Norderney

May 31, 2010

Norderney surprised me. It started off just like the rest of the trip so far. We visited the seal center in Nordeich where were taken behind the scenes to see their veterinary facilities and learned about some new veterinary products being used there, including a portable machine for blood work. We also visited the Walloseum, which contained a skeleton of a huge whale. Then we geared up for our hike to Norderney, the part of the trip that really caught me off guard. It was not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up for this study abroad trip, but it was truly an amazing experience. Norderney is one of several small islands just a few miles off the coast of Germany and the Netherlands. At low tide, the water between the mainland and the islands is completely receded and people can walk through the mud to the islands before the tide comes back in. This is assuming they are in good shape, however. Having spent the past two weeks running around Europe carrying my luggage, I already knew I was not in very good shape. Veterinary school forced me to study instead of work out, and I had not been feeling one hundred percent since I got sick in Hannover, so I really wasn’t sure I would make it. It was also very cold and windy, and I hate the cold. However, our guide showed us many different plants and animals that I had never seen before, and after just a few minutes into our trek I quit thinking about the cold wind. The mud was the deepest, stickiest stuff I have ever tried to walk through, with “tried” being the key word. It was like quicksand, and I fell flat on my face a few times. We got to “shore” tired and covered in mud, but there were still several miles between us and the bus to our hostel. We had to walk through the uninhabited region of the island, and at that point I was feeling sick to my stomach and could not keep up with our guide. I made it to the bus but not in time to clean up at all. Then our bus dropped us off at the wrong hostel, so after we finally made it to the hostel I took medicine, got cleaned up, and went to sleep.
Next morning, I rode a bike for the first time in probably ten years! I felt alright in the parking lot, but shortly after starting the bike tour of the island, I wished I hadn’t. We had the same guide who took us across from the mainland, and I really enjoyed hearing about the wildlife on the island. However, I still was not feeling back to normal and without dinner the night before or breakfast that morning the bike was just too much work, especially through the hills with the blustery wind blowing me back and forth across the path. I did eventually make it to the ferry in time and in one piece, and it was incredible to be riding a ship through the ocean over top of where we had walked across the day before! I had fun, but I definitely would have enjoyed it more if I had been feeling like my usual self.