A Walk to Remember

This leg of the trip was full to the brim of stuff to do. A large part of which was walking to an island. More on that later. We started out at the Norddeich Seal Center in the morning. We got to see the morning feeding when we arrived. Well, sort of...there were a lot of people and the keeper was speaking in German, so I didn't really know what was going on. Still, it was entertaining. I really admire what they do at the center. They are a rescue and rehabilitation center for young seals that have been abandoned. Limited human contact is essential to the success of the the program. There was one seal that was going to be released that day, but, unfortunately, we were going to be sludging through the mud at that time. We also saw two of their most recent rescues that were only a few days old. So cute!!! The Walloseum was next. It was pretty amazing to see a full skeleton of an adult sperm whale hanging from the ceiling.
After lunch, it was time to walk across the North Sea...well, part of it anyway. I have to say I was a little nervous. Mostly because drowning is one of my worst fears, but I was excited at the same time. How many people can say they walked to an island? It was a challenge, that's for sure. But, it was fun. A little piece of advice: If you know you're going to do something like that, make sure you're in some kind of good shape. I was not (thank you, vet school), and I made it, but it was harder than I think it probably should have been. Anyway, I guess I can put that on my "bucket list" and check it off.
Our adventure did not end there. Oh no. The bus dropped us off at the wrong hostel, so we were wandering around Norderney looking for the right place. Luckily, we had a couple of taxis take us to the right place. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but it was a good day. :)
On day 2, we took a bike tour of the nature reserve of Norderney. I had not been on a bike in a very long time. However, it is like they say; you never forget. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but I got it. I still don't understand how some people can ride with no hands. I couldn't even take one hand off the handlebars without swerving. Most notable things about the ride: the reserve is beautiful, it rained, we ate at the best restaurant ever!, we went to the beach (for about 3 minutes), and on the way back we went uphill a lot and against the wind. Good times!
Melissa and I headed back to Bonn alongside Dr. Wasser and Olaf. We got back late, but at least we knew where we were going. ;)