This was one of the headlines on the news channels while I was at the gym yesterday-- a headline squished between Obama's visit to Berlin this week and the major flooding that southern Germany is still dealing with, but it was this headline that stuck with me. I didn't think northwestern Germany was capable of dealing with such high temperatures, but it somehow managed. Yesterday and today it remained in the high 90s with high humidity. As stated on my Facebook post, I don't think my body has actually felt such heat in nearly a year, but I loved it. Yesterday I left for work around 8:30 wearing only a short sleeved shirt and capris-- I don't think I've ever left without a cardigan or jacket. I went to the gym in around noon and afterwards, my friend Laura suggested going to the Kanal (canal) to sunbathe and swim (I live next the Aasee which is the big lake in the city where many people run, bike, walk, and just hang out, but if you want to swim, you head over to the eastern outskirts of the city to the Kanal, where you can swim--just gotta watch out for the massive transport ferries passing through!)
Laura and I headed down around 3:30 and Katie met up with us a bit later. When we got there, we quickly stripped to bikinis and laid on our towels, but after about ten minutes the heat and sun were so unbearable that we had no choice but to jump into the water-- the freezing temperature was a welcome relief from the oppressive heat, which was no longer oppressive once we got back out after our swim. The rest of Münster had the same idea as us and people were packed like sardines along the narrow banks of the Kanal, escaping the heat by frequent dips into the water.
Every so often we would see a pair or a group of Germans walk up to the bridge that goes over the Kanal, climb onto the railings, and jump off, plunging feet first into the water. Laura is quite daring and said she wanted to jump and I agreed to try it with her. We walked up to the top of the bridge, and it actually wasn't that high- maybe ten meters (tall enough for a massive transport vessel to sail under), but we then realized that the hardest part was actually climbing over the railing as to allow yourself to jump off.
I stood as Laura straddled the railing and ended up on the other side, and continued to watch as she jumped down into the water. She climbed back up and urged me to do it, and I told her I would if she did it again with me. Despite having bungee jumped twice in my life-- first, off the harbor bridge in Auckland, New Zealand in January 2010, and second, off a gondola over a lake in Interlaken, Switzerland in July 2011 (about 150 meters)...despite these two jumps though, I actually have a pretty big fear of heights. Both times I bungee jumped, the instructors had to persuade me to jump and I remained at the platform longer than anyone else. Sometimes when I'm on a high platform or building looking down, I start to feel nauseous and try to think how on earth I managed the courage to bungee jump twice. For any who have heard my story about that, even if you're not afraid of heights, you're literally putting your faith in another power and accepting the fact that once you jump, you might never experience anything again after that exhilaration-- but to feel something so incredible might be worth it.
Well, ten meters should be nothing, right? Wrong.
Laura scrambled over the railing again, and I attempted about three times, each time being too scared to hoist myself all the way over, fearing that I would plunge to my death off the bridge, but finally managed to set myself on the other side. I thought that was the hard part, but with no ledge to stand over, I couldn't figure out the best way to jump. A German guy came up next to us, and within ten seconds, had climbed over and done an elegant back-flip off the railing, and when we came back up five minutes later, I was still standing on that ledge, as hundreds of bikers and cars had passed me, driving over the bridge. He climbed over and stood, striking up a conversation with me and Laura, and in my anxiety, I couldn't process speaking German, and then he started speaking English to us.
"Oh! You speak English!"
"Of course..!"
Ohhhhh, zee Germans and their love of English.
Anyways, he told me we would all jump together, and after counting to three about ten times, he informed me that we really had to jump because the police would come fine us if we stood up there too long-- at this point there was only one way down, as it would be way too humiliating to climb back over the ledge and walk back down to the banks, especially since every German under the bridge had now been staring at me for the last ten minutes-- leave it to the American to create the spectacle, huh?!
Finally, we counted to three and we jumped off (of course the German elegantly carrying out a back-flip again). I let out a shriek and after an instant of exhilarating free-fall, I landed in the water, smacking my thigh on the surface, and it's still bruised a day later- ouch! But the point is, I DID IT. Once I was up there, I knew I would end up jumping, I just needed time (which only makes it worse, I know)
Honestly though, it was the most alive I've felt probably this entire year in Germany . I sent my mother a picture that Katie had snapped and she chided me for being an idiot, but I don't regret it at all. Just as I didn't regret bungee jumping either time, and I guess why I continue to test myself in situations that are most fearful for me-- aka, heights. I'm not saying you have to go get involved in extreme sports or put your life in danger, but to test your limits and to test your fears I think is good for the spirit and the heart and the mind-- it makes you feel alive and makes you remember that you're living and that there is so much to experience in this life.
I've been so numb since I got to Germany, and the endless winter didn't help it, but finally feeling the rays of the sun and the heat seep into my skin and feeling myself free-fall was such an incredible experience after feeling nothing for so long.
Unfortunately, I woke up this morning feeling quite ill-- just a headache and a really sore throat that had started a few days ago. I figured that perhaps I had been spending a bit too much time at the gym and decided to take it easy again. I left for school just before 10:00 and was already sweating when I arrived. This being Germany, there's no AC (absolutely no need for it), so after teaching just once lesson, I was feeling faint and again, sweating like a pig. Went through one more class and came home and relaxed, and then had to bike a few miles to go do tutoring. Again, after my arrival and after getting back-- soaked in sweat; it was another day in the 90s. I relaxed some more in bed, just watching some TV and whatnot, and around 8:30 I started getting a little restless.
We had just had a massive thunderstorm which thankfully dropped the temperature down to the low 70s, and around 9:15 I decided to go for a bike ride. Although Germans love going for walks and just chilling in biergartens and out on the grass, they are also always on the move, and I realized that in all my time here, I've never just gone on a leisurely bike ride. When I was in Heidelberg, we went on quite a few bike rides out away from the city, through the miles and miles of farm fields and discovered little towns spotted around the area, The weather here is unfortunately not good enough to really do that.
But since it had cooled down so much, I decided what better time than now. Hopped on my bike and rode about six miles-- around the whole Promenade and then around the Aasee. I've biked these areas before and have run the paths maybe 100 times, but I've never just been on them to enjoy them. The Promenade circles the downtown area of Münster and is about three miles in circumference. It was beautiful in the fall when the leaves were changing and quite romantically beautiful in winter when the trees were bare and covered in white snow, but now, the trees are in full bloom and so incredibly luscious-- although it was light outside, the paths were quite dark because the foliage is so thick that it's almost like walking through a forest. It was absolutely beautiful and it was so nice and pleasant to have no destination or nowhere to be, but rather just enjoying the beauty. I then biked around the Aasee, and the sun was just beginning to set and the water of the lake was so calm that it was eerily beautiful. Because of the storm just a couple hours ago, there weren't too many people out on the banks and fields, which made it that much prettier.
Although quite less exhilirating than jumping off a bridge, this ride was also a great feeling. The slightly humid but cool breeze on my bare shoulders and arms and legs was just so pleasant after the oppressive heat of the last couple days. Münster really is a beautiful city, and although I haven't really come to love it, I do appreciate being places here. I've just frequently found it boring. It's great to raise a family and it's great to study because it's so safe and there are so many restaurants and bars and soooooo much green space, but there's just not a lot to do, and with only a limited friend group this whole year and now most of them gone, it's quite uneventful and dull. But I guess that's just for me personally, after spending the majority of my life in Washington, DC and Boston-- two major American cities that always have a ton going on, between sports, arts, and nightlife.
Another reason I was so enthused to take this late bike ride today is because today is June 19th and either tomorrow, the 20th, or the next day, the 21st, is the longest day of the year (it's actually quite a depressing thought, that in the next few days, the days will only be getting shorter...) Now, I never realized just how much farther north Europe is than America, and if you want to really see the difference, take a look at a world map. I remember being in such shock when I was in Heidelberg for the summer months that it got dark so late, and I'm even farther north this year, so the difference is even starker.
It is now 10:50pm and it just now got completely dark. The sun will begin to rise before 4:00am. If you haven't spent time this far north during the summer months, it's really something you should do because it's pretty incredible to experience days with just five hours of darkness. (It is equally just as terrible to experience days with six-seven hours of daylight during the winter months....but hey, it's gotta balance!) It's so easy to lose track of time and the freedom to do whatever for the majority of the day without worrying about it being dark is pretty amazing. That'll actually be a big shock going home in a week and a half because down in Virginia, it'll be getting dark around 8pm!
As I was biking though, I was passing groups of Germans hanging out on the grassy areas, either along the Promenade or the Aasee, and passing biergartens and outdoor seating of restaurants hearing the laughter of friends resonating through the cool air, and I realized that it really is time to go. There is so much about the German culture that I absolutely love and am going to be so sad to leave and it will take a long time for me to get over not having anymore back in America, but I've also realized that as much as I love the German culture, it's just not my culture. There is still so much, that although I now understand better, I just don't agree with or still drives me crazy, and that's when I realize that I am an American through and through, but just because I'm an American doesn't mean that I need to be isolated from the world and naive and clueless about the world beyond our expansive borders. I will always factor in my international experiences when figuring out what I want from my life, and will no doubt continue to travel. I will be sad to leave and it might take a while to deal with reverse culture shock, but at the root of it all, I am sincerely excited to go home again.
