I believe it was a mixture of sheer laziness and lack of motivation as opposed to lack of material to write about, so, to make up for it, this post will be a bit more lengthy than usual.
The first weekend of October, I went on a trip to London with my friend Savannah and our friend Cole, who is studying abroad at Keele University. We booked our Airbnb in a little neighborhood in Croyden. It was a very nice house but it took us around 15 minutes to walk to the nearest train station, and given the fact that I don't typically walk long distances without supportive shoes, that made for a bit of an issue later on in our trip.
The first day we spent walking. Walking everywhere. It was incredibly cool to see all those famous landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye in person, and though it was rainy for most of the day, our spirits weren't dampened. We even got to walk across the Millennium Bridge, which is the bridge the Death Eaters destroyed in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, for my fellow HP nerds out there.
The second day was when Savannah and I began to feel the effects of walking long distances with less than ideal footwear. My foot began to hurt whenever I walked and her knee started hurting. By the end of the day, we were literally limping around the city. It was rather pathetic, to be honest. (Eventually I discovered that I'd not just pulled a muscle, but developed peroneal tendonitis in my foot. Needless to say, my next purchase back in Plymouth was a pair of decent tennis shoes.)
We went in several museums in London, rode the underground and overground trains, saw Buckingham Palace and the Shard, and went on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour for Harry Potter. Yet, I still feel as though we barely saw London. It's like New York City in that you could spend a lifetime there and never come close to seeing and doing everything the city has to offer.
Upon our return to Plymouth, I admit I was a bit sad and downtrodden. The excitement of travel had worn off and I was back to attending classes and having much less to do. For those of you that know me, you also know that I thrive on a busy schedule, and that I am used to doing about 8 billion things at once, and doing them successfully. It's quite different here—I only have 3 classes, and they are each 3 hours once a week. That's a far cry from my usual 10-12 classes that meet 2-3 times a week. For someone who loves home and loves their home university, that's a very difficult transition to make, and I found myself at a loss for what to do. I began to really feel the effects of homesickness. It's been especially difficult to be away from my family at this time, since I've found out that my grandmother has cancer and I can't be there for help and support.
For two weeks I remained in a funk of sorts, really just going through the motions and waiting until October 19th, when I was flying out of England to Germany to see my brother Logan. My trip to Germany helped so much, because I finally got some time with family and got to do some more traveling.
Before I jump right in to what we did while in Germany, I must explain how we got there. Savannah and I have mastered the art of cheap travel. While it's not the most comfortable means of transportation, we were able to book a bus ride from here to the Birmingham Aiport for only £12, and then we found flights through Eurowings that were only £34.99 per person for a round trip ticket. That's roughly $57 for a 6 day trip to Germany. When are we going to get decent airline prices like that in America???
We arrived in Germany late at night, so after gorging ourselves on greasy McDonald's food and ice cream, we headed to Logan's house. It was incredibly nice and, thanks to my lovely future sister-in-law Christa, wonderfully decorated. It looked like Pinterest threw up in there. (I loved it.)
Our first day we went to a marketplace in Sittard and had Irish Coffee with a delicious lunch before heading to a store to get dirndls, the traditional dress women wear to Oktoberfest. I had just eaten copious amounts of food, so in a way, it was good that I tried on the dirndls while full. I came out of the dressing room wearing my favorite one I'd picked out (blue and yellow with pretty sunflowers) and told the sales lady that I couldn't breathe in it, to which she responded, "That is how a dirndl is supposed to fit." I walked out of the store with that one.
For the rest of that day we sat in Logan's living room and watched movies, curled up with blankets while rain pattered on the roof outside.
The next day we decided to go to Cologne (Köln) and do some sightseeing before Oktoberfest took place that night. It was truly beautiful there—the massive cathedral and the Rhein river were absolutely stunning. It was quite cold and rainy, so we found a cozy pub for lunch. We had potato soup and schnitzel as well as some beer before setting off for the chocolate factory. (Sidenote: I now know what heaven smells like)
That evening we went to Sittard for Oktoberfest, and after shoving our way into the free tent we remained inside for hours. We listened to the live band play traditional songs as well as some covers of popular songs, and we drank the beer they had on tap. It was an incredibly fun night and no one got too drunk, so I certainly count that as a success.
The following day we spent lounging around and recovering from the previous night's festivities and had dinner in lovely Maastricht, and then the next day we took a day trip to Amsterdam. The place is just as beautiful as all the pictures, with the canals and bridges and leaning buildings. Yes, leaning buildings. There is a row of houses in Amsterdam called the dancing houses, because they were first built on Amsterdam's silt-y soil and eventually began to lean in different directions. The houses are so iconic that some buildings in Amsterdam were intentionally designed to lean!
My trip to Germany/The Netherlands was really a turning point for me. While there I decided that I would no longer feel sorry for myself and allow myself to miss home so badly. I've made about 12 new friends since returning to Plymouth last Tuesday and I've gone out about 3 times this past week and actually danced at clubs (if you're thinking, who the hell is this person?? I'm right there with you). Of course I miss my friends and my family and the comforts of home, but I can't let that stop me from taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities I have here. I've realized that I'm independent, I'm having the experience of a lifetime, and I'm brave enough to see this through and not wish the time away. Everyone experiences homesickness during Study Abroad, but how you react to it and handle it is entirely up to you. I've always been the sort to pick myself up by my bootstraps, brush off the dirt, and keep on going. Because at the end of the road, you'll look back and smile without regret.