Week 4 Post

Week 4!! I can’t believe this program is almost over! This week I was happy to be back from the long weekend and go to class. My favorite lecture this week was the history of women in medicine. It was really neat to learn about influential women in medicine since we never really talk about women in history. The discussion after the lecture was pretty cool since it made me realize other girls have experienced similar things I have been through which just overall made me feel less alone. My favorite person we learned about this week was Hildegard (the notorious HVB). She is AMAZING and I had no clue who she was before the program, but I definitely will not forget who she is. 

I really enjoyed the study trip last Friday. Specifically, I really liked the Johann Winter Museum. It was really neat to see things we’ve learned in the classroom applied to at a museum. I specifically really liked seeing the old EKG machine, the plague attire, and the stroke mask we saw in the first room (not sure what to call it, but it looked really neat). Overall, it was really neat to see how some medical tools have not really changed. It’s neat to know that people perfected the tools we needed in the medical field a long time ago today (it just kinda blows my mind). Also, on the trip I tried schnitzel for the first time and it was AMAZING!

After the trip, Hannah and I went to Paris! Paris is a beautiful city and I can not wait to visit again. While we were there we visited the Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. One thing I noticed on the trip/going to different art museums was how many details are in paintings. There were many religious paintings at the Louvre and I love applying what we have learned in the classroom about identifying the saints to the paintings. Anyways, I am excited to go to Vienna this week!

The Louve

Eiffel Tower

Hercules Statue in Louve

The Arc of Triumph

Bonn & Bingen & Andernach

 

I can't believe we just finished our fourth week here in Bonn and are going into our fifth week. Time flies when you're having fun. We toured Bingen and Andernach this week and went to the coolest museum of medicine. I had schnitzel for the first time since being here, and it was super yummy. Next week we're headed to Vienna! That will be country number four in five weeks. 

Tschüss for now!

Germany Week 4

This week was a restful week of classes and activities around, but was needed after a busy week of traveling. It was filled with interesting lectures, daily trips to nearby towns, and quality time with classmates. 

To start the week off, we began in Remagen where we visited the Peace Museum where the bridge used to be during World War I and II. Remagen was a beautiful little river town, with beautiful views of the hills and the quaint houses along the river. At the museum, we learned about the history of the bridge as it stood between both banks of Rhine serving as a connection for traveling trains. This bridge stood strong despite many efforts to demolish it, as it served as a strong point for whichever side of the war had control of it. Eventually, it collapsed on its own, but still serves as a symbol of peace and remembrance of those who lost their lives in Remagen during the war. 

Later on in the week, we had the summer party at AiB where everyone in an AiB program and their host families in Bonn were able to get together, hang out, and enjoy some food together. The whole night was peaceful and enjoyable, as everyone interacted and shared some quality time together. The tapas and yummy flan was the frosting on the cake too. 

At the end of the school week, we had a full day of traveling to Bingen and Andernach! Both of these towns had beautiful sights as they were surrounded by vineyards and along the Rhine. We started in Bingen where we finally got to see the famous Hildegard museum and Hildegarden. Learning about such an influential woman in medicine during class and being able to subsequently see a museum dedicated to her history and work was a unique and cool experience. There are so many things that women from the past have contributed to medicine as a whole, so honoring that and learning more about it is definitely rewarding, especially since this whole group consists of women. After Binge, we travelled to Andernach where we started with a yummy schnitzel lunch then made our way to the museum filled with historical medical equipment. This was such a cool museum to see because it shows just how much progress medicine has made in the last century. It is such a young profession in the grand scheme of things, and it really puts into perspective how much farther we have to grow in or knowledge of medicine and the human body. We finished the trip with some ice cream and headed home! 

For our free weekend, we decided to stay in Bonn and explore the area a bit more since we haven't had a full weekend at home. The weekend consisted of relaxation as we spent most of the day Saturday picnicking at the Rheinaue. Our last few weeks are flying by and approaching quickly, so I am trying to soak in all of our moments in Germany up. Though we are halfway through, I have enjoyed every second of travel, class days in Bonn, bonding with our host mom, and exploring all over Europe. Next up, Vienna and then Berlin!

Week 3 Travels!!!

    Last week we finally went to Norderney! I was very excited and a little nervous because Dr. Wasser has really hyped up this trip and I was excited to see the place that he speaks so highly about. We learned in class about the history of saunas and I was especially interested to see the Badehaus although I wasn't sure what to expect. 

    The highlights of this trip for me were going to the Badehaus and the mud flat hike! I have a lot of interest in holistic medicine such as what they do in the Badehaus since I started going to physical therapy and doing dry needling this year. I was surprised that this treatment worked better for me than other medicinal options I had tried and so I was very curious when we learned about the badehaus and the benefits of a sauna. 

    On the mud flat hike, we learned a lot about the wildlife that can be found in the mud such as worms and crustaceans. I have a minor in Ecology and Conservation Biology so I found this really interesting and I loved learning from our guide. I was uncomfortable stepping in the mud at first, but after some time I was able to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, I did get a large cut on the bottom of my foot from a clam, but overall it was a great experience!

    After Norderney, I went to Amsterdam with some friends! I was really excited to see the Van Gogh Museum and see the nightlife in the city. We also went to the Rijks Museum and saw lots of beautiful art! Some of my favorite parts of this excursion were the Van Gogh museum and also going on a cruise down the canal. I was a little surprised by the experience we had in Amsterdam due to the Red Light District and the kind of people that are attracted to see it. We also had quite an adventure on the train back to Bonn when our train got canceled halfway through the trip and we had to figure out how to get home from a random town where we were stranded.

    Overall, it was another great week! I loved the excursion with our group and was happy to travel independently with my friends!

Week 3: Norderney & Rome

Week 3 was jam-packed with traveling! We began with a study trip to the German island of Norderney, and I then travelled to Rome for a long weekend. This week was marked by immense trust in God as well as hilarious memories of joy.

Norderney

Norderney was such a fun trip. We travelled by bus and ferry to the quaint island, where wind and cool temperatures awaited. It is exactly what you would expect from a German island- German architecture near the beach! We went on bike rides around the island to observe the nature, a mud flat hike to examine sea organisms, and sunrise training excursions to the beach accompanied with a jump into the frigid North Sea! Near the end of our trip, we spend an afternoon at the baderhaus (spa). This was my favorite part of our trip. The baderhaus consisted of several types of pools with seawater ranging from hot to cold. We spent time in each pool and even got to have a mud treatment for skin health. It was so relaxing and peaceful. Trinity and I also got to attend mass in a cute church near our hostel. It was good fun.

Traveling to Rome 

This is when the chaos began. Our travel itinerary to get to Rome had close to eight different connections. We knew the plans would fall through at some point.. just not as soon as the first stop! The DB “fell asleep” for unknown reasons, causing us to miss our bus connection. Trinity and I frantically scrambled to figure out our next move. We asked a bus driver if the bus stopped near our next connection, and a kind man spoke to us in English and told us he could help. We followed him to the next stop in which we got on a train. This man helped us plan our next moves and had lovely conversation with us. His name was Bastian, and he was a tall Dutch man with piercing blue eyes. We kept joking that he was our hippie Jesus that led the way for us. 4 trains, a plane, and a taxi later, we arrived in Rome. Thank you Lord for guiding us!

Rome!

Rome was incredible. I have always wanted to travel to Italy, so it felt so surreal to finally make it there. Our room was lovely and had a beautiful terrace. We spent three days wandering around the city seeing ruins, the Pantheon, the Vatican!!!, the Sistine chapel, and countless other museums. We had soooo much gelato, pasta, pizza, and espresso. On our last night, Trinity and I went to a cooking class at an Italian woman’s home in which we made pasta and chocolate espresso truffles. We were meeting up with some friends afterwards, so we took an electric scooter to their location. Well.. we tried to. Long story short, we got lost, ended up on a highway, got back on the sidewalk near our friends destination, and hit a MASSIVE pothole and face planted on the ground. Trin took a worse hit than me because she was driving and chipped her tooth. All was well and nothing was broken.. but it was pretty hilarious! Her mouth was bleeding so she used my long skirt as a bandage to apply pressure. We looked pretty pathetic hahaha. We will never take another scooter ever again 🤣🤣🫶🏻

Week 03: Norderney - Amsterdam - Paris

 Lovely Memories in Norderney

Norderney...was weird, but only at first. The whole island resembled a scene straight out of Pleasantville with blue skies, clear streets, white picket fences, and not a single loud soul to behold. Everything looked perfect in an eerily way. However, I knew to put my discomfort aside and assimilate into the island as I knew I needed to. Everything deserves a chance after all!

From getting ice cream to going to the baddehaus, to painful aches after a scenic bike ride, to meeting the sweetest Vietnamese family ever on this trip to Norderney, I truly have never felt such peace. The fresh air was refreshing. I learned so much about the culture and the sanctity of nature this island had to offer. 

While my favorite part was relaxing in the baddehaus, my second favorite part was the mud hike. I never knew that mud, in all its messy glory, could ever be sterile. Except it can, and it is, thanks to these magnificent worms that live there. I also found it interesting how these creatures possess blood that is considered a world donor and how there is currently research going on to figure out how to put them to use in the medical world. 

Amsterdam Is My Foe

I was only supposed to stay in Amsterdam for one night with my friend Olivia. From previous experience, I knew this city was god awful expensive. It is not my favorite city, but it has its quirks. However, after a long day of travel and the horrid experience I had with the hotel staff, this city tanked itself to the bottom of my barrel. 

It had been difficult finding a hotel for two people in a city as busy as Amsterdam, especially during tourist season. Therefore, Olivia and I planned to rent a single bed for a single person and have her pretend to be my one-night lover in order to stay over for the night. However, this staff had been quite adamant about only one person being in a room for some unknown reason. One could have chalked this up to a rule except later on, they would charge me 40 euros for letting a person stay in the room overnight. 

While we went to explore the city in the evening and had the best burgers known to man, when we went back to the hotel, the idea was for Olivia to play drunk and needed a place a crash. She was quite the actor and for that, I give her a round of applause. After fighting with the staff about how I had a sick friend and she needed to use the restroom for five minutes and then them interrogating me about why she was here and where her hotel was, I had reached my limit. As telling them my friend was drunk and incoherent was not working, I had to escalate the situation to how she had also smoked, and only then did they allow her to stay over. 

While I am respectful to staff most of the time, the number of questions they asked only to finally allow her to stay for 40 euros when before they could have charged it upfront without the questions, this hotel pissed me off to no end. I truly don't know what to say about Amsterdam, except for the fact that if I never had the opportunity to go again, I'll be more than happy. 

Paris, je t'aime bcp

I love Paris. I don't know if it is because I can speak French and have Parisian friends, but France makes me feel welcome. I feel like I assimilate well there more than any other country I have been to aside from Vietnam. This weekend, I had the most amazing time with my friends as we went sightseeing at the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and more. 

Here, I also had the best gelato I've ever tasted. I can not say much about Paris as every day was spent touring the city and catching up with my friends, but I do know that I would pick Paris 100 times over to visit if I could. 

Week 3 in Germany and Amsterdam

 Howdy!!

It has been such a busy week traveling and having the best time with friends. This week we were in Norderney till Wednesday and then my friends and I traveled to Amsterdam. I’m currently on the train going back to Bonn from Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam was awesome and we did so many fun things. We did a walking tour, went to the Van Gogh museum, did a canal cruise with pizza included (YUM!), went to the ice bar, and lots of shopping of course. Amsterdam has been my favorite place we’ve visited so far and I can’t wait to visit more places!!

I’m so ready for another fun week abroad and can’t wait for our excursion tomorrow!

Week 3 Germany Adventures

 Hi guys!!!!

I just got back to Bonn from Amsterdam and to say I am tired is an understatement, but this past week has been so fun!!!! 

Norderney was beautiful the badehaus was unreal. I could go everyday and be happy. The mud flat hike was cool too  but very very cold. Overall norderney lived up to the hype. 

Then we went to Amsterdam which was so fun. We stayed a little outside of the city in the Olympic park which was cool but it was only a short tram ride into the city. We went to the rijks museum, Van Gogh museum, the ice bar, and a canal cruise. We also saw the clog factory and the cheese factory and that was so fun. We tried like 50 different types of cheese I’m not kidding. My favorites were smoked Gouda and truffle.  It was so hot there I thought I was going to pass out and it made me scared to go back to Texas, but overall Amsterdam was so fun and I would definitely go back. 

This week I am looking forward to our excursion tomorrow to ramagen. We haven’t heard much about what we are doing so it’ll be a fun surprise. Also Lila and I are going to Salzburg this weekend and I’m so excited about that!! 

Yay! Thanks for reading! See you next week! Bye!!

-Ava Brown

Germany Week 3!

 Norderney, Norder”nay”, however you want to pronounce it, I love you! 

With such a beautiful landscape and wildlife it’s hard to not fall in love. I enjoyed the mudflat hike and learning about the thousands of little creatures who found a home in mud. It’s so fascinating how something so seemingly simple is actually full of so much life. 

I also enjoyed the badehaus. The same mud that harbors thousands of little creatures made my skin glow and feel so smooth. The sauna was nice, maybe I didn’t find it as enjoyable as Dr. Wasser does but it was still relaxing. The cold water splash was my favorite part of “sauna-ing”. It was refreshing and rejuvenating. 

Our free travel weekend following Norderney has taught me one main lesson: DO NOT TRUST RHE DEUTSCHE BAHN!! 

After a lovely weekend visiting family in Delft and seeing the streets of Amsterdam, we are now stranded waiting for a clear alternative to get us back to Bonn. Apparently train tracks need maintenance and construction can cancel your second train of a trip with no warning, leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere with no train to get home! Hopefully we’ll figure things out soon! 

Fun Travels - Week #3

 This week has been nothing short of exciting and new adventures outside of Bonn. Last Saturday we arrived in Norderney and I have to say, it definitely exceeded my expectations. It was so nice to get away from the city and enjoy Mother Nature for a couple days. Each day began with a short workout led by Dr. Wasser which consisted of  Tai Chi and a light vigorous workout followed by a Thalasso dip in the ocean. I quite enjoyed these morning workouts and wished I had waken up to do this on the first day. Some of my favorite activities in Norderney included the bike tour, the bade haus, and enjoying the East Frisian tea. I am so incredibly proud of myself for participating in the bike tour. I had learned to bike right before this trip and I cannot believe I biked ~17 km. Yay me!! The bade haus is for sure a highlight of this week. I was skeptical about going into the saunas and participating in the mud scrub but they were such AMAZING experiences. It was a bit weird to be sitting in 85-90 C air but it felt nice to sweat and just relax. I could have probably stayed there for the whole day. The bade haus is an experience I will never forget. My last favorite activity was drinking East Frisian tea. I'm not a huge tea drinker but I could have drunk the whole pot if it were not for the mud flat hike afterwards. The tea was the perfect blend if sweet and bitter which made it all the more enjoyable. Those 4.5 days on the island were filled with so many firsts and I couldn't have expected anything more. 

For the remainder of the week, my best friend and I traveled to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and London. We spent two night in Amsterdam and the city was full of gorgeous canals. We also visited the Van Gogh Museum which displayed such beautiful artwork. Stroopwafel are a must in Amsterdam so we of course went to the most famous stroopwafel place and it was DIVINE. We also went to Fabel Frites, famous for their fries, and they were so good (much much better than the ones here). The waiting in line for both shops was definitely worth it. 

We only spent half a day visiting Edinburgh, and this was by far my most favorite place. The scenery was breathtaking. Although there was SO MUCH walking, the castle is for sure a must see place. We spent 2.5 hours walking the castle grounds and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of little exhibits they had. We also had the chance to see the oldest Crown jewels and scepter in Britain and they were magnificent. I absolutely loved all the architecture here and the sights. If we had gotten more time, I would have definitely planned a hike.

Out last stop was London. Our day was filled tons of sight seeing such as the Buckingham palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, and walking over the London Bridge. We were so lucky that while we were visiting Buckingham palace, we saw the exchanging of guards. What a real treat! We also went to the Borough Market which was jam packed with people and booths filled with cheese, food, and jams. While in London, we were fortunate enough to get tickets to ride the London Eye which allowed us the opportunity to see the city of London from above. 

Although our visit to each city was short, I had the time of my life. I cannot believe we're halfway done with this program, but I cannot wait for the other excursions coming up! 

Nordeney -> Amsterdam -> Brussels

Week 3

This week started with our relaxing stay in Nordeney Island. I really enjoyed our day at the Badehaus, and especially the mud and sea salt scrub. My skin was glowing and so smooth. I also got to catch up on a lot of sleep and just get some much needed rest. On Wednesday I headed to Amsterdam! In Amsterdam I did a canal cruise, the Van Gogh Museum and went to an Ice Bar that was -9 degrees. On Friday I headed to Brussels and I loved it. I was blown away by the beauty of the city and especially the Grand Palace. While in Brussels I enjoyed a Belgium Waffle and chocolates, and went to the Royal Fine Arts Museum. This week was the most traveling I have ever done on my own and it was very fun but I am relieved to be back in Bonn now and get back to a more normal schedule.

Week 3!!

This week contained so much traveling and so many adventures! I am currently writing this while stranded at a bus stop in the middle of no where Germany thanks to the DB. Keeping my spirits hopeful!

We started the week in Nordeney. The weather was colder, but I admit it was a nice break from the heat. We started the trip with a hike. The dunes and beaches are beautiful. I found the science on how the dunes and vegetation developed very interesting. I also noticed how the trees grew in the direction of the wind which was very cool. We went to a look out point that showed a great view of all the dunes in the area. The walk back was a bit long, but a good workout!

The next day we walked around the town and saw the beach! We tried the salt water shots, which are supposed to raise your blood pressure. I did not like it, but it was a fun experience. The beaches here are beautiful. On Tuesday, I did wake up for the morning Tai Chi. It was very refreshing and relaxing. The water though was very cold. 

Through the trip we went to many other museums and the badehaus. The badehaus museum was very interesting and had some cool artifacts from the past. I really enjoyed seeing all the different clothing from the past and what they used to wear to the beach. It is very different from what I wear for sure!

The badehaus was a wonderful experience. The hot pool with the chimney was definetly my favorite part. I admit I was a bit nervous for the badehaus because of all the talk before, but it was awesome. The fishing museum was very interesting as well. It had cool history related to the house and I enjoyed seeing all the fishing equipment and fish artifacts hanging on the walls. 

The tea party was also a one of a kind experience. I honestly don’t like tea or every drink, so I wasn’t really looking forward to it. However, I surprising thought the tea was quite nice and it was a fun experience. It was a true tea party!

After a long few days in Norderney, my friends and I headed to Amsterdam for the rest of the week. Amsterdam was very cool! The museums there were AMAZING. I loved learning about the life of Vincent van gogh and getting to explore the Rijksmuseum where I even saw some Saints we talked about in class. I even went to an archeology museum where I saw a mummy! 

This past week has been very fun, but I am ready to come back to Bonn! I can say I am not the biggest fan of the DB, but I think I have a better understanding of how to make the most of a rough time. I am looking forward to our next few excursions and to seeing how I can relate them back to what we’ve learned in class, like I did at the museums! 

Flying Pig

 

Week 3, we're already halfway through! We had a great time in Norderney and especially experiencing the bade:haus. This week we also got to do a lot of traveling on our own. We went to Amsterdam for a couple of days and saw the Van Gogh museum, did a canal cruise, and learned a lot about hostels. Then we went to Brussels and went to the royal museum of fine arts and did a lot of city exploring. The last 3 weeks has flown by and I cant wait for what the next 3 weeks holds. 

Week 3!

 I really enjoyed our group excursion to Norderney this week. I learned so much about Thalassotherapy and how important salt water is for your health. My allergies were significantly better in Norderney compared to Bonn, which shows how good salt water air is for the respiratory system. My family used to spend a lot of time in Galveston, and my mom is a firm believer in the healing powers of salt water in the Gulf of Mexico. I found it very interesting that Norderney was developed into a therapeutic escape from big cities in Germany. I definitely bonded with other girls on this trip and got to know everyone a little better. I loved hanging out as a group at the barbecue and the Badehaus experience brought us all closer. 

After this relaxing trip, I was excited to go to Amsterdam. We sow how clogs are made, tasted different flavored cheeses, cruised the canals, went to a bar made of ice and ate some of the best food I have had abroad. I particularly loved trying Indonesian food, which was amazing! I loved sitting at different cafes and bars to people watch. So far Amsterdam is my favorite city, and I hope I get the chance to go back.

Moin! 

Maia's Adventure in Germany week #3

This week has been one of my favorite by far. We started the week off with a trip to the famous bade-haus. Before entering the building, we went to the bade-haus museum and learned about the history of the island. This island was meant for wealthy individuals to come for weeks at a time and enjoy the fresh air and the sea water. We learned about what they used to wear and how they would come to the island. I could imagine taking a bath in the freezing cold ocean (sounds like a nightmare to me). The bade-haus itseld was definitely not waht I was expecting. I loved the salt water pool and the outdoor hot tub. The mud treatment was definitely a unique experience as well. I totally understand now why people would travel miles to experience the bliss that was the bade-haus. Thank you Dr. Wasser for this life-changing opportunity! To top the day off, I blessed our group with my amazing DJing skills at the barbeque. I even got a 9.5 rating from the Dr. Wasser himself.

The mud hike was a highlight of my week as well. Learning about the biology of the worms and the crabs in the vat took me back to my intro to biology days. The portable microscope were fun to use and to see tiny insects up close. I got some great pictures. Although my toes were freezing by the time we hopped back on our bikes, it was a rewarding event.

After nordeney, we ventured onto the great nation of the Netherlands. Here we went on a day tour to go visit a cheese and clog-making facotry wear we tried at least 30 different types of cheese (I didn't even know there were that many kinds to begin with). We also had the. opportunity to see the windmills and what they were used for nowadays.

I have discovered my newly found love for art museums while in amsterdam. We visited the Rijksmuseum, where we got to see some Rebrandts like "The Night Watch". It was incredible to learn about how they are emasuring the vibrations of the Night Watch's canvas in order to preserve the backing of the painting. I also was able to visit the MOCO, where there was an entire Bansky exhibit, including his most famous painting "The girl with the red baloon".

Amsterdam also has some amazing food. I got to try indonesian food for the first time and am willing to start my own restaurant back in CSTAT because ... wow... I am so grateful to have spent the weekend with great people who celebrated my 20th birthday with me. I'm a teenager no more!!!

Week Three in Europe

Three weeks in Europe are complete. I am already exhausted and starting to get homesick. After Norderney, I went straight to Amsterdam and spent just one day there. Truly, I thought it was overrated. It was a huge tourist city, which was expected, but caused unfortunate smells and noises. I enjoyed visiting museums and meeting up with friends for lunch, but otherwise was happy to head back to Bonn on Thursday. I spent Saturday visiting Drachenfels with my host! I enjoyed it very much. It was beautiful and not as bad a hike as Löwenburg. I also bought myself some Birkenstocks on Saturday, trying to immerse myself more into the German culture. 

I thought Norderney was very cool! I particularly enjoyed the mud flat hike. I can now say I have held a live crab. I found it very interesting that drinking sea water is considered good for your health. I had always thought, probably because of the taste, that it would be a bad idea to consume, even in small amounts. I intend to do a little more research into the topic for directed studies. 

I have included some pictures below from Amsterdam and Drachenfels.

A week in Amsterdam!

 And that’s a wrap on week 3 abroad!

This week involved lots of trains and lots of once in a lifetime  experiences! We started the week finishing up our excursion in Norderney. We had the opportunity to spend a day at the bada haus which included the sauna and a really fun water slide :). I think my favorite part was the mud hike on our last day. The view was absolutely gorgeous and everyone was just enjoying spending time in nature and learning about all of the unique wildlife in the mud flats!

After Norderney we took a weekend trip to Amsterdam (which included a total of 4 trains to make it there but totally worth it). Once in Amsterdam we went on a canal cruise (booze cruise to be exact), went to the Van Gogh museum and  explored the city and went into every single shop we could find! The most memorable part of Amsterdam was definitely the Ice Bar, which included negative 10 degree temperatures and Nutella vodka shots :) 10/10! 

We are currently on our first (of hopefully only 3) trains back to bonn and can’t wait to be back and onto our next adventure!

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!

Week 3 traveling!!

 What a busy and fun week it has been!! We started this week on the island of Norderney. Stepping off the bus, immediately you could breathe in the fresh North Sea air. Because the island is so small most of the people there use bikes to get around. I loved biking and exploring the island. The beach was beautiful and the dunes looked like rolling hills. It was so serene and peaceful. 

Monday was my favorite day. We went to the bade museum in the morning. This was very interesting because I had no idea the history of Norderney as a spa island. It’s so cool that we were able to go to a place that in the past had only been for royals and the extremely wealthy. After lunch we got to spend the afternoon in the bade haus. This was the best experience of the trip and something I’ll remember forever. The first level of the bade haus is the water level where there are many different types of pools. The main pool was so nice and when you put your head under water you could faintly hear music which was really cool. My favorite, though, was the pool that had the same salinity as the Dead Sea. The room was all dark except for the green lights and because of the salt concentration you could float with no effort. The water was also just warm enough that I could have floated in there forever. In that room I was able to reach a point where I had no thoughts and I felt like I was floating through space. The second level was the fire level. We started off on this level with the Schlick, which is mud taken from the mud flats and salt for exfoliating. After putting this Schlick on we sat in a steam bath for 10 minutes before the water turned on to wash away the mud. Afterwards my skin felt smoother than ever. Next, we went into the sauna. I loved the sauna and being able to sweat out all of my problems. I will say though, in the hotter rooms it got so hot that it hurt my nose when I breathed in. After the base haus I felt completely rejuvenated. I would 100% go back. Monday evening, we had a bbq with everyone in our program where Rike, Reagan, and Dr. Wasser grilled for us. This was such a fun bonding experience for all of us! There was music and everyone was singing and having a great time. I am so glad that I have become friends with everyone on the trip. 

On Tuesday, first we visited the fishing museum. That was really cool because we were able to get an insight on what life was like for the original fishermen on the island. I was so surprised when the guide told us that something like 10-15 people would live in that house. I also loved the old maps of the island. They were so detailed despite their technology being from the 1500s. After the fishing museum we were able to experience an authentic tea party with oostfriesentee which is popular on the island. It was so cool to have tea the same way that many women before us have gotten together. Tuesday night we went on a hike on the mudflats of the island. This was a very unique experience. I am very afraid of worms and bugs and so on this hike I had to kind of face my fears. The whole mud flat is formed from the poop of the watt worm and you can see their poop mounds all over the watt.  This gave me a little anxiety but I had to continue on. It was interesting and a little sad to learn that the global warming crisis is having such an effect on the clams and worms that live in the watt. It was also freezing on the watt and it took me a whole day to warm back up. 

Wednesday, we left Norderney and me and a couple of the girls on the trip made our way to Amsterdam. On the first train we were on, the train broke down causing us to be around 40 minutes delayed, meaning we would miss our second train. This was stressful, but in the end we were able to speak to the DB representative and figure out an alternative connection. One thing that I thought was interesting was that the border crossing was so anticlimactic. I didn’t even know we had crossed the border into Amsterdam until at the next station all of the signs were in Dutch. 

Traveling around Amsterdam was amazing. The city is beautiful. The canals and the buildings are stunning and walking around taking in the sights was awesome. One thing I noticed about Amsterdam is that it is very expensive most of our meals were more than 10 euros. We visited both the Rijks museum and the Van Gogh museum. Both were filled with beautiful works of art that brought me to tears. The Rijks museum also had some works of art that we had discussed in our history of medicine class, so that was so cool to make that connection and understand how that artwork helps us understand history and medicine better. We also took a cruise of the canal. It was stunning and getting to see the city via canal is definitely one of the best ways to do it. 

Week 3 Post

The Norderney trip was just as great as everyone hyped it up to be. I love the beach and it was just overall a really relaxing time in Norderney. The mud hike was a great adventure that I don’t ever think I’ll experience in another 100 years. The mud treatment at the bade haus was so relaxing. I was nervous at first for the experience, but I found my stress disappearing the first few minutes after entering the steam room. The bike tour was absolutely beautiful. I loved biking and learning about the different birds/seeing nature in general was a great experience. Plus the ice cream there was SO GOOD and I wish I could have eaten more of it. 

My favorite thing we did in Norderney was the bade haus. It was amazing to experience the sauna for the first time. At first I thought I would hate it since I didn’t really understand the concept of being in a hot room for a long period of time. However, it felt very freeing once I was in the room. Practicing the steps we learned in class was so fun. The best part was stepping out of the room and dumping the cold bucket of water on you. I think I could’ve done the sauna all day since it made my body feel generally great and my stress felt like it was gone. Also, the workouts in the morning were 10/10 and I totally wished I went the first day! (One of the photos I included was after the workout and I was very happy I did it even if I had to wake up early.)

After Norderney my best friend and I went to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and London. They were all beautiful cities! It was my first time booking housing for a trip and it went surprisingly well, so that relaxes my stress about our next excursions. From this past trip, I have learned how grateful I am for my car. Public transportation can be very hard to navigate in different cities and I know I wrote in my last post I’m getting used to it but apparently not. However, we still found our way around and got to everything we wanted to see on time! Oh also I learned sleeping at the Edinburgh airport (or any airport probably) is NOT COMFORTABLE and I do not suggest sleeping at the airport if you have an early flight but it definitely was a unique experience. Plus one positive was meeting a lovely Italian couple who let Hannah and I use their charger.

I’m excited to see what week 4 has to offer (crazy it’s already week 4!!) and I am ready to get back to the classroom.