Munich

I wrote this on the 27th on the way to Prague. Sorry if it is a bit old!

I really enjoyed our time in Munich. I had some strange expectations. My boyfriend's family is from more central Germany, and they have all sorts of colorful names for Bavarians. They like to mock their accent, too. Also, the Catholic vs. Protestant dynamic is very heated to the day in their region which borders on Bavaria. One could imagine that since his family is Protestant, they would feel marginalized in that strongly Catholic area.

The Bavaria that I saw was friendly enough. It was noticibly Catholic, but much of Germany is. Munich was very touristy. I heard a lot of American accents too. I like wandering around the Marienplatz and watching everyone else look just as new as I did!

Munich had an overall feeling of friendliness although I know didn't see much of it and I wish that we could have. It was interesting to witness the most stereotypical German activities; roaming around in liederhosen for example, like our amazing tour guide! I enjoyed the beer halls too, and the wasn't so bad either!

On the bus again

Once again we are back on another bus to the vet school in Hannover. I am really excited about doing vet stuff for the next two days. I'm pre-vet, but really unsure about whether I want to go to vet school or not. I'm really hoping I will get a lot out of these next two days.

This weekend I was part of the group that went to Interlaken. I decided to pass on the canyoning, but kind of wished I would've done it. Sarah, Michelle, and Kaylee, and I went horseback riding instead and it was really fun. It was amazing riding with the Alps all around us and walking alongside part of the river. Our main guide didn't speak too much English, except for "Hold the reins short!" He was funny though because apparently he was telling us that whoever rode in front of his horse had to buy him a drink when we got back. I didn't understand this until Michelle mentioned it later, and I guess I owed him a few drinks because my horse had decided she had to be in front of everyone for almost the whole ride and I didn't try to stop her. All our horses kept wanting to just stop and eat the really green grass, but we made it back and I'm still a little sore from riding in the small English saddle. Later that day we went to the "beach" that the people at the hostel told us about. We were kinda disappointed when we got there and saw no sand. It was really just a park by the lake, but it was beautiful and so nice to relax by the water. Sunday we went to Grindelwald, walked up some really steep hills, and got some really good views of the mountains. It was great being in a small town for a change this weekend. The huge cities can feel so overwhelming some time to me, but I was happy to get back "home" to Dusseldorf.

Well we are on our way to the vet school in hannover to stay overnight. This past weekend I spent in interlaken which was so gorgeous and really a relaxing weekend. It really is good to see all the sights in europe that you can but it was nice to go for a weekend on what felt like a really relaxing vacation. The best part about it was being in the alps and being constantly surrounded by such a gorgeous view. But after so much traveling with the program and on the weekends it'll be nice to spend this weekend in dusseldorf with my host parents before we leave for good. I really am going to miss them when I leave, because they've been such great parents to us while we've been here and I know I've definitely learned a lot from them because they really do enjoy sitting for hours talking with us. Last night laura and I went to see a movie with our host mom, christa. It was on koonigsallee (yeah, don't know how to spell that!)And it was called "Angel". Well as a movie,it was pretty awful! But it was probably one of my favorite nights with my host family and will definitely be a good memory. Because it was so awful and overly dramatic that it as hilarious! We all just kept looking at each other during the most dramatic parts laughing and wondering if maybe it was really all meant to be a joke! She was apologizing for picking a movie like that but really I had so much fun and it was such a good night because you couldn't help but talk about it and imitate afterwards...so I'm really glad that we get to know families so well, because of times like these. I would never get all the knowledge I've gotten from my host family and learned so much about the german way of life if I had just been in a dorm with other students. Having host families has really added to the experience and I'm so glad I got such a great one! Too bad we have to leave them in a week!

Last weekend we left munich for prague. I can't say which place I've seen is my favorite because they have all been so different, but this weekend was the most fun. Prague is so beautiful we were entertained just walking the streets. I did a lot of cheap shopping, watched a classical music concert in an old church, went to a bar and danced like an idiot to trashy techno music. We met a new zealander and some londoners at a jazz bar saturday night. I told them my name was penelope and they actually bought it even though I am a bad liar and didn't even answer to it half of the night. Instead of worrying about seeing everything I can on the weekends I've found it's better just to go on a whim and find random fun. This weekend I'll probably just stay in dusseldorf with my host family. I am actually pretty excited about it. I like germany and am finally getting familiar with the language and customs. I know my opinion is not representative of the group, but I've found its more worth my time here to try to learn as much as I can about the people and cultures rather than try to fit in as many places and pictures as possible. I think if that was my priority I would have missed it. I've enjoyed the weekends away, but all in all I would rather learn a few places thoroughly than many places only superficially. I know I will come back to europe again someday, so I am trying to take advantage of the time I have in germany.

I hadn't been able to post since dachau and it's definitely worth blogging about. Even though we were taught so much about concentration camps in school, it was a completely different experience touring dachau. What I remember being the most terrifying fact we were told was that the prisoners themselves said the worst torture was the constant fear, the "re-education". They didn't know if they would be murdered the next minute, day, or month. Also, years after the end, they would still wake up at 4 am as if they were still in the camp. Equally amazing to me were the individual's stories of resistance despite their living hell. It was a hard day and a hard week, but probably the best excursion, I think, so far. It's also worth noting that almost everyone else touring dachau were german students. Yet another example of the "coming to terms with the past" that makes me respect germans more and more.

Interlaken- the great escape

You know you've fallen in love with a place when you leave and your first dream at night is about going back. I absolutely loved Interlaken. It was so nice to get out of the city and enjoy being in the beautiful scenery. It was an expensive little city, but worth every penny! On Saturday we went canyoning. Its where you follow a river through a canyon by repelling, jumping off cliffs and waterfalls, sliding down rocks and ziplining. It was the best thing I have ever done. It was cold, but so much fun that I didnt mind. On Sunday, Larry and I rented a fun car and drove to some of the nearby mountian villages. A fun car is like a little smart car, only its open air and a bit more rugged. We had so much fun. We first drove up to Lauderbrunnen, a city in a valley between two cliffs with a giant snowy mountian in the background. The cliffs on both sides had tall waterfalls coming down them in multiple different places. We wanted to visit some famous waterfalls that you had to hike to, but it cost about $10 and we had already paid for the car to drive around, so we decided to drive up to grindelwald instead. Gindelwald is beautiful, but less impressionable than lauderbrunnen. From there, you can hike to glaciers, but after hearing it was about 800 steps we decided to drive down to the western lake and have lunch. The lakes are surrounded by mountians and and the qater is the most outrageous teal color. Even the rivers that flow between the eastern and western lake are a mint green color. I loved interlaken so much that Im planning my escape back as soon as I can. I just have to get a good paying job first.

Back "Home"

Today was our first day in Dusseldorf in a week. We got into the train station around 6:30 am from Prague.
It feels good to be back "home." I do consider Dusseldorf home right now. I sleep and eat here, and its the place i come to after a long day of school.
Today was the first day i felt like i was a citizen of Dusseldorf. This morning when i got back i took a shower and headed out to school on the tram. It was second nature to me. I knew where to get off and transfer to the next tram and which stop to get off at to get to the AIB. I felt like just another Dusseldorf morning commuter heading to work. After class was over i headed back home, ate a light lunch, and took a nap. It reminded me of College Station. After class in CS i head back home and take a nap. After my nap i went to the internet cafe and worked on my research paper. Came back home because dinner was ready by 7 and headed back out afterwards.
Today was different than all the other days because we didnt do anything that made me feel like a tourist. No tours anywhere and i didnt need any help to find my way around town.
It has taken over three weeks, but Dusseldorf has finally grown on me.

Don't Ride Bikes Up Mountains

Last weekend I travelled with a large group of people to Interlaken to indulge myself in some outdoor activities. Saturday morning began with an early canyoning excursion with several others and a group of tourists from Mississippi. Canyoning was a blast! In a nutshell, the guides take you to a high point in a canyon, and help you work your way back down the canyon against all elements. We propelled ourselves down the sides of cliffs, jumped off short waterfalls, and slid down slippery slopes. I am glad I did the shortest trip, because my ankle is not fully healed from being sprained earlier in the summer. I actually thought it was fully healed until we jumped off the first waterfall (ouch). After canyoning, Chris and I took a train to Grindewald in hopes of hiking up the mountain. Since Grindewald was a little too far from any good hiking spots, we decided to rent a couple of bikes and peddle our way up the mountain. We knew we were completely unprepared, because everyone riding by was wearing full biking gear, and had giant leg muscles. Its safe to say that the average incline was about 20°, so I was a little worn out. Also, the high elevation provided us with less oxygen. Overall, I only made it half way.

Aside from the outdoor excursions, I enjoyed Interlaken. It had a few too many tourists in my opinion, but it was still a beautiful place.

Konrad-Adenauer-Platz

Coming out of the Hbf viy Konrad´s Platz i started my hunt for the place to get a hair cut, upon finding it i shocked to find it closed, on Mondays... but just another cultural distinction between Americas almost ´fast-food-esqu´ hair and nail salons that are so prevaltent and the more formal salons here, which i still have yet to find one that i can get a hair cut at. So on the train ride this weekend on the way to Swityerland i had a very interesting conversation with a man concerning all sorts of things. He happened to be the great grand son of Jan Mikulicz-Radecki who he told me was a famous polish surgeon and was very innovative, this all came about because i told him i was a medical student. I later looked up the name that he gave me and Mikulicz was truly an influential surgeon in his time pushing the use of antiseptics and developing many techniques including a pyloric reconstruction. He is also thought of as one of the first surgeons to wear gloves and use gauze extensively. So we had a good conversation about that as well as dicussing may things about German history and politics. Most interesting to me was the fact that he was married to a Russian woman and so he was very involved and informed on Russian politics. He told me that many things told about Russian politics in European papers are fabricated and unrealistic. Because of Europes desires to maintain a higher position than Russia and a slight jealousy of their increasing worldwide economic importance. This was reiterated by a Russian investment banker who I met while white water rafting who independantly stated this fact. So I will be sure to double check all information i hear of Russian politics, even though they both said that the truth on Russia is hard to find in any English speaking paper. Other than that we talked about, as he called it, the population being "unwilling to discuss or face the past." after hearing this i was shocked since all i have seen and faced is a complete and utter desire to come to terms with the past. So i asked him of what social standing were these people who didnt want to face it and he told me the comprised the less educated less affluent, historically ´prolitariate´ class. His position on this comes as a TV producer who faces the demands and interests of the general populace, not the educated and politically minded group that i am used to coming into contact with here in Germany ( AIB staff, Host Family, Tour Guides, etc.) He claimed that it was from this working class, as well as the older generation, that has rejected the validity of the past and the problems that have faced this country. This is a dangerous as we must confront the past to change the future so we dont fall into the patterns that humanity is prone to. I am so interested in the social dicotomy of this country and how it is strangely similar to America and the southern provinces are notoriously conservative and the North is more industrial and moderate. Its dinner time for this family and i am off to eat. Cheers.

Host Family

Everyone has always said that it is better to stay with a host family than in a dorm. I can understand why. I have been in Germany for some 9 weeks now doing study abroad with A&M. The first program was about the German language and culture. I had a very nice host family with that program, but they were always very busy and I didn't get a chance to talk to them much. I never assumed that I lost any of my experience due to that. While looking back at this second program in Duesseldorf I realize that being able to spend time with a host family does make a difference. I have eaten together with my second host family and I have talked privately with my host family and I am getting alot more of both the Culture and Language in my History of Medicine program. Its amzing how large a role a host family can play on the overall experience. I find it imperative for a person to spend time with their host family in order to get the full experience. I;m not saying you can't have fun unless you spend every waking moment with your host family, but you won't leave as cultured and educated as you could be if you don't take the time to talk to them.

last week in Dusseldorf

Its monday morning and we're back at the AIB forout last week of class in Dusseldorf. I went to Interlaken, Swmitzerland this weekend and had a wonderful time. A group of us went canyoning while there, and it was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I was sick sick for a few days last week and it was not enjoyable, but luckily the antibiotics worked quickly and I was feeling better in a couple of days. I enjoyed Nuremberg and Munich last week. The Nazi documentation center and the concentration camp in Dachau were very interesting to see. You hear the horrors of how horrible the camps there but actually being in Dachau and seeing the barracks and gas chamber is not something that can be experienced without being there. I was very glad to finally arrive back in dusseldorf last night after a long week of being on the road. I enjoyed the comfort of a familiar place as I have felt homesick lately due to accidents happening to both of my parnets last week causing them both to have unexpected surgeries. They are both doing fine, but it is hard not to be there. Hanna and I have decided to stay in Dusseldorf for the last upcoming weekend and I am very glad. I will like the time here to relax and spend our last few days here with our host family. We are looking forward to using the extra time to see and enjoy ur last week in Dusseldorf.

Pick Pockets

I've always heard that pick pocketers were terrible in Prague; however, I can now say that I have seen them at work. While waiting for our train out of Prague, we were sitting on a random bench, some of us with our blackberries. Laura made a comment about how one guy looked a little shady and that we should keep our eyes on him. While he was pretty far away from us at the time, we did not want to risk anything, so we put our blackberries away and just sat people watching. That was when we noticed him scouting. He would scout the crowd, talk to a random person, then walk away. He wandered around talked to a few other people, but never really stayed with them, always lingering alone and without luggage. Finally, we watched him walk away, with all of the random people he had been talking to, the interesting thing was that he was walking as though he didn't know his friends. They were working as a team. We were too alert for them to try to take on the five of us, especially with our backs to a wall, but it was very interesting to see them and to realize what they were.

Prague

right now we are on our way back to dusseldorf. We decided to take a night train. Its about a 12 hour ride back, so we reserved a room with beds. Its a really tiny room with 6 beds. Its actually pretty cozy. Ive got a middle bunk, so im able to look out the window.
Anyway, the past 3 days we have been in prague. So far its has been my favorite weekend. Its a beautiful city with lots of historic buildings. I think i may have taken over a 100 pictures this weekend. The best part about this weekend was that i got to see lenka and zuska. They are two of my czech friends that i meet while working in yellowstone 2 summers ago. It was great seeing them again. All week i had been looking forward to it. Lenka was a big help this weekend, she was like our own personal tour guide. We would just tell her what we wanted to see and she would take us there.
For the first time this whole trip i can say that my legs are dead. Prague is an enormous city and we walked just about everywhere.
Most of the time i spent it with lenka and zuska. it was fun catching up with them telling each other about old stories about our time in yellowstone. The good byes earlier today were a lot easier than they were two years ago. Two years ago we didnt know if we would ever see each other again. For some reason, i feel that today wont be the last time i see them.

Interlaken

This weekend we went to Interlaken, Switzerland. We left from Munich on Friday morning. I enjoyed our time in Munich. It is my favrote city in Germany so far and even though beer is not my favorite drink, I enjoyed the beer and beergarten experience there. I was able to get a lot of presents for my family and friends there. Our tour guide was very intelligent and did a great job giving a tour of the city and of Dachau. Dachau as well as the Nazi Rally Grounds were both very moving places to be at. It is hard to stand there and think about all the terrible things that have happened in that exact place you are standing. After this experience, it was nice to have time to relax and reflect on the experiences of the past week. In Interlaken, we went canyoning yesterday. It was a lot of fun.I also wanted to do the bungy jump from the gondola but they were not doing it again until Monday. That was kind of disappointing but at least it saved me some money. We have enjoyed ourselves this weekend and have spent almost all of our time outdoors. It has been very refreshing and relaxing. The people here were not as friendly as people in other cities that we have traveled to. Our whole hostel was almost all American so I am sure that they get annoyed with tourists. However, I am starting to miss my friends and family a lot. I know that the next two weeks will go by faster than I think. Kim and I have decided to stay in Dusseldorf next weekend, relaxn work on our assignments and spend time with our host family. We might even try to cook them Mexican food if we can find all of the ingredients.

Interlaken

Munich..."little Texas"

Earlier in the program i heard someone say that everyone always enjoys munich. That it was the Texas of germany.
As soon as we got out of the bus in front of the hotel, a random person walking by said "enjoy your stay in munich." I dont ever remember being welcomed to a city by a random local pedestrian just walking by.
So far munich is my favorite city in germany. We will be going to Berlin our last week, so that could change. But it will be hard to change my mind. Before we got to munich we spent two days in nurmberg. The first day in nurmberg we visited the Zeppelin field and got to stand where Hitler stood. nurmberg is full of nazi history.
Near munich there is also another city near by called Dachau, where a concentraion camp was located. During the tour i learned new things on how the prisoners lived. How badly they were treated. in high school you read about it, but i guess its a whole different experience when youre actually there. Like i have read about the ovens they used to burn prisoners in, but when i saw one in person, it was hard to believe that in front of me probably hundreds, maybe thousands, of innocent people were ruthlessly killed. Same with standing inside the gas chamber. Although the one in Dachau was never actually used, its weird knowing what these "showers" were used for in other concentration camps.
On a happier note, the last night in munich was awesome. We went to touristy restaurant, cant think of the name right now, but it had that whole Baverian feel. You go in, sit at a table, and order a mas, which is a whole liter of beer. We sat there at talked and listened to a band play some local german "folk" songs. At one point they played Hey Jude, i thought that was pretty funny. I wish i would have taken pictures while i was there, but i may ask if i can get them from the others in facebook. By the end of the night i had two mases and was feeling good. I think everyone was, and i mean everyone at the place not just our group. I had conversations with a new person everytime i went to the restroom. Thats another example of the munich friendliness. On the way back to the hotel we met a guy from massachusetts. He walked with us to our hotel where i passed out.

Air drying on a hostel balcony

I'm sitting at the balcony of my hostel which lies in the Swiss Alps. Every time I look up it reminds me of how small I am. Giant mountains shoot up in all directions. As I look between two, I can see one shy mountain that is snow capped and barely showing his white head. There are paragliders everwhere and small RC planes zooming by. The rest of my group is off doing canyoning. I decided to enjoy a little down time and or alone time. Not that I don't enjoy the company of others in my group, I just miss being able to lock myself in my room for a little while...

Hallo

I am currently sitting on the balcony of my hostel room enjoying a gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps! I love Switzerland.I am looking foward to a weekend of outdoor relaxation... And horseback riding!
Yesterday we went to the Dachau concentration camp. It was intense. I don't mean to cut my thoughts short but I already video blogged about it and I don't want to kill my mood.
We went to the english garden afterwards. It was fabulous. We need more of those types of parks in the US. I wouldn't mind the nudists either! Us Americans need to not be so modest.
I need to start writing my paper pronto. I'm excited about it though. It's on how the US and Germany views drug testing on animals. I'm curious to see how we differ on that touchy issue.

German/Polish doctor's visit

Since I have been sick for 5 day and only getting worse. I decided to see a doctor to get some antibiotics. After asking for a nearby doctor at the apotheke, we went searching. The first doctor's office we found was only open from 8-11?? I found that a bit strange. The second office we visited saw kimberly and I nearly right away. Turns out that the doctor was polish and didnt speak any english. Even steffi had a hard time understanding him. After a short breifing of our symptoms, he proceeded with his examination. It included looking a kim's throat and listening to her chest, and looking at my throat and my ears. That's it. Nothing else. No weight measurement, no feeling the lymph nodes, no listening to my chest even though I the worse cough, nothing. He had the nurse take our tempurature only after I said I might have a slight fever, and then they took it in our armpits. Kinda old school... I dont know if thats the normal doctors visit in Germany, but I'm sure glad I dont have something serious, like mono, or else I'm sure it would have gotten over looked.

Paris

While I came to Paris with low expectations, I wasnt entirely dissapointed. The city is outrageously expensive and not as beautiful as I hoped. The Arc de Trimph was pretty cool. If you decide to not fork out the 9 euros to go up the eiffel tower. The Arc is only 5 and the symmetical streets fanning out are quite impressive. It also gives a good distance view of the eiffel tower. We visited the louvre, again museums... Not my favorite. While we were looking at the crown jewels, an alarm went off and big metal gates shut us in the room for a few minutes. I was hoping to see some kind of heist attempt, but it was just a false alarm. Bummer. We spent one of our nights with a bottle of wine on the lawn under the eiffel tower. Every hour, the light show makes it look like its sparkling with light flashes. It's really pretty. Would I recommend Paris? If you have no budget, time to spare, sure. But otherwise, I would recommend going to Prague or Amsterdam before Paris.

Praha

I heart Praha. I heart Praha. I heart Praha. Everyone should go here! Its cheaper and far more beautiful than most european cities I've visited.. We took a 20 min horse drawn carriage ride to see some of the city. Between the 6 of us, it only cost us 5 euros each. Not too shabby. You can spend an entire day walking around old town without being bored. We opted to do a pub crawl for our only night there. It was a lot of fun even though the free shots were disgusting. On our last day, we started walking to the castle, but never made it. It was really far and others told us you had to climb a ton of stairs to get there, so we opted to walking the bridge instead. Good choice. Although you have to cross a bridge to get to the castle, the main bridge is amazingly beautiful. If you dont make it up the castle, I highly recommend going up one of the bridge towers to catch a view of the city. Often overlooked, a bit far by train to duesseldorf, but well worth it.

Bavaria!

I am feeling a lot better and I really had fun in Bavaria. This is the Germany you think about before you actually come to visit. Our tour guide of Munich was wearing lederhosen. It was awesome. On thursday, a few of us visited the English garden. The park was gigantic and there were tons of naked people. I guess it just isn't a big deal here. I thought it was finny that they had some sort of chinese structure in the middle of the English garden, which is in a German city. We enjoyed lunch and then went to see the river surfers. I really wanted to try and borrow a board from a German dude, but we decided against it. That night most of the group went to the Ausgustine brewery. I drank a mass and that was more than enough beer for me. Now I am off to Intertlaken.

Well our week in bavaria is over, which is kind of sad because it was a lot of fun and we really got to see a lot of amazing things. After we left nuremberg, we spent a couple days in munich, which I loved and would definitely want to come back to some day! Our city tour was great and our tour guide was the best one we've had so far, I think. We really got a chance to learn about the city and its past and how much of that past is rooted in the nazis. Yesterday we went to dachau to the concentration camp and had the same tour guide, and it was all a really moving experience to be there where the prisoners actually were and hear their stories. That afternoon, we had some free time and so a few of us went to the english garden and that was so much fun, I only wish I had brought my bathing suit! :) and yes, there were definitely some naked people there but there were also a lot of people about our age just laying out in their swimsuits soaking up the sun and playing in the water, which wouldve been nice considering how hot it was. We also saw the wave at one corner of the park where people go and surf it. Its funny because there's a sign that says to not surf (it was in german obviously, but I got the gist of it!) But the sides are lined with surfers, some in wetsuits, waiting to throw their board in and have a turn. It was really cool to watch. On our walk back we saw a fender bender with three cars and accidentally walked through a movie set....so I would have to say those few hours were pretty eventful and if you ever just want to people watch, go to the english garden! Last night was fun, because most of us went to a beer hall and our tour guide even came which as great. So all in all, I really enjoyed munich and I really hope I can come back with my family. But now I'm on the train on my way to interlaken which should be really fun and of course, beautiful!

zurich...a little something for everyone

Ive never found shopping fun, at all. Back home i try to avoid malls or any shopping centers. And it was something i didnt expect to do in europe.
Saturday morning in zurich we woke up really early. I was excited because i was in a new city, and didnt know what it had to offer. For the second time on this trip, i was in a city that i seriously never heard of.
We headed out and walked around for a while. Nothing really too impressive. We just saw some little shops but everything was closed. After a while shops started opening up and they started shopping. For the people that love shopping, zurich is a great place.
Chris was looking at a city guide and found a hike we could do for free. I love hiking, and it would be cool to say that i went on a hike in the alps. I think they were the alps. Not sure, still need to look that up.
We went on this hike that had some kind of aligment with the planets. Every once in a while we would come across a planet on the path. The distances between the planets we proportional with the actual distance between the planets in the solar system. It took us several hours to finish but it was fun.
When we got back to the city we met up with the others. They were heading back to the hotel. We stayed in town for a while longer and walked around.
The real fun started later that night ;) Zurich was fun for all of us. There was shopping for the shoppers, and hiking for the hikers.

"PW to the Max"

...Just on on quote from Dr. Musser while in the Hofbrauhaus yesterday... We're on a train to Interlaken, Switzerland and I wish I was staying in Munich. The Bavarian culture is nothing less than awesome and I could have stayed an entire week longer. The odd thing about Munich is that it is what we Americans think of when we stereotype Germany, but Munich is somewhat seen as barbaric and not-German by the rest of the Deutsch.

Yesterday we went to the Dachau concentration camp. It was the only place I've visited that I couldn't take pictures of for my own reasons. I won't be bringing photos back because its not something to show people...its something that must be experienced in order to have a personal, emotional response. The brutality and inhumanity of the Nazis coupled with the suffering of the prisoners is not something I will forget. God have mercy on their souls because there was no mercy for them on this earth...

It's Friday morning, and I just checked out of our hotel in Munich. Wednesday and Thursday were really interesting days in that I learned a lot and was forced to think about things I had never really thought about before. One of the cities I have always wanted to visit was Munich, so I was happy when we finally arrived. Something that stood out to me was this woman walking along the street as we were all getting out of the bus, and she came up to us and wished a wonderful time in Munich! I had never ever seen this before. The only time someone has wished me a happy stay in any city was someone I had just given money to, such as a tour guide or a front desk clerk at a hotel. So I was really impressed by that (I'm easily impressed, I know). The hotel was nice in Munich, but I did not understand why they had us turn in our keys every time we left, and then gave it back to us when we came back, without asking for some form of ID. It seems like any Joe Schmoe could walk in and take my key. When I came back Thursday evening, he could not finy my key! It had disappeared. He tried to make me think I lost it, but oh no, I knew it was their fault so I stuck to my guns. But besides the hotel fiasco, Munich was really fun. I had no idea what a biergarten was, so that was cool going to a few of those. Munich had a lot of street performers in the shopping district, so that was really entertaining. And yesterday afternoon, I went to a church by myself, and just sat down and listened to the organ. It was nice to sit down and take a break from going, going, going all the time. Thursday when we went to Dachau I was really impressed. Random scenes of Schindler's List kept popping in my head. The thing that creeped me out was the showers. Although they claimed to have never been used, just the thought of tricking someone into believing that they are getting a shower by stepping into the next room, when you are really sending them to their death, disgusted me. I don't know how those people who did that could sleep at night. I don't know if I'll ever be able to comprehend how they could be so cruel to another creature. I'm saddened when I accidentally kick my dog, but to maliciously hurt another human blows my mind. I know I kind of talked about this in my last post, but I am amazed by this hatred. -Dustin. PS: I'm getting tired of bakeries, and I'm craving tex-mex food sooooo bad.

So Munich is definitely my favorite city in Germany so far. I wish I could have stayed there longer. There is great shopping and so many beautiful buildings. I especially liked walking into the churches that were all white inside. The English Garden is also a beautiful place, except for the occassional naked sunbather. There were a lot of people swimming, and there were surfers at the one part of the stream that makes a continuous wave. There is also the center of the garden that has food and of course, beer. Sarah and I each got a huge pretzel, which was really good. My dad has been in Munich around Christmas and says it is so nice there like right out of a postcard. I would love to see it then, but we definitely had some nice weather these past couple days.

We also went to the concentration camp yesterday. The tour was very ineteresting, but I have to say I did not enjoy being there. I hated being inside the barracks and I can't even imagine what it was like when people had to live there. Visiting there was definitely something everyone should experience, but now that I have been there I don't want to go back.

This was a fun week traveling around Germany, and I can't believe it is the weekend already. We are on the train to Switzerland and I hope we all have a great weekend!

munich is awesome!!!

I had so much fun in munich!!! I can't believe how much we are learning on this trip! The concentration camp was very interesting and an eye opener. You always here and learn about these places in school, but it is completely different when you witness it in person. Our tour guide in munich has been the best tour guide I've ever had. His amount of knowledge astounded me.

The english garden was another fun experience. It was beautiful and a great place to do anything. I think every city should have a park like that...only maybe without the nudity.

I'm excited to get back to dusseldorf. I love that city and can't wait to spend more time with my host family. I'm getting a little stressed about our papers that we have to write. I'm slow at assignments like this and I'm afraid its going to keep me from enjoying our last week in dusseldorf. I'm going to try to get atleast a third of it done this weekend. Well, I hope everyone has a good weekend!!!

Nurnberg

Those days in Nurnberg passed so quickly! I really enjoyed the Nazi Documentation center and the Congress Hall. The Congress Hall was eerily massive and imposing, as was the Tribune. I didn't know how much progress the Nazis had made in creating their "empire." The logic used in the architecture and the purpose of these buildings was so backward to me. The Congress Hall was to be really used just once a year...and to serve as a monolithic reminder of the Reich forever. The design of the Congress Hall, though never completed, was mythical and very intimidating. The Tribune was the same. Ironically, both structures were poorly constructed. They were built in haste to solidify the presence of the Reich. What did the people feel in Nurnberg? Were they scared, excited, or both. I think they felt both. Anxiousness from the power wielded by the Nazi's to remodel the lakeside, and excitement about that same power. The people must have felt a certain pride.


I wish that we had some more time in Nurnberg! We ate some Thai food the first night that was really delicious. The lady there cooked all the food and was so nice. The rain made the walk back home fun, too!

PS: can we put umlauts on our posts? I needed some in this post!

Nurnberg

Those days in Nurnberg passed so quickly! I really enjoyed the Nazi Documentation center and the Congress Hall. The Congress Hall was eerily massive and imposing, as was the Tribune. I didn't know how much progress the Nazis had made in creating their "empire." The logic used in the architecture and the purpose of these buildings was so backward to me. The Congress Hall was to be really used just once a year...and to serve as a monolithic reminder of the Reich forever. The design of the Congress Hall, though never completed, was mythical and very intimidating. The Tribune was the same. Ironically, both structures were poorly constructed. They were built in haste to solidify the presence of the Reich. What did the people feel in Nurnberg? Were they scared, excited, or both. I think they felt both. Anxiousness from the power wielded by the Nazi's to remodel the lakeside, and excitement about that same power. The people must have felt a certain pride.


I wish that we had some more time in Nurnberg! We ate some Thai food the first night that was really delicious. The lady there cooked all the food and was so nice. The rain made the walk back home fun, too!

PS: can we put umlauts on our posts? I needed some in this post!

Propaganda

As a group, we traveled to southern Germany this week, and one of our many stops was Nurenberg. Our tour of the history rich city brought us by the Congress Hall, present day home of the Documentation Center and a recording studio. The building, one of the very few Nazi ruins, was never actually completed. Its intended use was for a single day of one conference. I had very little interest int the conference, however. What absolutely fascinated me was how heavily the archetects, and in turn Hitler, used propaganda in the design. The congress hall itself was modeled after the Coloseum in Rome, a decision made in order to give the structure more credibility. If the structure had been completed, all light on the interior would point toward Hitler, to further emphasize that he was the chosen one. Near the Congree Hall is the Zeppelin Field. The tribune, a structure that looked onto the field, was modeled after Peregamon's Altar, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Hitler would speak from this structure, and the high ranking officers would be up there as well. The steps that he decend to get to the podium were small so he would have to desend slowly, and he would slowly go out of sight. Then, the ascending steps were tall, steep, and he would appear quickly to an awed crowd. While I am sure I have inadequately conveyed the purpose for all of these minute details in the archetecture, the overall point I am attempting to make is that Hitler focused so much on every little thing. Appearance was everything, and while I had know propaganda played a huge role in his rise to power, actually being there and seeing it made me fully understand what propaganda is.

Zurich

Switzerland was absolutely beautiful. We went to Zurich the 21 and 22 of July. The trip down wasn't too long, which was nice, and we had an hour layover during which time we were able to get some supper.
I believe my favourite part of the trip was seeing the scenery, the beautiful hills. We were just on the edge of the alps in Zurich, so the mountains weren't that tall, but the green was so beautiful. I absolutely love the green.
We spent a lot of the day wandering around the beautiful little side streets of Zurich. They were quaint, very European with their little cobble stone roads. In the afternoon, we relaxed by the lake, stuck our feet in the water, and just enjoyed being in Switzerland.
The only downside to the weekend was that things were much more expensive in Zurich. While that may have had something to do with the currency change, it was still disconcerting to see such high prices.

I really love munich. It seems happy with its lederhosen wearing, liter of bier drinking germans and easy going atmosphere. So far this week we have had some authentic german sauercraute, nuremburg sausages, cheese dumplings, horse radish, and dunkel weisse. Most of the week we've learned about the nuremburg trials and nazi rallies. It was really creepy to walk on the same steps as hitler did when he watched the marches on zeppelin field. The nazi propaganda architecture throughout nuremburg was interesting to see. I know I'll never see anything like that in any other country. All of the history pertaining to the war this week has been overwhelming. I always had a fascination with ww2 but actually being in the cities where events happened that changed world history has been sobering. Before it seemed to me like such a long time ago - not very relevant to me, but the effects here are so much greater than I realized that it all seems more real to me than ever. People here still have very strong feelings about it. Although my grandparents lived through it I've never heard them say a word about what it was like. I don't know if it is necessarily because I was uninterested or poorly taught - I think learning about something is incomparable to seeing at least glimpses of it and hearing anecdotes about individuals that lived it.

Dachau

Today we visited the concentration camp of Dachau. The experience is hard to describe but I am very glad I went. We had a led tour through the camp and saw many of the main places and buildings of the camp including the crematorium and the gas chamber, which was never used. I thought the camp was very well maintained in terms of cleanliness and whatnot. Although alot of the buildings were destroyed after the war, one can still get the general scope of how things were. Its one thing to hear about and see pictures of a concentration camp, but it is a completely different experience to actually visit one. When you actually walk around where the prisoners did and actually see the conditions that they were subjected to it hits home. There were also multiple memorials at the camp. Some were in the form of Art while others were the typical plaques. There were also two religious memorials present. The experience as a whole was a rewarding one and I have only one complaint about the visit. It has nothing to do with the camp and the tour but rather with a few people I saw there. There were alot of German school tours which I found very good but I saw a group of 3 people posing for a picture in front of the main gate smiling. Im not against documenting ones experiences but I felt this was horribly inappropriate given what took place there. I wish I had a little bit more time to look around and reflect but it was a good trip nonetheless.

Bruges

Although some of my travel buddies have posted their comments on Bruges, I thought it would be good to provide more input.

Our trip began with an overnight train ride that nearly became a complete disaster. The tickets sold to us at the Düsseldorf hauptbahnhof were for the previous night's train, not the one we needed to ride. Luckily, Andrew was able to use his German proficiency to work something out with the man on the train. I thought we were in big trouble, because German's are well known for sticking to the rules.

After a good night's sleep we arrived in Bruges to a relatively quiet city. Following breakfast, we toured the city and the market, and visited a brewery that made really good wheat beers. After our beer, we made what I think was the worst decision we have made since coming to Germany. We ate at a place called Pickle's that fries unidentified meats/stuff and serves them with more fried food. I really thought I was going to throw up on our boat tour, and scare away all of the tourists that suffer from sea-sickness. Last, but not least, Andrew and I bought the last two copies of Harry Potter.

Overall, Bruges is a great city for anyone that wants a nice, calm get-away. The chocolates are great too.

Last Weekend

Alright, update time!!!

So Bruges this weekend was awesome and a daz was just the right ammount of time to go there, visit, shop a bit, and not be in debt or bored afterward. Upon arrival we had breakfast in which I got orange juice, coffee, an egg, bacon, a waffle with sugar, a croissant, and two rolls all for 10.70. Joey somehow managed to get a waffle, coffee, and orange juice for 15 euro, weird.

After that we wandered around, bought some chocolate to snack on along the way, checked out the little markets which had nothing interesting or really expensive stuff. We went on our death march into the middle of nowhere until we realized we passed the brewery we were looking for, the beer was amazing once we got there.

THEN we had lunch in which Andrew and Joey nearlz cried because they got sick from a few bites whereas I at everything and a little bit of theirs and was great. We took a nice boat tour, bought Harry Potter (that last one ahhhhhhh), and then headed off home after picking up a ton of incredible Belgian chocolate.

Thats my weekend experience prettymuch in a nutshell. I'll update once this week is through and I have time to reflect.

Bavaria

So far, Bavaria is my favorite place in Germany. On Monday, we ventured through some holy ruins in a nice light rain. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the beauty of old structures that have become part of nature.

Upon arrival in Nürnburg, we took a tour through the town. Personally, my favorite part of the town was the brewery a few of us visited after our failed attempt at covering the Nürnberg trials. We tried all four types of beers, and I would have to say my favorite beer was a light wheat beer that came in 0,5 L glasses. I was able to succesfully order a meal in German as well. I am finally getting close to knowing all of the basics for ordering food.

After Nürnberg, we travelled to München and toured around with a really great tour guide. I really enjoyed the tour of Dachau. It is sickening to see what people are capable of when sufficiently brainwashed. Hearing the stories of prisoner abuse made me reflect of the dark psychology that causes people to act in such a sadistic manner. The video confronted me with sad thoughts as well. I can only imagine the emotions that ran through the prisoners minds as they were released from concentration camps. It is depressing to know that the nazis were bent on psychological abuse as well as physical abuse.

On a side note, sorry for the blank post below :/

München

Dachau today. Wow what a powerful place there was just so much pain hanging in there air there still. I was struck by the sheer mass of the place there and how many people die/were killed on a daily basis and to hear that Auchwits(sp?) was 40 times bigger was such a staggering phrase that it is hard to imagine the people in these places coming out with any shred or hope for humanity. I is tough to think about but so so important for this country and for the World to think about. I cant help but think about the inhumanities that have occured since the war and why little was done to prevent or end them. The conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East displayed miserable consideration for human life. Our own American troops disregarded the safety and humanity of many citizens during the Vietnam War and even know in Africa where genocides and hateful behaviour has always occured. As well as in North Korea where we have no information on the living conditions of the people other than the horrible stories from the lucky ones who are able to sneak across into South Korea. In some ways North Korea now reminds me of what the world must have felt like pre WWII when stories would leak out but no one actually knew about these camps, and even now we dont know what is going on in North Korea, nor do we have an idea about what the furture will hold as far as foreign relations go with that country. It is hard to image that in our 'modern' world we can allow this to happen and turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to these travesties. This is not to say that nothing is being done for these people, because amazing things are being done around the World on a Daily Basis and humanity is being shown. However it continues to go on, and selfcenteredly or obliviously we contiue with our daily lives with out a thought or a prayer thrown to these areas. Not that there is anything wrong with the American Daily life, but for those that have gone and seen these horrible things, and the students today that saw some of these things (rampant uncured disease, living conditions unfit for animals, and a complete and udder disregard for and semblance of humanity in a being of the same species and same history as yourself) for the first time I feel that it would be impossible to continue life the same after KNOWING that these things still happen. not shrugging a complacent shoulder at the disdain of the past and counting it as just that, barbaric and horrible but in the past, thinking that we have come so far from the things that happened in WWII. But it does occur, daily and with similar disdain for man. For me a huge part of coming to terms with the past, for Germany and for the World, is to make absolutely certain that this never happens again, but what do we do now that it is happening and has happened in some respect ever decade since the Holocaust occured. So that for me is healing the past and the point of going to Dachau and seeing these grotesque pictures and hearing these blood curdling stories, knowing that we are not above horrible actions against mankind because we live in a modern World, but that the Human Psyche is still able to carry out monstrous actions against man, HUMAN beings; brothers, sisters, and kin. We must know this and we must know how to stop it now and prevent it further.
Other than that we have been to Nurnberg which was such a delightful little city, the castle was quite a sight and the city has such a great history. Nurnberg and München are growing together as some of my favorite cities of this country. I love the atmosphere here and the way that they live their daily lives immersed in history and surrounded by traditions and antiquated buildings. Last weekend was great for me to get away with my roommate Houston to Milano, Italia. We spent all Saturday on Lake Como soaking the sun and catching up on life, but only after we spend Friday night running around confused looking for the flat we were supposed to stay in that night. I had arranged for us to stay with a friend who was teachign english in Milan but i didnt her address silly me so we finally found her and it was so great to hear and tell about friends from back at home and see a bit more of the Italian culture. It is so different there and that will be saved for another Blog post as the first Paragraph probably cost me a few € itself. Cheers.

This week has really gone by fast! Monday we went to Bingen and I really enjoyed the interesting tour about the abbess there who wrote various important medical and theological papers. It seemed odd to me that everyone accepted these papers as fact and she was never ridiculed for what she wrote. Some of the things such as different metals and stones having different healing properties sounded preposterous! I guess I have a hind-sight bias however. Tuesday was really interesting in that we got to see all of nurenberg. I was a little disappointed in that we didn't get to go inside to the actual courtroom where the trials occurred, but it was interesting in that the rooms still functioned as useable courtrooms and had not been set aside. I really enjoyed the Nazi museum, because the films shown in the museum were quite moving, yet they were really informative. The picture in that museum that will stay in mind for a very long time is the picture of the Nazi officials who had been executed by hanging. There they were laying there, some of them still with the noose around their necks. I have always been verey interestewd by WW2 stuff, because I have always been amazed how cruel they were to other humans. Even if they were considered subhuman by them, which is ridiculous, how could they be that cruel to another living creature? It blows my mind. Note: this was written tuesday evening I just. Never got around to posting it.

Historical Immersion

It seems like such a long time since I've posted. It's a bit difficult when we are always so busy and tired and can't get much time on an actual computer. I suppose I'll start by saying I tried horse meat (pferdefleisch)! I liked it too! Yes, I may love horses but I do support their use as food animals. They are, afterall, still livestock.
we watched a film about the White Rose, which was excellent although very hard for me to watch at the end given what I just went through last month.
I went to Zurich this past weekend with some people. Oh my gosh I want to move there. I've fallen in love with Switzerland.
This week we are on the road. We spent the past two days in Nuremberg, with a quick stop in Bingen and to the ruins of Hildegard's monestary. The ruins were fantastic! If it hadn,t been raining, I could have explored for hours.
We're also learning a great deal about Nazi Germany- something that fascinates me. I guess it's hard to fathom how so many people got sucked into the movement and/or fell victims to it. Yesterday we saw the documentation center and the zepplinfield. I got chills down my spine when I stood in the exact place where Hitler did.
Tomorrow is our trip to Dachau. I've been looking foward to this part of the trip since I signed up. I believe to understand fully what happened, one has to actually see where it happened.

nuremberg and munich

We are currently on the way to Munich from Nuremberg. I am feeling much better today than yesterday, so hopefully today's events will be more enjoyable! I thought the Nazi documentation center was very neat to see. I was amazed at the architecture and size of the stadium and area where the Nazi rally parties used to be held. I look forward to learning more when we visit the site of the concentration camp in Dachau. I'm sure it will be tough to see the history of it and the conditions people were put in.I am looking forward to the city tour of Munich, because I know it is a beautiful city. I hope the weather will be warmer and more enjoyable than in Nuremberg, and the sickness going around will stop and everyone can have an enjoyable. Rest of the week and weekend.

On the road again

We are back on the bus headed to Munich, which I am way excited about. I did enjoy Nuremberg these past two days. There is so much history there. And getting to stand where Hitler once did overlooking the Zeppelin Field was definitely an experience, not something I can easily describe though. The thing that interested me most was how even the architecture of the Nazi's was propaganda. The Congress Hall was intended to influence people using facades and lighting. If it had been completed with the designed roof then Hitler would have appeared at the center of all the light. The Nazi's also used ancient architecture to give justification to their power, such as the Congress Hall resembling the Coloseum. The Documentation Center was very interesting, and it was amazing how they incorporated modern architecture. There was so much that we learned yesterday, but it's time for our lecture on the bus that we missed last night! Later!

southern germany

This week we are on the road for a trip to southern Germany. Our bus sounds terrible because everyone is coughing. I hope that I do not get any sicker. I have been taking a lot of vitamin c so hopefully that will hold it off. I have enjoyed this week a lot so far. The city tour of Nurnberg is the best city tour that we have had so far. We also went to the Nazi rally grounds and documentation center. I got a creepy feeling standing outside in the middle of all of this reflecting on the past events at this location. The documentation center was not really what I expected. I guess I thought there would be more about the crimes committed during the war and about all of the people that had died. I find it interesting that the documentation center did not open until 2001. This gives you an idea of just how hard it is for Germany to deal with their past, but also shows their efforts to deal with the situation and to make sure it does not happen again. I still enjoyed the center despite that it was not what I expected. I liked being able to go through there on my own and to sit and reflect on what had happened. I think that this week will be one of the best parts of the trip.

southern germany

On the road

Well we have been traveling on the road for some time now. I have noticed a few things about travel in germany. We are traveling with a bus and I must say that our bus driver is quite impressive. There have been multiple scenarios where he has maneuvered the bus like a smart car. The radio on the bus plays a collection of music that is impossible to predict. Granted some of the songs are German folk songs but nonetheless...I normally wouldn't expect Dolly Parton followed by the Grease soundtrack.

We have stopped so far in Nuremberg and are now on our way to Munich.I knew that these cities had some involvement with the Nazis during their time of power but I never the extent. Nuremberg was basically a nazi city, with everything revolving around the party. There was some impressive architecture but unfortunately some of it was destroyed during or after the war. For me the most impressive site was zeppelin field. Although the grounds aren't complete or decorated, the grandiose is undeniable. Its a scary thought to think of the place filled with the nazi supporters. It really offers an insight to how important show of power was at that time. I'm excited to be traveling to Munich and can't wait to hear the stereotypical brass band over a stein full of beer.

wow

Last weekend we went to Bruges for a day and it was fun. We ate some Belgium waffles and they were amazing. We took another night train which is always so much fun. On Sunday I spent the day with my host family. We had a huge breakfast and then the whole family went for a walk along the Rhein and we drank some coffee and had icecream. Meredith and I wanted to go shopping but everything was closed, and I mean everything!!!

On Sunday afternoon Meredith and I witnessed a purse mugging that contained a lot of chasing and screaming right in front of us and ended in the mugger being pushed hard to the ground by two large men.

Southern Germany has been great so far. Getting to see the exact places where the nazis and Hitler rose to power has been incredible. Learning all of this about the Nazis makes me sad, but extremely frustrated and even angry. I'm really looking forward to our time in Munich and visiting the concentration camp.

I'm on the bus on the way to munich right now and so far my week in southern germany has been amazing and probably my favorite days since I've been in europe. Yesterday we took a tour of nuremberg in the morning and then went to the nazi documentation center in the afternoon. Its one thing to read and learn about the holocaust and the nazis in school and at our monuments but to be here where history really happened is really indescribable. We went to zeppelinfeld and stood in the spot where hitler stood and that's something that you don't get from reading books or visitng museums. That afternoon we visited the nazi documentation center which I really found fascinating. It was so interesting because the common theme seemed to be hitler's use of propaganda to slowly convince people to follow him and build himself into a god. he became fuhrer, chancellor, and president eventually. And he was ultimately trying to convince the people he was their savior. It was interesting to think about how someone could convince such a huge amount of people to almost worship him and follow him blindly, but it really can happen. And we think it could never happen to us, but these were people just like us and when you are desperate for a job and any means to take care of your family, there's no telling what could happen and it was probably a population of people experiencing this and they just turned a blind eye to the horror that was occurring to some of their own neighbors. It talks in the bible about the antichrist and one day he will come and promise peace and unity to the world and he will be so convincing that many will follow him and that's scary to think about and we think it never could but unless we are aware of the past and alert then we to can be susceptible. So all in all, learning more about this culture that hitler was creating really makes me think about how important that we as people are discerning as to what we really take to heart.

Too much vitamin C

Now that I have taken my tablets containg over a ten times the vitamin C I need, I am ready to blog. The whole group seems to be passing something around, and I hope we can pull out of it soon.

Bingen was a beautiful. I think I counted five castles on the way down the hill in the bus. The Hildegarde museum was pretty neat. Hildegarde was an amazing woman. She lived almost twice as long as most women of her time and made breakthroughs in medicine, art, music, and religion. The group then visited the site where she grew up. Walking amongst ruins that were at leasta thousand years old was definitely an experience. When I am in America, my family likes to take trips to Colorado and hike in the mountains. Most of the time we hike up to old boarding houses or gold mines. These might be a hundred or two hundred years old. Then I get to explore ruins five times that old. Amazing. Europe has such a longer history to it.

Yesterday, the group visited Nurnbourg. The Nazi methods used here were very interesting to me. They planned every detail to give the image of power and strength as a united group. From the coliseum like facade to the size of the steps at the zepellin field. Just from the pictures of the castle of lights, I can tell it must have been an intimidating experience. The site made me question what I would have done if I had lived in Germany at that time. I would like to say I would have resisted the movement, but how can I know without the same shoes. I can only be glad that the past is acknowledged and remembered.

Too much vitamin C

Now that I have taken my tablets containg over a ten times the vitamin C I need, I am ready to blog. The whole group seems to be passing something around, and I hope we can pull out of it soon.

Bingen was a beautiful. I think I counted five castles on the way down the hill in the bus. The Hildegarde museum was pretty neat. Hildegarde was an amazing woman. She lived almost twice as long as most women of her time and made breakthroughs in medicine, art, music, and religion. The group then visited the site where she grew up. Walking amongst ruins that were at leasta thousand years old was definitely an experience. When I am in America, my family likes to take trips to Colorado and hike in the mountains. Most of the time we hike up to old boarding houses or gold mines. These might be a hundred or two hundred years old. Then I get to explore ruins five times that old. Amazing. Europe has such a longer history to it.

Yesterday, the group visited Nurnbourg. The Nazi methods used here were very interesting to me. They planned every detail to give the image of power and strength as a united group. From the coliseum like facade to the size of the steps at the zepellin field. Just from the pictures of the castle of lights, I can tell it must have been an intimidating experience. The site made me question what I would have done if I had lived in Germany at that time. I would like to say I would have resisted the movement, but how can I know without the same shoes. I can only be glad that the past is acknowledged and remembered.

On the way to Munich...

Monday we were in Bingen, I assume on the way Nuremberg. In the morning we went to a museum in town and learned about Hildegard of Bingen and the grave of a Roman doctor. Though the extensive abilities and knowledge of Hildegard was interesting (visions, medicine, language, etc.), she was wrong or misguided often. I don't see the benefit in treating wounds by soaking cloth in wine and placing any emerald on top, but thats just me. What I was very impressed by was the high quality of the surgical instruments used by the Roman doctor. Centuries before Hildegard, some of these tools are very similar to what is used today. The ruins of Hildegard's abbey had any awe-inspiring feeling, though I don't think Dr. Wasser appreciated our comment that it was set up perfectly for paintball.

Yesterday in Nuremberg we had the opportunity to tour the city, including various Nazi ruins. Standing in front of these enormous structures, it was possible to see how a down-trodden and bitter German people were able to get sucked into the myth of Hitler and destiny as the master race. They were built for grandeur and even impress people in our modern age. In the documentation center, we were able to trace Hitler's rise to power and how the opposition, both domestic and foreign, allowed it to grow until it was too late. He was able to systematically destroy the other parties in Germany with little to no outcry, transforming on on democracy into any ultimate dictatorship aimed solely at war. Oh, and he was insane and a megalomaniac, until the very end. Thats all I got for now...

Nurnberg sausages with horseradish... not mustard

Week 3
These past couple days have been hard because everyone is starting to wear down and fall under the weather. I, myself, had to stop by the apotheke to get some meds and everyone has been popping cough drops left and right.

We've had a few lectures on Nazi Germany and Hitler recently. It's amazing how one man can convince so many to follow his ridiculous ideas. I realize they were not just his ideas but a group's ideas. But it's incredible the things they accomplished. Well besides all of the evil things I mean. Their architecture is nothing but massive and impressive and most still stands today.

Nurnberg and Bingen were rich in German heritage. The ruins of Disibodenberg was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen before in my life. I felt like I was walking through the set of a movie or something. The stones that remained were grown over with grass and trees. I was in a different world.

Favorite days so far

So far europe has been amazing. Two days stand out to me. I experienced something i had never experienced before one day and the next day we went on a boat trip that brought back so many great memories.
Last tuesday we had a day excursion to a heart and diabetes centre. I was really excited because i knew this was the day i was going to watch open heart surgery in person for the first time . My friend Mas, who was in the program last year, had told me about it. I must admit the first couple of hours at the hospital were a bit disappointing. We stood around and "learned" about MRI's. It wasnt really interesting to me. Except when they allowed us to perform little experiments with a piece of metal to see how powerful the MRI was.
After that things got interesting. First we had lunch in the cafeteria that was delicious. Then we finally got seperated into groups. Each group went to a different operation that was being performed. Unfortunately the engineers had to stay behind and watch a presention. Anyway, first we went into the docs office and showed us what was wrong with each patient. After that larry, kendall, and i went into the dressing room and changed into some scrubs. Finally we got into the surgery room. We were able to stand over the patient and watch them perform the surgery. Luckily one of the doctors spoke english so we were able to ask questions. We stood there for about 45 minutes. In the end i didnt want to leave. I wanted to watch them sew the patient back up. When we changed back into our clothes i kept the mask.
The next day we went on a boat trip on the Rhine. The scenery was beautiful. It reminded me so much of Yellowstone. Two summers ago i spent all summer in yellowstone and went on many hikes and mountain climbs. I just sat at the back of the boat away from every one and thought about that summer. After the ride, we climb up to a castle and took a tour. It was pretty cool.
Well those are the best two days of the trip so far, other than the weekends which are always great.

Switzerland!

What a beautiful country. Clean streets, prompt trains, and enormous banks characterize Zurich. The chocolate debate is over now, because I am positive that Swiss chocolate beats Belgian chocolate. I must have eaten a kilo of sweets this past weekend! The Swiss chocolatiers made such visually beautiful confections that they seemed too fragile and perfect to eat! I especially like the Luxemburgerli sweet. I really can't describe it well enough to do it any justice. They were absolutely wonderful.

I'm beginning to sound like a chocoholic, I think. That's alright, I would rather fall in love with these chocolates rather than Hershey's! I don't know if I can ever go back to that!

Besides the glorious treats, Zurich was really worth visiting. We rested beside the Zurich See and waded into the water. We wandered through busy flea markets. We mistakenly stumbled upon countless couples kissing intently and without distraction.
Europe's rules for PDAs are a little different than those in the states. Most customs are different, and that is why it is worth visiting. Also, it is hard to guess which language you will hear from people in the street. They speak German, French, Italian, and usually English too. Swizterland was a really interesting place!

well, it's been almost a week now.

Two things: I am growing fond of the mineral water. I loathe the bottle caps that have an attached ring.

Last wednesday, we had the Rhine tour. I actually almost missed Loreley and I have to say she was a little anticlimatic. I had this big rock that split the river in two envisioned in my head. Still, cutting through the rolling hills all topped with castles on the river was beautiful. We topped the afternoon off with a hike to one of those castles and wine tasting. I really enjoyed the last wine that went down like kool-aid. I also got to eat schnitzel for the first time that day. It was just as good as my friend told me it would be.

The highlight of Thursday was the trip to the Koln zoo, where we got an up close view of their baby elephant. It reminded me of a scene from Jurrasic Park. The elephant kept blowing his horn with ferocious force and the gates were all electronically locked and retracted. It was some time getting to see the trainer feed the elephant. The animal really seemed to have a relationship with the trainer and the trainer probably slept at the park most nights.

On friday, we watched a movie about Sophie Scholl, a university student who stood up to the Nazi movement. Her courage to hold on to her own convictions was inspiring. I believe i would have cracked under all that pressure.

I spent that weekend in Zurich. It was a beautiful city with a river running up the middle. On Saturday, i hiked the planetenweg, or the planetary way. It was a trail leading along a ridge above zurich. Along the path, models of the planets of our solar system were mounted at scaled distances along the path. The set-up was realling laughable because most of the planets just looked like little beebees. Pluto was also included. The best part of Zurich was the lecker chocolate. It was surprisingly cheap compared to everthing else sold in that city. Also, the money there was amazing. It looked like it should have been in an art museum instead of stuffed in your jean pockets.

Anyways, my fingers are tired of pecking at this blackberry as evidenced by the typos.

20.7.2007 pre-Paris

Again, a late posted post, but I swear I will get it on time soon!

Hallo! So were on the train to Paris, and I'm really not all that excited. Everyone keeps saying that if you come to Europe, you go to Paris. Well, what if I dont want to do what everyone else does? I really didnt want to spend another weekend in a giant city with lots of other people, but a young lady just cant go anywhere by herself. I didnt want to go to Zurich- saw the airport and that was enough for me, had to pay 20 euro cents for a packet of ketchup whereas in texas it comes in a pump and you get it for free. So, i'm going to Paris, city of love... Ug. We did meet 2 Americans on the train who have spent some time in Paris who gave some good advise as to where to visit, what not to waste your money on, and of course, where to party. Side note- today's movie about the White Rose members and their trials as nazi war traitors was amazing. Sad, but amazing. I can't understand how she was so strong through the entire interrogation and sentencing. Her story should not go untold. More to come on Paris...

20.7.2001

Hallo! So were on the train to Paris, and I'm really not all that excited. Everyone keeps saying that if you come to Europe, you go to Paris. Well, what if I dont want to do what everyone else does? I really didnt want to spend another weekend in a giant city with lots of other people, but a young lady just cant go anywhere by herself. I didnt want to go to Zurich- saw the airport and that was enough for me, had to pay 20 euro cents for a packet of ketchup whereas in texas it comes in a pump and you get it for free. So, i'm going to Paris, city of love... Ug. We did meet 2 Americans on the train who have spent some time in Paris who gave some good advise as to where to visit, what not to waste your money on, and of course, where to party. Side note- today's movie about the White Rose members and their trials as nazi war traitors was amazing. Sad, but amazing. I can't understand how she was so strong through the entire interrogation and sentencing. Her story should not go untold. More to come on Paris...

not for everyone, but right for some

Now that i fixed my blogging problems: here is a paste of a prewritten blog about Amsterdam:


A few words on Amsterdam: don't go if you are easily offended by things that are not typically permitted in America. The city is filled with people who come to enjoy theses activites, so don't expect to be completely surrounded by anything less than drugs, sex, and alcohol at all times of the day. Even at museums, you will spot at least a few people who have obviously indulged in the typical amsterdam activities beforehand. Multiple times we saw people on drugs completely out of their mind, dancing in the streets, cursing out walls, or tying to sell you cocaine. Aside from Amsterdams oddities, it really is a great city. The streets are charming, and the muesums are world famous. We visited the Ann Frank house, which is the original hide out of her family and another family, during the nazi occupation. It was really interesting, but I had never read her diary, so I was a bit clueless. While we were in the Ann Frank house, I missed my train, but luckily part of our group was staying until the morning, so it wasn't a big problem. The only problem occured once we got back to duesseldorf. We got a little disoriented and managed to go the wrong way on the s-baun, so we ended up being 2.5 hours late to the first day of school. Oops! But I dont think we missed much that couldnt be made up.

6 zurich

This weekend we went to zurich switzerland. it was exactly the kind of relaxing weekend I needed. Although zurich is notoriously expensive, the real attraction of the city was the beautiful surroundings. We didn't have to spend money on museums or admittance to landmarks. We just leisurely walked down the interesting ancient shopping streets of antique bookstores, art, and swiss chocolates (by the way the best chocolate thus far. I think chocolate accounted for a few of my "meals"). The river forms a lake in the middle of the city with many sailboats and swimmers and old houses embedded into the hillside. I took a much needed nap on the grass in a park in front of the lake. There has been so much information to take in and so little time to relax - zurich came at just the right time. I think it will take me a month or two after I get back home for my mind to process everything we have seen and done in europe. And it just keeps getting better. We are on our way to munich and nuremberg now and I still haven't even seen berlin!

Here's to brother larry...

We're on our way to Bingen to learn about on on woman I've never heard of, but thanks to Dr. Wasser, we have presentations on our blackberrys to give us some background. We 've got about a 2 hour bus ride ahead, plenty of time for a nap...

This weekend we went to Paris, which was definitely an experience, for better or worse. The French are notoriously rude, and with good reason. I will say that all the people we dealt were nice, its just the general public on the streets who gave us problems.

I don't know if I've ever walked so much in my life... In one day we went to the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. To be able to see art such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Virgin on the Rocks was incredible. Though not all that impressive during the day, the Eiffel Tower was extremely cool at night. We had the chance to sit on the grass and drink wine, while watching the tower light up and singing Larry's favorite song. We left the next day at around one, which gave us some much needed rest before this week's marathon through southern Germany, which I'm pretty excited about.

Here's to brother Braden, brother Braden, brother Braden... Here's to brother Braden who's with us tonight

Ahh... Finishing up a weekend in gay Paris honh, honh, honh... (Said with a french accent). Not to be negative, but Paris was not one of my favorite cities. I enjoyed the sights we saw and our time there but I just don't know. I mean who would want to stay an extended period of time in a town where people are notorious for not shaving, BO, riding vespas, everything being rediculously expensive, and constantly smoking? Not this guy (pointing at myself with my two thumbs). Atleast I can say I've been there right? I did see the impressive Arc de Triopmh which was arc de awesome. Then we walked around the Notre Dame Cathedral. We wanted to go in, but after all the walking we had done that day we didn't want to stand in a two hour line. There was also Le Louvre, a gynormous museum. It was not only monumental in size, but also in the amount of art that it held. We walked through my favorite part, the Italian religious paintings. Last, but not least, we ended up at the infamous Eiffel Tower. We arrived just before dark after we'd eaten dinner on the river. We were fortunate enough to see the tower lit up at night as well as the light show that came on every hour or so. B dawg, Kendall, Kat and I sat together on the lawn next to the tower and drank wine and had snacks. I can say with the view in the background this was definitely something out of a movie.

Maybe I don't like Paris so much... But I'm glad I went and I had a good time.

Consuming in Excess

I am not quite sure exactly when it hit me but at some point this weekend in Paris it hit me that we do everything in excess. From our homes to running water to electricity to toilets to food. Its all in excess and we consume so much. I realized how Europw is tackling their problems head on and how we dodge around half of ours while the other half we don't even view as a problem. Let's see..Europe is very energy efficient. Lights are off when no one is in that room, toilet water levels are lower- hell there are even two kinds of flushes. Dishwashers and laundry are not done until complete loads and I even noticed the washer spouting short bursts of water innermittantly instead of filling up half a bath tub like ours. I see people walking and exercising and riding bikes and public transportation. This prevents obesity with which we lead worldwide and also people are not as dependent on petroleum. Cars are small yet efficient. Hybrids and elecricity are all helping. For the US to be able to stand on its own feet its going to have to reduce its dependency on oil. Its like a crutch you can't live without. And the progression of solving this issue is so slow that it'll never get done. I think its going to take a government mandate with a deadline to improve efficiency and find other fuel alternatives. And the flex fuel is a joke. It may be cleaner granted, but it crushes your MPG and it takes a whole lot more energy to make. Furthermore its depleting the supply of corn which is driving up demand and I am still paying out of my pocket. Windmills for energy.. I see them everywhere. Solar panels, etc.. There is even a deposit to get back for glass. These are all good incentives. All of this has just really opened my eyes and all I see back home is a country in excess and a country that wastes. Am I a part of this country? Yes. Do I still call it home? Yes. But do I see some changes that really need to occur sooner then later? Absolutely. This new found awareness has opened my eyes and I hope I can contribute with a positive influence when I get back home. I wish we could all have our eyes opened every once in a while.

Well I'm in Paris for the weekend, we just got in last night and so far it has been a great weekend! Today we went the Louvre and saw Notre Dame but there was such a long wait that we didn't go in....we did see the mona lisa though..of course :) and it was so small but people were crowded all around it so it was hard to get too close. But the rest of the day we just walked around A LOT! But it was worth it and tonight we are going to sit in front of the eiffel tower and drink our wine that we got at the wine tasting so I'm excited to get to see it all lit up...so, I'm also really excited about travelling this weekend to the southern part of germany and seeing munich and nuremburg...and also it'll be fun to travel altogether as a group for a week. After seeing the movie about Sophie Scholl on Friday, I'm even more excited about seeing Munich and getting to see the memorial. I can't believe I hadn't heard of her before because she was really an amazing person and was so courageous all the way until the very end. So, I think having seen that movie will make our trip that much more significant.......ok well, I'm off to the eiffel tower to enjoy the rest of my weekend in Paris!

Omelette and a Beer. its noon and I am in Paris

I am currently sitting in the louvre and am fascinated by everything I have taken in. I think you could easily spend a few days in here. A lot of people tend to be art OR science but I really can have an appreciation for both. The talent of these artists overwhelms me. And its really intriguing to strike up a conversation with someone and ask "what does this mean to you" type stuff. I like how art is flexible and can be interpreted. Paris is the most expensive city we have been in yet. I really enjoy the open cafes on street corners. I think that has been one of my favorite parts of Europe so far. I also like how studying abroad opens my eyes past college station and texas to what the world really is and what it means to me. Now its not flat 2D on a map. I am in the experience and cultivating my own opinions as I go along. This trip has also furthered my desire to become a doctor but I will get into that later. I am quickly approaching the Venus de Milo

Zuerich weekend

This long weekend is going to be a good one. I look forward to relaxing in Zuerich. I have been anxious about the distance between myself and my family (an ocean!). I figured I would be alright and maybe even find some peace from it. My dad was sent abroad many times in my childhood, so my theory was that I was accustomed to distance. Stress caught up to me this week with the busy schedule. I had some time to think about it all on the Rhine River cruise, and the timing couldn't have better. We are going to have a very busy week next week, and I'm confident that I am ready to enjoy the trip more from here on out.

week 2

I really enjoyed this week. Although I want to be a dentist I really enjoyed going to the heart and diabetes center. Watching the double bypass was really cool. We got to stand on the anethesiologist's stand. I felt like I could have reached out and touched the heart infront of me. Even though I found it very interesting, it did not make me change my mind about wanting to be a dentist. I enjoyed watching the surgery but would not want to be the one doing it. I also enjoyed going to the zoo in Koln and the experimental farm. I also had a lot of fun on the rhine cruise and at the wine tasting. It was nice to have that break in the middle of this week. We are going to Paris this weekend. I am really excited. I just hope that it does not rain too much. There is a 90 percent chance tonight but tomorrow and sunday should be better. I am also excited about our trip to southern Germany this week. I took a train through Munich on the way to Dusseldorf but did not get to explore the city. I am looking forward to the upcoming week but feel like time is going by too fast.

Paris here we come!

Well the weekend has begun and I am headed to Paris! The week flew by since we were on the road so much. My favorite trip of the week was to the heart and diabetes center. Watching the open heart surgey was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. We are around the world in a country with a completely different culture, language and country, yet the medicine and procedures are still similar. I was fascinated by the technique and demeanor of the surgeons, and it was inspiring and reinforced my goal of one day being a physician. I received my MCAT scores this week, and am currently finishing up my secondary applications for medical school. Even though we have only been in germany a couple weeks, it has been really neat to learn the culture and see the german views on medicine. I am very excited about the trip to nuremberg and exploring Nazi Germany.I enjoyed te Sophie school movie today even though it made me cry! I hope for a good weekkend in Paris with some great shopping and sightseeing without too much rain, and a wonderful week Of traveling next week!

Heart & Diabetes Center

This week, our program made an excursion to my most favorite location yet—The heart and diabetes center. During the visit, I remained in the auditorium, and heard a lecture on devices designed for cardiovascular medicine, such as ventricular assist devices.

The sole purpose of mechanical devices is to provide a bridge to transplant for victims of heart disease. Heart tranplantation is a very important predicament in which our speaker devotes a lot of his time. One of the most recent techniques integrated into organ tranplant, is OCS. In OCS, warm blood is pumped throught the heart in the time period between owners, to ensure the heart can stay outside the body as long as possible. As for devices, the LVAD (or left ventricular assist device) is commonly found in patients suffering from congestive heart failure. After our presentation, the doctors showed us a few of the models, including a few centrifuge pumps that perform non-pulsatile flow and other pumps that perform pulsatile flow.

Overall, I really enjoyed the heart and diabetes center. I hope that I can one day specialize in cardiovascular medicine, and use that my knowledge to work with other biomedical engineers to create the next generation of heart devices.

The zoo yesterday was so amazing!!! Being that close to the animals, especially the elephants was awesome. I also really enjoyed the movie we watched today. That was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. It was frustrating to see how hard headed the Nazis were. It was very emotional and I wish hollywood would make more factual movies like that. This weekend five of us are going to Bruges. We are taking a night train that I'm very excited about it because the last one I was on was so much fun! Hopefully we will still see a lot in one day, but I'm glad to be coming back early to spend some time in Dusseldorf. I'm looking forward to spending time with my host family. Have a good weekend and be safe!!!

the Rhein, the wine, the zoo, oh my!

I really liked the Rhein river boat tour! We have spent sooo much time in an urban environment, it was really cool to spend some time in the countryside. I really liked spending time in Bacharach just walking around in the town. These small villages were exaclty what I envisioned of Germany, before I actually came here. So it was really cool to see that. I'm not a big hiker, and when they said we were going to have to walk all the way up the huge hill to see the castle, I was a tad bit pissed, but the walk wasn't bad and it was well worth it! The castle was soo cool. I thought it was funny how the bathroom just had a hole in it where waste would just fall all the way to the ground in the garden, and that enemies would try to penetrate the castle through the bathroom hole!! I don't have much a taste for wine, so I really could not tell the difference between the various wines we tasted. It was really interesting to see that, because I had never really done anything like that before. It was interesting. The zoo was sooooo much fun, because we got to see the baby elephant up close. It wasn't really a baby, but it was small, and it was really cool watching the elephant trainer, walk the elephant through some commands. It was interesting to see that elephants require a stable caregiver, and that he talks to them. We're off to Zurich and I can't wait!!!

2 Weeks in Germany

So I can't believe we've already been here two weeks already. I was talking to my host mom just last night about how fast the time is going by. This past week has been great. Last week was hard for me because I felt pretty homesick and missed my family and friends a lot and still do, but it helps that we keep so busy. A big part of it was also being thrown into living with a whole different country and culture. It just takes a while to get used to I guess.

So on Monday coming straight from an overnight train from Prague, we went to Bonn on the train and went to a research and experimental farm. I understood a lot of what our guide talked about from taking animal science. On Tuesday, we went to the Heart and Diabetes Center. We heard a lot of presentations. I enjoyed the one on heart transplant the most, because I felt like the MRI presentations were way over my head. I think Wednesday was the most fun for me. I loved the river cruise and seeing all the hills and the little towns spread out down the river. The wine tasting was great. I don't think i'm very good at telling the differences between the wines, but they were all good. I just got one wine for me and Michelle to give our host mom. Yesterday we went to the zoo, and it was fun seeing the baby elephant and chimps. Michelle, Kaylee, and I stayed in Cologne after the zoo tour to eat and shop. We thought we were the only ones staying, but Dr. Musser and Dr. Wasser stayed also and we kept running into them throughout Cologne. We ate at a cafe, then only got to shop for a little while before most of the stores closed at 8. We watched a street magician for a while and just walked through the city. It was funny because we ended up on the same train as our professors, and headed home.

Dusseldorfer

So this weeks has been reallz amazing the weather was so great yesterday on the Rhien cruise and the wine tasting was so great yesterday as well. i bought 6 bottles of wine and have shared them with my family. whom i am going to make fajitas tonight for. so i made them last weekend with german items and they turned out very well i think so i will try the same things again. its just that the fajita powder has curry and other things in it besides just cumin, but it smells and tastes great and the limes in it add a great flavor, i may try to make some margaritas as well to go with but the white wine will go well with it as well. All the great things we are seeing are so amazing, the family here took me to Kaiserswert which is where barbarosas castle is and some great great old houses and a cool scene, i would definately love to live there maybe not in the city city of duseldorf but in kaiserswert it is so different and the things are great. Hmm what else have we been up to this week. we had quite an eventful weekend me and andrew went out to die mauer on friday with some of his friends from here and then on saturday i went around with the family and on sunday we made fajitas at a local named svenjas birthday and then to the hospital when Matt went Hypoglycemic. that was an event and gave all the partygoers quite a scare but luckily he is totally ok. i met a really really cool homosexual couple at the party who live in hackney in london and they were telling me about the new scenes in london and how great it is to be there and what the fashions and art movements are going on now. i loved it and the guys were so funny and very very inteligent. but this week has been great and i cant wait for this weekend i will be leaving for milano on Friday and going to lago di como while i am there, so i will let you all know how that goes once i get there. cheers.

Well it seems like so so much happens in just the span of a few days but it really is true. Yesterday we went on a Rhein cruise and then ate lunch at a restaurant along the Rhein, went to the Marksburg Castle, and finally did a wine tasting before coming back to dusseldorf on the train. So yesterday was really great and relaxing and different than everything else we've been doing so far. And that's what I like about our program, that its so varied and we get to see such a wide variety of things....Monday we went to the animal research farm and then tuesday was the Heart and Diabetes Center which was really interesting. I saw the very end of a valve replacement and it was really cool to get to see the actual valve they took out! I also enjoyed seeing how surgery and medicine is approached in another country....it's interesting because if you ask a doctor in America a question about something and then ask a doctor in another country like Germany a question you can get a completely different answer...I heard alot about the different approaches to treating stenosis at hermann hospital in houston this summer and then i heard about it again here at the Heart and Diabetes Center and so i thought that was a great opportunity to even get a chance to compare how medicine is practiced and approached in two different countries.
As we've been in Dusseldorf almost two weeks, I really feel like I'm adapting to it so much more. Public transportation is so normal now, whereas back home I only drive my car. I thought I'd always be so confused with train times and tram times and finding the right one to get on and that i'd be so lost but it's really getting easier and easier. Also, Ive gotten alot more used to my host family. At first it was more awkward, and not because of them or anything, but we'd never met them and then we were all the sudden staying in their home...but its turned out to be really great and we are still getting used to how they do things which can be different than how we do them at home, but its a good cultural experience!

first thoughts

While I realize this is my first blog post since my arrival in Europe, I think it's safe to say it's due to techincal difficulties. My blogger account is not working, so what you are reading will be a copy/paste once I finally get things up and running. Normally, technical difficulties are one of my specialties, but when solving the problem relies on my host family's computer, which is not only slower than a turtle dressed as a sloth for halloween, but is entirely in german, things become a bit problematic. I would just use the AIB computer, but we are hardly there and by the time I actually get on one of the comps there, I have about 15 seconds until I'm being busseled to a museum or the train station. Complaints aside, I love Europe. So far, I've visited Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Koln, Bonn, Prague, and Paris this weekend. I don't think I could pick a favorite if I had to. Program wise- my favorite activities we have done so far are the Koln Cathedral or the Heart and Diabetes center. The cathedral was breath taking, plain unreal. The rooftop tour was above and beyond my expectations. I liked the health center because of the open heart surgery. Super cool. We actually saw the end of a valve replacement. We were lucky becuase our surgeon spoke good english and was able to walk us through some of the things he was doing. We later heard this was not the case in some of the other ORs. My least favorite, program wise, would have to be the museums. Not only do I basically dispise museums, the one's we have visited have all been boring and the guides have been painfully slow. I'm sure some of the students enjoyed them, but it's just not my thing. The worstt so far was the Benrath palace. Not only was the building empty and gaudy, the guided tour was near painful and we were allowed no time to enjoy the gardens. I think the gardens were probably more significant by a long shot compared to the house and on the first nice day in dusseldorf since our arrival we were stuck in that pink house. Maybe, I was just a little bit excited when I heard about how beautiful the gardens were and a little bit more heartbroken that we didnt have time to spend in them, so it ruined the whole experience for me. More to come now that I have figured out how to post!