Week 3

 This week I didn't spend in Bonn at all except for right now as I'm writing this. I spent the Saturday through Wednesday morning on the German island of Norderney and it was amazing. I absolutely loved the island scenery along with getting a bit more active. I woke up at 6 am every morning (except Wednesday) to do a little exercise with Dr. Wasser and other students. We would jog to the beach, do a little Tai Chi, get our blood pumping with some slightly more vigorous workouts, and then take a little Thalasso dip in the North Sea. My abs hurt a little more than I want to admit just after the first workout but it was worth it, especially because I can now classify myself as a säbelschnäbler according to Dr. Wasser. We did some bike tours and some walking tours around the island while learning more about the history of the island, medicinal purposes of the island (Thalasso therapy), and the island's wildlife. My favorite activity on the island was going to the Badehaus and getting to indulge in one of Dr. Wasser's favorite activity's, the sauna. Although it was really hot and it felt weird sweating so much whilst just sitting still, but it felt great just getting to relax, talk with friends, and then dumping cold water on myself once I got out. The mud treatment we had was also incredible while also being a good bonding experiment with my fellow classmates. My skin had never felt so smooth. 

One of the last activities we did on the island was the mudflat hike, which although painful at times walking over the clams and fighting the chilly winds, it was really cool to learn about the little creatures that lived there. The thing I found most interesting was how the lugworms found in these mudflats, have around 156 oxygen molecules found in their hemoglobin while humans only have 4. The lugworm is a universal donor for humans so they've started to use it for transplants. That is incredible, besides the fact that a large amount of worms would be needed just to supply a couple of liters of blood for a transplant, so scientists have started making lugworm farms just to grow lugworms and use their blood, which I don't know how ethical that is. 

From Wednesday to Sunday, I spent with my boyfriend and his family in Dordrecht, Holland. I got to explore Dordrecht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. My favorite city was Rotterdam because it was a bit more modern and less touristy as Amsterdam was. I also got to see the windmills in Kinderdijks which was really cool because I never really knew why windmills were such a big deal and what they did to help develop the country of Holland. One of my favorite new foods I got to try were poffertjes. They're like little mini pancakes served with powdered sugar and butter and they were delicious.

It was a very busy week but full of fun and new things. I can't wait for what this next week has in store for me. Tschüss und bis später!