The First Weekend

Hello Everyone!

On Saturday, Megan and I took the ferry across to Warnemunde where we walked the streets and soaked up the beauty of everything around us.

View of Warnemunde with the harbor and buildings

Our first stop was at a boat on the inlet of the harbor that sold fried fish sandwiches - a speciality on the Northern Coast of Germany. We weren't quite sure what we were ordering since the lady working on the boat did not speak English, but thankfully there was a man nearby who helped us order in German. We soon realized that we will need to brush up on our Deutsch rather quickly. Nevertheless, the sandwich tasted amazing!

Fried Fish Sandwich with Garlic Sauce

We then climbed to the top of an old lighthouse that overlooked the entire city. The view was beautiful, but the height was a bit terrifying!

The Outside of the Lighthouse...

Inside the Lighthouse!

View of Warnemude and Rostock from the top!

After Conquering our fear of heights, we decided to reward ourselves with some soft serve ice cream from one of the many vendors in town. It seems to be quite popular here!

German Softserve

Saturday night, we went to a BBQ in a garden in Rostock. Here in Germany, many people buy plots of land on which they can garden. I absolutely love the concept!

Polaroid picture of one of the gardens with lupines

That night, we sat around a fire pit, ate sausages, drank A LOT of beer, and listened to songs a few of the people we work with were playing on the guitar. We were there until about 3:30 in the morning, about the time it started to get light out!

Polaroid picture of Megan and I at the BBQ

I may have had a bit too much beer...

Waiting for the taxi after the BBQ...pretending to sleep

On Sunday, I slept in until the early afternoon and watched netflix on the boat all day. In the evening, I went out and watched the seals as they dozed off to sleep. 

It was a lazy sunday for everyone!

On Thursday, Megan and I will be traveling to Berlin! We cannot wait for this adventure so expect a lot of stories and pictures to accompany them when we return!

Love,

Vanessa

I made it!

Two airplanes, a bus, two trains and a ferry later and I made it!

Germany is so much more beautiful than I ever dreamed. After getting off the plane, we had to take a train from the main station in Hamburg to Rostock.

Train Station in Hamburg

Once in Rostock, we had to take a second train to the small beach town of Warnemunde where the boat is stationed. The streets are covered in cobblestone and the houses and shops are ADORABLE. The second night there, I went into town with a few of the PhD students. We bought dinner and beer and went and sat on the beach to eat and drink. Drinking on the beach, in fact, drinking in public anywhere is completely legal here!

As for the internship, it is absolutely amazing so far. Today I started to train the seals in German, which was really hard but really fun all at the same time.  I also got to see the octopods run their experiments which was fascinating. Here is a link to some of the work they are currently doing with them.

Tonight Megan and I went on a walk just outside the boat to the lighthouse. The view was breathtaking.

This weekend we will be going to the farmers market and exploring the town a bit more, so I will put up more pictures by Sunday evening along with an account of our adventures!

Love,

Vanessa

Auf Wiedersehen!

I am currently at the airport waiting to board my flight to my layover in London and soon enough will be in Germany!

I am so incredibly nervous yet extremely excited for this wonderful adventure. Packing was crazy and I still feel like I brought too much and not enough all at the same time!

 I can't wait to be immersed in amazing culture and research for 3 months.

See you soon, Rostock!

Love,

Vanessa