Who Says You Have to Grow Up
- Michaela Smieja
- Feb 25, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 27, 2019
This past weekend we took a class trip to Cologne and a day trip to Essen, Germany. In both cities there are lot of different things to see and do, but sometimes the best experiences are the ones that you stumble upon.
After a long day of tours in Essen we just wanted to get back to our hostel and put our feet up. As we were meandering the streets trying to find the train station we turned a corner and came upon some twinkling lights. We were pulled toward the music and bright lights. As we got closer, we saw that there was an ice skating rink and a manmade tubing hill. We looked up the hill and saw kids sliding down and laughing. In that instant, the child in each of us came out, and we just wanted to have fun. We grabbed a tube and ran up the hill. Out of breath we asked the worker if all nine of us could go down at once. Thankfully he said yes. He lined up our tubes and told us to get in facing backwards down the hill. As we sat there waiting to go down we were laughing and giddy with anticipation. All of the sudden, the worker pushed one side down and we were all pulled down the hill. All you could hear was laughter and screams of excitement and joy. When we hit the bottom we couldn’t help but to continue to laugh for a few minutes.
Finally we all calmed down and concluded we needed food. In traditional German fashion we enjoyed brats and, of course, beer. With our tummies full it was time to show off our skating skills. I decided to opt out of the skating because I would have spent more time on the ground than I would have on two skates. I still enjoyed myself eating some popcorn and watching the show on solid ground.
After the skaters made their way off the ice, the zamboni came and cleared off the ice, and we cleared ourselves out of Essen. The train ride back to Cologne was very quiet, as we were all exhausted from our fun-filled day. At the end of the day sometimes you need to take the more interesting route and not the direct path. You never know what will be around the corner.
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