The Calm Before the Storm (Marathon)

This past week has yet again been a hectic one.  One of my favorite parts of this week was Wednesday when we celebrated Kathryn’s birthday with cake and some presents.  I had ordered the cake a few days before and I was really happy with the way it came out, especially since I ordered it completely in German!  On Thursday, the group went on an excursion to Bingen and then we did a Rhine cruise to St. Goar.  I was really impressed with our tour guide at the museum in Bingen.  This museum was focused on Hildegard of Bingen, who was a writer, composer, philosopher, Benedictine abbess, and philosopher who lived in the 12^th century.  We had had a lecture on her in history of medicine, so it was easy to follow along what the tour guide was telling us.  On top of that, her enthusiasm for the topic was captivating. 

After the museum, we all went to lunch and then boarded the boat.  I enjoyed the cruise because I got to see some new parts of Germany, including the Lorelei Rock.  This rock is significant because it is at one of the narrowest parts of the river and strong currents have caused many boat accidents.  It’s called Lorelei in honor of the fabled female water spirit.  After the cruise, we climbed to the top of St. Goar and toured some castle ruins.  We were given time to explore on our own, which turned out to be a lot of fun.  People started playing games, running around, and overall just having fun. 

After St. Goar, we all got back on the bus to Bonn where many of us spent the rest of the night studying for our biomechanics test the next day.  Despite the little sleep I got that night, I feel like the test went pretty well for not only myself but also the class as a whole.  After the school day, a group of us went out to celebrate Kathryn’s birthday.  We had a lot of fun just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.  Somehow, a few of us wound up in Cologne and didn’t get back until 7 AM the next morning.  That was the first time I had spent the whole night out and I had an absolute blast!  That night made for some interesting memories!