Mermaid feeling, short stop in Germany and back to quarantine

Wednesday, 06/01/2021

First of all, I wish you all a wonderful new year and belated Merry Christmas. I hope you all had a good start to the new year. I'm checking in again from Ireland - back in quarantine. Yippie.

Since I haven't reported in for a long time, here is a brief summary of the rest of December:

In mid-December we took another little trip. We went by car to County Leitrim. There are two waterfalls there that we climbed to. The first one is called 'The Devil's Chimney'. There is a small path that leads to the waterfall. Unfortunately, I have to admit that I was quite sick that weekend, so I was tired and not in the best condition when we arrived at the waterfall. However, the view was absolutely beautiful.

It really looked a bit like something out of a fairy tale. I could imagine someone letting the WDR broadcasting station know and suggesting the area for a new fairy tale. I would definitely watch that. In one part of the path, the trees were covered with moss everywhere, so it really had something magical, if not mysterious.

After the visit to the Devil's Chimney, we continued to the Glencar Waterfall. Marco and I had already been there with the oldest students for the river studies. However, the other two had not been there yet, so we went there briefly again. It's not even a five-minute walk from the parking lot, and afterwards everyone got a coffee to warm up.

In December, there wasn't much going on at school anymore. After the tests were written, the first movies were already shown. In the German classes, for example, it was 'Die Welle', 'Fack Ju Goethe' or 'Ostwind'. Everyone was just waiting for the last days of school before the holidays finally started.

Shortly before I returned to Germany, I went to a seaweed bath with Dolores, the Spanish assistant, and Emilia. You can do that in a spa in Strandhill, right on the beach. Each person has their own room with a shower and a bathtub with seaweed already floating in it. First, you have to go into the shower, where hot steam also comes out. You have to take a steam bath in it for a few minutes to open the pores of the skin. Then you can lie down in the bathtub. It's a bit strange because the seaweed is a bit slippery, but the seaweed is very good for the skin and hair.

You can relax there. Even with the windows closed, you can hear the sound of the sea, and the seaweed leaves a very good feeling on the skin. In total, you can spend 50 minutes in the room. The lady also told us that some people like to go back into the steam shower in between, so to speak like a contrast bath. I didn't do that, but after the bath, I was still very relaxed and also tired.

I flew back to Germany on Tuesday, December 15th. On the Sunday before, we all went out to dinner together. Dolores also flew back to Spain. The meal was a kind of farewell and Christmas dinner at the same time.

On Tuesday, I returned to Germany. Marco stayed in Ireland over Christmas and New Year's, but I flew back. From Sligo, I took the bus to Dublin Airport again. It takes about 3 1/2 hours. I arrived at the airport a little early, so I had to wait a long time before finally continuing.

From Dublin, I flew to Amsterdam and from there to Düsseldorf. I left by bus at 4 am and only arrived in Düsseldorf at 6 pm. My mom and my uncle picked me up from there. From Düsseldorf, it takes about two more hours to get to our home, the small village in North Rhine-Westphalia.

When I arrived home, I immediately took a rapid test just to feel safe. Officially, the quarantine in North Rhine-Westphalia has been lifted, and you only have to take a test after five days. However, I kept my distance from my friends a bit and was cautious. My actual test turned out to be negative as well.

I spent the Christmas season in Germany. I was very happy that everything worked out so well. I really wanted to fly back home and celebrate Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's there. I was able to see my friends and family again and finally sleep in my big bed, which made me very happy, haha.

After the Christmas holidays, my family and I went to the snow for a day. Don't worry, we avoided Winterberg as required and went to the Warstein area instead. We went for a hike at Stimm Stamm, enjoyed the snow and the Christmas weather, and took many photos.

I spent New Year's Eve in a cozy way with just one friend. We weren't allowed to meet more people anyway, and it was also nice to celebrate a bit more relaxed than usual. Anna and I cooked together, listened to K-pop, and at midnight, we also lit some sparklers.

On January 2nd, I had to leave again. Since I was flying back through the Netherlands, I had to take another coronavirus test shortly before. It was negative again. I left for Düsseldorf at 4 am. My first flight to Amsterdam was at 6:30 am. Not many people flew with me, but there was a bit more going on again at the airport in Amsterdam. I had a three-hour layover there, so I had to pass the time with Netflix, Spotify, and my book.

In the afternoon, I took the bus back from Dublin to Sligo. I had a headache, hadn't taken off my mask for hours, and was just annoyed. I arrived at my quarantine quarters at 6:30 pm. I'm not allowed to do my short quarantine in the boardinghouse, so I'm back in the apartment complex where Marco and I spent two weeks in August. However, being alone is a slightly different story, and I find any noise that doesn't come from me a bit unsettling.

I have to endure here for a while longer and then take another coronavirus test. On Saturday, I will probably be back in the dorm and in my own room.

Currently, the situation here in Ireland with the virus is not very funny. We have over 5,000 cases per day. To compare, at the beginning of the lockdown in November, there were 'only' over 1,000 cases. The government is discussing the situation today, as it is also being considered whether the school should remain closed for the time being. We have to wait and see what is decided and how things will continue. Maybe I will be back in Germany soon, maybe school will continue as usual on Monday - nobody knows yet.

I will continue to keep you updated.

Stay healthy and take care of yourselves.