Germany Trip Thus Far

My Germany travel experience got off to a great start. I had an excellent seat on the plane where I was able to lay down completely flat and watch TV and movies the whole time. Needless to say, I had a rude awakening once I stepped outside into the freezing cold. But the rest of the day got a lot better once everyone met up and we had our AIB welcome dinner.

But then the first night came, and I was awake by 2:30 and could not really go back to sleep. Freakin jet lag! Luckily, we had to be awake super early because we went to visit the University Clinics in Bonn and got to observe procedures in the OR. I got to see two orthopedic surgeries, one on a knee and another on a shoulder. It was really cool since I want to get into Orthopedics. I've seen orthopedic surgeries before in the US, so it was interesting to see what kind of protocol differences were present. I really enjoyed the group dynamic of the doctors and nurses in the OR, which showed me that even doctors can have fun. The doctors and nurses were all friendly and willing to explain things, which made observing a very enjoyable experience. After lunch, we then got a guided tour of Bonn from the boss of AIB himself. Bonn is a really a great town. Despite being a "college town", I really like the fact that the school is incorporated into the town rather than being one big campus surrounded by the city like College Station is. In addition, it is a great place to hang out but it still has places to visit that put you in awe.

The next day was just jam packed with action. After finishing up Dr. Wasser's lecture on different insurance models in the world, we went to the Museum of the History of Anaesthesia. Dr. Stoeckel, the creator of the museum, was truly an amazing guy. You could tell the guy was just so passionate about anaesthesia and medicine in general because a person doesn't just dedicate 10 years of their life for something unless they're genuine about it. The fact that he was able to recover items spanning the evolution of anaesthetic techniques is remarkable to me. It definitely gave me an added perspective of medicine since anaesthesiology is sometimes overlooked despite playing a vital role. Then, we went to the the House of German History Museum. I really enjoyed being able to see German history that was not only about the Nazis since the Nazi regime usually predominates any discussion of German history.

This morning, we went to Cologne. We got to go inside the Cologne Cathedral. It is literally the most magnificent structure I've ever seen in my life! The magnitude of its epicness cannot be put into words so here's a picture:



I really enjoyed our tour guide, Athena. She was a tiny woman that was just an Energizer Bunny. She gave us a great tour through the cathedral and the museum we went to. We finished up our scheduled day by visiting the ELDE HAUS. We were able to learn much about the Nazi movement and even got to see cells where the Gestapo kept their prisoners. It just gave me chills thinking about what went on in some of these very cells just 70 years ago. Our tour guide was cool and by cool, I mean she kept asking if anyone had questions for her, which no one did...

I wish I knew a little bit more German because many of the places we've been to so far only have German text. But despite knowing very little of the language, I've been able to respect and appreciate the profoundness of all these places.

Berlin, here I come!