Week 6: February 13-20

This week was another busy week of school and travel. After getting home from Prague last weekend, my attention turned to the two tests I had to study for – physiology lab and physiology lecture. Monday was a normal school day, albeit long. Tuesday was Valentine’s Day. We had Zoom classes all day because of a transportation strike in Bonn. We only had physiology lecture and the lab exam review because enmodes and lab would’ve been too hard to do over Zoom. I spent the day studying at the kitchen table with Kima and the cat. Claudia came home early from work and made me a heart-shaped waffle with whipped cream to make studying a bit more bearable. I couldn’t talk to Wyatt for very long because we were both very busy, but we’re going to have a mini Valentine’s celebration when we’re together over spring break. On Wednesday, we were back at the aib, but I didn’t have any class… just a physiology lecture exam review and the lab exam. Thursday was Altweiber Fastnacht, or Women’s Carnival. We participated in the Karneval parade in Beuel. It was very cold waiting for the parade to start, but it warmed up once we were out in the sun and walking. I actually had more fun than I expected. The parade route was longer than I anticipated, and I ran out of candy really quickly. I felt really bad when kids would yell for candy, and I didn’t have anything to give them. Afterwards, I was planning on staying at the aib to study, but they closed for the afternoon. So instead, I went home and took a nap. Eventually, I motivated myself to go downstairs and study. When I got downstairs, I met Hannah, who was the last student the Reifenberg’s hosted. She was in town for the weekend for Karneval. We got to know each other over dinner on Friday night. She’s from Wisconsin and is living near Basel for the year while doing an internship with US Congress and German Bundestag. She was in Bonn for a few weeks in August/September taking an intensive German course at the aib. Anyways, Friday was another busy class day that included the physiology lecture exam. After class, I FaceTimed Wyatt for a couple hours since we hadn’t had much time to talk in the past week. I packed for Croatia and went to bed way later than I should have.

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and rode the bus to the Bonn UN Campus train station. I grabbed a chocolate croissant and coffee and waited for the train. I met Elizabeth and Erin on the train at Bonn hbf, and we rode it to the Düsseldorf airport. The train was delayed by about 20 minutes, which added a bit of stress. Thankfully, security was quick, but passport control was another story. There was only one line with lots of people, and we only had about 30 minutes until boarding ended. We made it the gate with 2 minutes to spare, but thankfully, the flight before ours hadn’t left yet so boarding was delayed. Once we got to Croatia, the customs officer was very confused by our Düsseldorf stamps and crossed them out. It was kind of a mess, but everything worked out. Once in Split, we got lunch and wandered along the seaside promenade. The sunset was the most incredible sunset I have ever seen. The colors were so vibrant, and the reflection on the Adriatic Sea made it even better. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant, and Colby, Elizabeth, and I split a €130 deep sea fish. It was delicious.

On Sunday, we went to Klis, a fortress that was never conquered and happened to be a filming location from Game of Thrones. It was very well preserved and still pretty intact, which was impressive. We were also some of the only people there, so it was very peaceful just wandering around. After, we had to go back to Split to find food, but Elizabeth chose a really good street food place. We wandered along the coast, ate gelato, shopped at the market, and explored the Diocletian’s Palace. We walked out to a lighthouse to watch the sunset, but it wasn’t as cool as the night before.

On Monday, we drove out to Krka National Park, which was beautiful. We walked along the wooden bridge pathway and admired the incredible cascading waterfalls. Afterwards, our driver took us on the scenic route along the coast. We stopped in Primošten, which was my favorite. We skipped stones, sat on the beach, walked around the entire peninsula, and did some light rock climbing. It was so peaceful, and the water was the most incredible turquoise. Then, we drove to Trogir, a harbor town across the bay from Split. Finally, we ended up at the airport, grabbed dinner, and waited for the flight. Our flight landed 30 minutes early, and Erin, Elizabeth, and I caught an earlier, direct train back to Bonn. I was home by 11:30, and only had one odd encounter due to Karneval.

Overall, it was a good week, and Croatia was beautiful. Having three days to travel is definitely better, so I’m not looking forward to the two-day weekends we have the rest of the semester (except for Easter weekend). I’m not traveling this coming weekend, so it’ll be a week of rest and recovery from the busyness of the past couple weeks.