Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Baby Break a Sweat

Monday - This was the day we embarked on our trip to Norderney. The train ride over was full of music, and I ain’t talkin’ headphones. Many of my friends and I grouped up and worked on Professor Waltz’s test. Once the rail line ended, we hopped on a ferry where I was Jack and Shane was Rose. On the island, we boarded our bikes. Mine was quickly named “White Lightening” and she knew nothing but speed. We took our tour, went to the small, local bar, and called it a night.


Tuesday- This was my favorite day on Norderney. The Badehaus was just amazing. The tour and lectures were very interesting, and the experience that followed was extremely relaxing. I especially enjoyed the saunas, as well as the mud bath. Hanging out with the guys in the situations we were placed in carried us to newfound levels of friendship. Later on, we attended the barbecue hosted by Dr. Wasser and Co.. Brian and Alexa are grill masters. My clouded memory leads me to believe I had fun as the night went on.

Wednesday- I made it to morning calisthenics training at 6am, despite everyone telling me I wouldn’t. Later on, we went to walk through the mudflats. Boy oh boy. It was cold, rainy, and windy. Despite the weather wanting me to frown, I still had fun out in the mud. Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, and shared so much great information. We walked all the way across, to the shore. Eerily, the North Sea actually felt warm. Later on, I returned the Badehaus and fell asleep floating in the salty tub. Once back to the hostel, I got to spend some time with some people on the trip I had yet to really engage with, and enjoyed it very much.

Thursday- On our last day, I got to give ole’ White Lightening one last ride around the island, learning from Dr. Wasser about the landscape and seeing some beautiful birds. Norderney was great. Once it was time to leave, my journey to Dublin began. We bussed to Frankfurt, bumming on the floor with our McDonald’s. We arrived to the airport about midnight and tried to get some rest, but ended up having some fun and watching Deadpool 2. Classic.

Friday- An early plane ride got me to Dublin. From the moment I arrived, I knew this would be a city I loved. I ate a potato within 20 minutes of touching down. Exhausted, we took a short nap at the hostel, and headed out to tour the Guinness Brewery. On the way, we watched a man get slapped in the face by the sideview mirror of a double-decker bus. He took it like a champion. At the brewery I had a great time, and the fresh Guinness I drank over looking the Dublin skyline was the best beer I had ever tasted. Later on we ventured to a small pub called “Molloy’s”. Here I had one of the most genuine, fun times I had experienced in a very long while. Singing, socializing, and drinking with my friends was everything I wanted to do while in Ireland. Also, a large, old, bald Irishman called me handsome and gave me a phone number. It wasn’t his. Kind of disappointing.

Saturday- After a late start, we walked Dublin, and saw many cool things. We toured an old famine era, transatlantic ship, then made our way to St. Patrick’s cathedral. I then bought one of those cool newspaper boy caps. No one said it (though they were probably thinking it), but I look a lot like David Beckham when I put it on. We then went out of a night on the town, and had so much fun. After a journey back to the hostel, I slept safely and soundly in my bed.


Sunday- After a second late start, we marched over to a place called the Meltdown, where I ate the most incredible grilled cheese sandwich of all time. We admired some architecture, and then met up with some others from the trip who had also come to Ireland. They were awesome, the city was awesome, everything was awesome.

Monday- Earlier in the week at Molloy’s, my friend Shane and I noticed that the bar opens at 7 am. When we questioned the waitress about this, she responded, “you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.” That line woke me up Monday. We had a pint of Guinness at 7 am, and walked over to St. Patrick’s to hear the choir sing. Angelic. We made our way around town, ate another grilled cheese, and headed back to Germany. Overall, this was one of the most fun weeks of my life.

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