Sunday, June 1, 2014

Trip to Schiermonnikoog Island

This Saturday's cultural/social event was a trip to "the smallest and most serene of the Frisian Islands" Schiermonnikoog (ask us to say it when we get home - it took a while to learn).  A 1-hour bus ride and 1-hour ferry trip brought us to the long, skinny island with the fantastic beach you see above.  Fortunately we had beautiful weather (cool and sunny) since one gets around the island on rental bikes. 

Students had fun on the beach, visiting an old WWII bunker, lunch at a cafe in the woods, and then relaxing in the adorable little town.
Most of the houses in the town have the date they were built indicated on the front.

Since the church services here are in Dutch, our Sunday worship becomes individual meditation and devotions. The Prinsenhof Gardens - a quiet, walled park in the city adjacent to the main church, Martinikerk - is a particularly nice spot for this:  The church bells and organ are a lovely accompaniment to a peaceful respite.

Tomorrow we are back to the class schedule.  Monday evening there will be a potluck group dinner where students are to cook a dish native to their culture.(The students all have cooking facilities in their dorm/apartments.) 

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