Tschüs!

Friday morning kicked off with a lecture over the medical school process in Austria, which has fundamental differences from the way ours is set up. Even though this isn’t my area of study, it gave me a much greater respect for the medical students – they have to write a thesis on top of exams that cover a year’s worth of material. We visited the Josephinum wax anatomical models that were used as study tools for medical students during the summer months when dissections were a bit smellier… These models were extremely detailed; they used silk threads and wax to construct the veins, and real hair. After a short stop at the University of Vienna (so much prettier than A&M, I wonder if I would take it for granted) , we trekked through the snow to grab some Indian food, and headed to the Narrenturm. This was the first insane asylum established in Austria, by Emperor Joseph II, and it was packed with a collection of moulages representing various diseases, preserved organs, and various pieces of old medical equipment, including some wooden prosthetics! Like the Josephinium, the wax models here were extremely lifelike, and showed extreme symptoms of diseases that modern medicine has more or less kept under control. Next we finished off the day with a wonderful dose of free time! We shopped downtown in the picturesque pedestrian zone, the streets were lit with Christmas light chandeliers, and there was an accordion playing in the distance. We decided on a cute restaurant with the BEST schnitzel I’ve tasted on the trip (stuffed with ham and cheese, dipped in cranberry sauce and lemon juice), dumplings, and mélange. Chris stumbled on the biggest chocolate shop known to mankind, which was so overwhelming I attempted to take footage of it, and then we headed to the Danube. The snow was falling again, and it was so cold our butts froze on the stone wall next to the river, but it was gorgeous! It felt like time had frozen, or we were in a snow globe of sorts… the lights from the bridge and the buildings across the river were reflecting on the water, and it was perfectly quiet, save for the river. After a bit of exploring, we headed home.
On Saturday the group visited Hospital Mӧdling to watch a coronary catheterization for diagnosis of atherosclerosis. We learned the details of the procedure, and how to recognize stenosis and stents in the coronary arteries. The second patient we observed had complete occlusion of the left anterior descending artery; we could see the branch indicating the beginning of the vessel, but past this the artery was completely invisible (no flow through the vessel). We observed some unusual echo cases, analyzed an ECG for disorders, and learned about an awesome technology that can piece together a 3D model of the heart for a surgery to treat atria fibrillation. Next we listened to lectures on the Austrian Red Cross and homeopathy. I think it was just as entertaining to watch all the faces of my classmates during this as it was to listen… everyone had a look of stark unbelief or “this is a joke, right?” stamped clearly across their faces during the homeopathy section. But it was a great eye-opener, we were forced to take a step back from the traditional views of medicine we’ve been studying and growing up with and consider something without western scientific proof or numbers, etc. After a bit of talking into by Dr. Wasser, I reached the conclusion that if it helps as a supplemental medicine, then why not try it? For our second to last dinner, we had traditional Viennese food (dumplings, lentils, pretzel bread), and we topped off the night with some dancing at the Volksgarten!
Sunday was our last full day, and it was filled with Freud’s house, the Natural Historical Museum of Vienna, and a final dinner of schnitzel and goodbyes! The Freud museum was great, we had our last lecture with Dr. Wasser on Freud’s life and theories, and we saw his original entryway and waiting room. It was a bit strange and very cool being in the house and workplace of a person who had (and still has) such a huge impact on modern thought and psychoanalysis. The Natural Historical Museum was gorgeous; we saw a bouquet of jewels gifted by Maria Theresa to her husband, and too many models of animal species to count! Packing up that night wasn’t exactly a happy occasion, but I’m making a point of returning. I am so thankful for being a part of this journey, for all I’ve learned and experienced, and for all the wonderful people I was able to meet!

Vienna, pt. 1 (1/11-1/12)

Started the last day in Hannover with a tour of a nephrology department, where we listened to some of the more negative effects German healthcare has on the way medicine is practiced. It was surprising to hear about all of the loopholes that doctors figure out for extra compensation, but then again the United States isn’t really much different in that respect. It was a reality check of sorts, after we heard how certain aspects of European systems are incredibly more humane than ours (we’re the only third world country who doesn’t provide some form of care to the entire population), it was easy to glorify their healthcare, but of course even the best system on paper has its faults. We learned about different dialysis methods, including an at-home system (very cool), and a portable ICU machine that concentrates and stores the dialysis fluid itself. After some lunch, we headed to an axolotl research center. These are the most amazing animals in existence. Why? 1. They regenerate. You can cut off a leg, and it grows back, regardless of age. And, this center has shown this ability could be applied to therapeutic regeneration in humans! 2. They act like dogs. They like to see what you’re doing, and one of the researchers told us her pet axolotls wait for her to come home. 3. Their gills look like these massive headdresses. They’re so fun to watch. The spiders we “visited” next weren’t quite as exciting… besides their medical application (the silk can be used to rout nervous tissue). Needless to say, I was pretty glad to get on the plane to Vienna and attempt to sleep for a bit!

The first days of Vienna were wonderful! I love the city, it seems a little more “refined?” than Berlin, if that makes any sense, but it’s gorgeous, like everywhere we’ve been on this trip. We saw much of Joseph II’s contributions to the city, which were largely influenced by the renaissance. After a long lunch with some shopping and torte from Demel, we toured Stephansdome. The sun was finally shining through some of the stained glass windows so that they cast beautiful colors on the pillars; it was gorgeous! On the other hand, the catacombs underneath the cathedral had more history than beauty going for them… there were thousands of skeletons from the 1700’s piled up, some bones were made into walls, some full skeletons we displayed close to the windows overlooking other rooms. It seemed like we were in an endless maze. Next we toured the Vienna History Museum and learned of the two sieges on the city, and how it outgrew its massive walls. That night we were treated to The Magic Flute in a Viennese Opera house, which was absolutely gorgeous. I was torn between listening to the symphony and the beautiful voices, not to mention taking in the intricate sets and trying to pick out (any?) German words in the spoken dialogue. I was mentally exhausted, but the performance was beyond worth it. I need to see a few more of these!

Hanover, Monday 1/9, Tuesday 1/10

Today was one of my favorite days of the program! We toured the Otto Bock plant in Duderstadt, and I fell head over heels for some fancy prosthetics. The showroom had three different full leg prostheses, with different types of knee joints, and the newest ones are able to detect when the leg is in a swing motion with a loose knee joint, versus catching itself from a fall, where the knee needs to flex and provide support. This is all done via microprocessors. The algorithms that went into its development would be so cool to study! As if this wasn’t charming enough, they developed an arm prosthetic that can be controlled with the brain by rerouting the severed nerves into the pectoral muscles, and using these electrical signals generated by thought to power the arm. All they need now are finger sensations and a close replica of a normal arm will be finished. SO COOL. Add this to an off-roader tank-esque wheelchair, custom testing devises for the prosthetics, and a Swiss robotic organizing system, and I’m a kid in a candy store. What I loved most about this tour was that it helped me decide between medical school and industry, which had been bugging me for a while before we left for this trip. I definitely feel as if I have more of a direction, the fact that I ate up everything in Otto Bock was a pretty big indicator that medical school might not be the way to go. Another great thing about this trip: grad school or interning abroad seems much more feasible, and is no longer just a possibility that doesn’t need to be considered seriously. There are so many awesome opportunities!
Tuesday was a relaxing day, we visited the Veterinary Medical School Cattle Clinics in Hannover, where we viewed operating rooms and the like for the cattle, and talked about types of procedures done at the clinic. It wasn’t quite my favorite, but the calf we saw was adorable! The best part of the day though was the Hannover zoo, which by far topped any zoo I’ve ever seen. We got close-ups of polar bears diving for food, sea lions, tigers and wallabies. To top it off, VIP access to the hippos’ pool wasn’t too shabby. We stood on a metal walkway looking over the pool, and they immediately opened their huge mouths for food. Their tongues were gross, but you have to have a little respect for an animal that could crush you without thinking. After heading to the hotel, Abbee and I checked out the tiny pedestrian zone and bought some coffee, and headed to the hotel for the best lecture I’ve ever listened to in my entire life. Mainly due to the Venus of Willendorf section. We had a good-bye dinner for Nils, which was pretty sad… he was an awesome guide! Finished off the night with a YouTube party. Oh AND I got a free Kostritzer glass! Whoop!

Hannover to Vienna [1/11-1/12]

January 11- Today was our last day in Hannover. I don’t think I will ever stop appreciating way Germany really doesn’t joke about breakfast! I’m getting so spoiled with all these fluffy scrambled eggs and delicious rolls and of course nutella! A great, solid start to the day! This morning we had a lecture and tour of the nephrology department with Dr. Kielstein. It was interesting to see the array of methods of treatment and care for dialysis patients. It also made me really stop and think twice about what good care for my kidneys needs and how I can minimize my likelihood of one day needing dialysis. Also, as a representative of a health field I think is important to be knowledgeable about all of these issues and what daily steps towards prevention are. http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/porper-kidney-care/ is a good resource for anyone else out there who thinks “YES I would like to take good care of my filter organs, but where do I begin?” After a very satisfying plate of vegetables, we headed off toward the Axolotl research center. Everybody in the world: Stop what you are doing. Google “Axolotl.” The Axolotls are absolutely amazing creatures and I am legitimately upset that I didn’t know they existed before this day. I found myself very quickly mirroring the enthusiastic attitudes of the researchers toward the Axolotl population in the lab. These animals have astounding regeneration capabilities, and not to mention an adorable outward appearance and quirky demeanor. We also got to see the spiders they keep for biotechnology purposes with the spider silk. By “see the spiders” I mean we got to go into their enclosures, which is a room repurposed for spider living; sticks, webs and spiders just hanging all over the place, a tank of cricket-snacks, and a ladder graced the room. I was very impressed by the quality of work and the attention to detail in the removal of the spider silk and the appropriation of it for medical purposes. One short flight later we were at the airport in Vienna, and Dr. Rainer was waiting to lead us to the hotel. We went out for a delicious meal that ended in a homemade chocolate torte. January 12 brought us on a medical tour of Vienna, as led by Dr. Wasser. As is the custom, we saw several few small-scale models of the city at different times throughout its history. After lunch, we headed to St. Stephansdome and prepared to go in. The sun shone on the windows and cast the most beautiful, almost underwater, glow to the Church’s interior. Then we met our guide and he led us into the oldest remaining parts of the church: the catacombs. We were led into the burial area for the bishops, where they lie, embalmed inside copper coffins. We next saw the burial rooms of the royal family and where their organs are kept in very intense jars. Next we went down an Indiana Jones—worthy tunnel and were soon standing in the middle of Vienna’s old city cemetery. Peeking through the bars, you could see 3 or 4 prominent skeletons on top of piles and piles of bones. It was not only hard for me to wrap my mind around how long ago these people lived, but also that they had distinct lives not so different from my own. It is hard to make the leap between remains and individual lives when there are so many in view. Note: Skeletons are very effective at evoking solemn thought and reminders of the time-honored human tradition of… not living forever. There are at least two ways to make a person feel small: to belittle and to humble. Seeing skeletons of people who now rest in their own dust and buildings that have come to crumble definitely falls into the humbling category but also acts as motivation to enable others to reach their highest possible quality of life while they are here. Upon exiting the catacombs, we headed toward the Museum of Vienna. We saw many models and maps of Vienna through the ages, my very favorite being the depiction of the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman empire in 1529. (Look here!) There were many weapons in exhibit as well. It is important to not how important Vienna was, as it was viewed as the Gateway to Europe. On this night we had a very fast turnaround at the hotel; we had a lecture in preparation for the Opera and away we went! The version of Mozart’s “Magic Flute” that we saw was actually rather Victorian looking, though steampunk may also be fitting. It was a very interesting experience and I’m glad I’ve now seen my first opera! I had a little bit of trouble following, but our lecture earlier and the summary from Dr. Rainer made it a lot easier to make conclusions as to what the German dialogue referred to.

Wien

Vienna is such a beautiful city! It made the travelling from place to place an adventure of its own. On our first day, we went through Vienna on a medical history walk. We saw a statue in memory of Guttenberg and a memorial for Mozart, where his home is now a department store but the best was seeing historically influential doctors’ former homes. They look like regular apartments and don’t have markers, but some of the most brilliant people in medicine lived behind those doors. After lunch, we explored the catacombs of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one of the most interesting parts being the bones of plague victims. Then we went to the Museum of Vienna. Austria is another country that we didn’t seem to focus on in high school history classes, so I enjoyed learning more about Ottoman Empire’s influence on Austria and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. We also saw several city maps and models to see how much Vienna changed and grew in the last several hundred years. In the evening, we saw The Magic Flute! The story was light-hearted and fun, and it seems like Austrian women in stories can be just as dramatic as the women Shakespeare’s plays. Even though I don’t think that I’ve heard of The Magic Flute before Dr. Wasser mentioned it in the orientation classes, I was surprised to find that I recognized some of the music. Going to an “opera” was definitely a great experience!

Friday morning, we went to the Medical University of Vienna to learn more about medical education in Austria. With the formation of the European Union, the member countries are becoming more unified. For example, once someone finishes their medical education, they are free to practice in any EU country. The entrance exam system is used in India, as well, so I’ve heard of it before, but after we get the importance of having extracurricular activities, research and doing well during interviews drilled into our heads, the concept of just one test determining a person’s admission still seems foreign. We, then, visited the University of Vienna to see the courtyard lined with busts of distinguished professors and students. I never knew that people could be so concentrated in one university. To name a few: Doppler, Freud, Kaposi, and Landsteiner, who received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of blood groups. After lunch at a restaurant where the customer decides the price, we went to the Josephinum which houses anatomical wax models used for military surgeons in training. The models were very detailed and oriented towards learning, when they were in use, students could take them apart and look at organs from different angles. It was impressive that the models were still in the original cases made of Venetian glass and how current the artists tried to be when designing them, even if that meant giving one too many lymph nodes. Later, we went to the Federal Pathologic Anatomical Museum. Here there were different specimens and models of all sorts of diseases, from tuberculosis to tumors and a pick axe murder to a suicide attempt. There seemed to be mostly skin presentations of different diseases. The building used to be an insane asylum, which added another layer to the history of what we were learning.

Saturday, we went to the hospital in Mödling to see the cardiology unit. We were able to see the doctors look for a stenosis in a couple patients and they showed us all of the catheters and explained their functions in more detail. The doctors then showed us ultrasounds from just the day before. One patient’s tissues around the valve were thickening and one had a tumor on a valve. You know a case is good when a doctor says he’s going to publish it. It was also really great to talk to an actual patient! After having cake for lunch, we learned about the Austrian Red Cross from the CEO himself. The Austrian branch is so extensive and I didn’t realize how much emphasis the Red Cross puts on neutrality, even creating the Red Crescent and Red Crystal movement in Muslim and Jewish countries. Right after, we found out more about homeopathy. On the surface, it seems like an outdated, Middle Ages discipline, but after Saturday, I would be open to learning more about it. It is a hard concept to understand, because it goes against almost everything we learn in about biochemistry.

Sunday morning started with a lecture about Sigmund Freud in his former house, no less, of fifty years. Unfortunately there were only pictures of the couch. I’m not sure I have the right vocabulary to describe Freud, but his relationships were certainly interesting for someone who spent his life interpreting them. That afternoon, we went to the Natural History Museum. The place was huge. The tour guide only went through some of the exhibits and even then, only touched on the major pieces. The building itself was beautiful, too. It was a bit strange to see a T-rex skull next to the intricate crown molding and a wooly rhino beside marble stairs.

After only three weeks, I was not ready to head back home, but the final days in Vienna were fantastic.

Final Days of the Program in Vienna

Our first day in Vienna was spent sightseeing and learning some about the history of Vienna. Wow is Vienna a beautiful place. We had sunny days most of our time there and it made for a wonderful time walking around in the city center. Thursday morning we went on a medical history walk. I was so amazed to be walking in the footsteps and breathing the same air as some of the most influential people in medical history. After lunch we toured the cathedral catacombs at St. Stephens which I loved. I really enjoy visiting cathedrals, but I always find all of the catacombs and traditional burial sight to be really intriguing. We then ventured to the Museum of Vienna where we had the opportunity to journey through Vienna and Austria's history while also looking at beautiful artifacts, artwork, and antiques. In the evening, we got all dressed up and headed to the opera house for a performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute". I had never been to an opera, and I had a really good time. The story and singing was wonderful! I think I may have to attend operas more often.

We began Friday with a presentation of the medical education system in Europe. The system does differ from ours in the US in that student immediately enter a longer medical program after secondary school whereas we receive a four-year bachelors degree before entering a professional program. I don't really know which system is better. The main difference I notice is that our system in the US provides students with more flexibility in their educational and career goals, because they are not immediately limited after they begin their first year at the university level which I believe is a perk. Well, and they get their education for basically free, but I think we have the opportunity to experience a little more post-graduate flexibility. All in all, I think it evens out. Later in the morning, we headed to the Josephinum to view their extensive collection of anatomical wax models. What is perhaps most amazing about these models is their longevity. They still appear in beautiful form after many years. I am in awe when I think about the craftsmanship that went into the creation of these models, especially the full body models that can be taken apart and put back together. These models are so realistic and knowing that the originals took about two years with several people working on them, I can only imagine how excited instructors and students where to have them. In the afternoon, we visited the Federal Pathologic Anatomical Museum which was full of interesting specimens and "oddities" as they might have been referred to originally. The museum is housed in what once was an insane asylum, which adds to the effect of some of the strangest specimens, but being the science-y people we are, I think everyone found it to be really interesting. I know I did.

On Saturday, we were fortunate to spend our morning at the Heart Station at Hospital Modling. This was an amazing experience! We were able to see catheter procedures from start to finish. Imagine our surprise when we saw that the patient was awake during the procedure! The doctors were so nice to allow us to follow them around all morning while they explained various procedures and pathologies, as well as looking at various EKGs and ultrasounds. I was also thankful to the patient who was willing to speak with us about her life and living with heart problems. We spent our afternoon listening to speakers from the Austrian Red Cross and Homeopathic Medicine, both subjects on which I did not know a lot about. I was impressed by the mission of the Red Cross to serve all people in need and its ability to remain neutral even under the strongest outside pressures. The Red Cross truly is an amazing organization and I would love to look into opportunities for volunteer work with them. I was also impressed by the other speaker's emphasis on the importance of utilizing homeopathic medicine along with western medicine. I guess I too had fallen victim to the scams that people call "homeopathic medicine". Now that I understand exactly what homeopathic medicine is I am much more receptive to the idea and I would actually like to learn more about it.

On the final day of the program we visited the Sigmund Freud house. It was so amazing to think that we listened to a lecture in a room where Freud and other very influential people might have sat smoking, thinking, and coming up with the ideas that we now perceive as common knowledge. I loved walking through the museum as it was situated in the various rooms of his home and workplace, and having the opportunity to see the same furniture in the same place as well as watching family videos that his daughter had saved. I was a little disappointed that the famous couch is in England, but I guess that's a good reason for a trip to the UK right? All in all, on the entire trip I have been overwhelmed by all of the history the we walked through every day, but I was especially overcome by the historical presence this day.

So it's time to head home now, and I will miss Europe and all of the wonderful experiences it has brought me on this trip, but, most of all, I am looking forward to a seeing new year and a new semester with all of my new knowledge and perspectives. I can't wait.

Weekend in Praha!

We had one day in Prague, and to be honest, it wasn’t comparable to any city in Germany. It’s pretty tourist-filled, so instead of trying to assimilate and blend in, everyone seemed to disregard the culture… we met hardly any locals, except for those on the pub crawl. It weirdly reminded me of visiting Disney World, with shops full of fake antiques and tons of people. We did learn a lot as a group though, and we managed to make the most of it! After an interesting search for food on Friday night involving witnessing an arrest (we eventually found some gas station hot dogs- quite impressive), Saturday morning we climbed up to the Strahov Monastery across the Vltava River. The monastery was unfortunately closed, but the view was beautiful! We could see all of Prague from this hilltop, the cathedral spires jutting out above the red roofs, and everything was so green! We trekked down to St. Vitus’ Cathedral next, stopping at a porcelain shop on the way, and we also visited the Prague Castle. This medieval castle is the largest of its kind in the world, and was decked out with a huge, arched ceiling ballroom, spiral staircases, the Diet hall, and the Czech crown jewels. The cathedral had more intricate stained glass than the Cologne Cathedral, and beautiful representations of the Passion as well. We made our way to the old town for lunch (goulash and dumplings) and managed to give an impromptu dance lesson to a czeck family. We were waiting for the train and randomly decided to start dancing “the jerk”, and when we looked over we saw a kid and her mom doing it with us (mocking us probably?). It was hilarious. I’ve noticed we tend to draw a lot of attention to ourselves whenever we start dancing. Next we backtracked to the Lennon wall, a huge graffiti wall started as a type of passive resistance when the Soviets still had power, and then headed back to our hostel for the pub crawl!

The pub crawl was probably the most fun I’ve had going out, which was mostly because we got to meet so many people! Three hostels got together for this, so I met a young Australian couple on vacation from school, and three Americans who moved to Prague ten days before to teach English, among other Poles, Brazilians, Brits, and Hungarians. I also met an Australian who wanted to work for the UN and was in the process of learning 6 languages (Americans really are the most lazy people on earth, we learn English and then complain our brains hurt). It was so fun to hear everyone’s stories and goals, with some dancing in between, of course, and I would do this again in a heartbeat! It was definitely a memorable night.

Top this off with a great conversation with a professional ballet dancer on the train to Hannover, and I had a fantastic weekend!

Prague To Hannover, [1/8-1/10]

January 8th brought us out of Prague and into Hannover. It is interesting when going from one foreign place to another foreign place feels like going home, but that is exactly how I felt on the train ride from Prague to Hannover. Beautiful scenes flew by my train window and the intimidating Czech alphabet gave way to some comforting and familiar German words like “hauptbahnhof” and “platz”. Prague was an interesting adventure and bonding experience, though our view of the city was about as fleeting as is expected of a quick weekend trip to a huge city. My favorite part was our climb up the hill to the Monastery grounds. We had a beautiful view of the city and a few snow flurries, and I’m always a fan of a good hike! Additionally, St. Toby’s hostel was a completely awesome place to stay! I finished my first journal that weekend and our hostel actually was selling journals made by a local artist so that made for a cool souvenir that I can use for a while to come! The Czech and German countryside of our return journey provided a grand array of scenery and a good atmosphere for reflection and goal setting for this year. On the 9th, another train brought us to Duderstadt, where we had a series of talks, demos, and guided exploration of the Otto Bock facility. The character of the company was evident from the start in their quirky video that managed to show how serious they are about breaking new ground and making high quality products, but also convey how people-oriented they are. In the show room, we saw many types of prosthetics, orthotic, and the various attachments to keep the product securely and safely on the body. I was also very interested to see the neurostimulation implants to help patients overcome dropfoot. I hope that there will be great strides in this area to aid other types of neuromotor deficits. They fed us in true German fashion: wurst and potatoes, a welcome sight after Prague! A huge highlight in this day was seeing the inner workings of the Otto Bock facility. We got to see the way they make the carbon fiber parts of prosthesis and feet, prepare wooden legs, and molded feet, and knee joints. We saw (and smelled) materials and processes for making a C-leg. There are a lot of things done by hand of skilled workers because their production needs are relatively small and specific for an industry and it makes little sense to mechanize many of the processes. Plus, jobs are good, and as we’ve seen, Germany takes good care of its citizens. We got to go to the back where products were packaged and stored. Lots of boxes, lots of conveyer belts; then it got really cool. They have a really fast, fully automated store room. The computer can rearrange all day, every day, and only it knows which boxes are where. It moves incredibly fast. Finally, in the testing room, we got to see products tested for quality and durability and there were many machines developed in-house for this purpose. It seemed rather Seussian to see the man-made feet stepping over and over again! January 10th is special. There were a lot of animals! We first went to the veterinary medical school clinics. We saw (and again smelled) the cattle in the clinic. We saw their living spaces and the places where operations and such are done. We learned of some of the regulations the clinic follows to prevent spread of disease between animals and farms. Altogether, an interesting visit! After lunch, guess where we went. That’s right! THE ZOO! It was a very cool zoo to begin with, with very well made habitats for the animals. We walked through Africa and watched the lions drooling over at the zebras as we made a beeline for the polar bears. It was like a backstage pass to the zoo. We stood on the other side of the tank glass as the polar bears were fed. They just look so strong and magnificent when they swim. We saw seals and caribou and wolves also while we were in the Yukon territories! Another highlight was the Hungry Hippos Backstage Pass! We went into the habitat and walked above them and they kept opening their mouths and asking for food. After our tour we explored the zoo together and hung out with some birds and wallabies, and learned many facts from Dr. Wasser and Nils about the animals we saw. Lady Rev got to pose for a few pictures, too. I love the zoo!

The Truth About Prague (Jan 8th)

Free weekend in Prague!  Free weekend in Prague!  Whoop!

Escaping from Berlin for a few days and having a bit of silence on the train ride to Prague was completely refreshing.  Not only that, but all the guys and girls survived living in the same room.  All nine of us.  Props to our group for having made it this far and not slitting each other’s throats.

Met some pretty interesting characters on the train.  Of course, they all spoke Czech or German, but that didn’t stop me from having a go at trying to get to know them.  One of them, this guy named Voitka, spoke halfway decent English.  It was nice to get to personally know a Czech.

Before we left for Prague, Nils, the infamous twenty-something program coordinator for AIB joked with us that the only thing to eat in the city was dog.  What a trickster.

But seriously.  There was nothing to eat the first night but dog, essentially.  There’s this epidemic in Europe characterized by food vendors closing at 8 o’clock.  If you’ve ever had a hankering for a late night snack, avoid Europe at all costs.  It’s ironic when you think about the stereotype of Europeans being pot-smoking liberals.  Having the munchies in Europe is an untenable status, especially in Prgaue.  Regardless, the real problem behind our adventures into the sketch-tastic neighborhood outside the garrison of our wonderful hostel (I mean that non-sarcastically) was the guy getting arrested at the underground pizza place behind the gas station a short mile and a half walk away.  We settled for gas station food.

Oh, I almost forgot about the even stranger purchase I made at this mysterious store run by blank-faced Vietnamese immigrants.  Maybe it was the open soda cans in the drink refrigerator, or the two dozen horridly-dressed mannequins in the tiny space, or the general disorganization of EVERYTHING—but something was off about this joint.  No really, something was off.  It didn’t help that there was an argument in Vietamese taking place behind the mannequins, or that the guy that stared at me like was off his rocker didn’t know the prices of anything (because, I suspect, there were no prices).  It also didn’t help that I bought a bottle of strawberry syrup, which looked just like a drink, and was placed with the few available drinks.

Eastern Europe observation number one: disorganized.

Prague has some redeeming qualities though, but in mind less interesting because it seems that few huge historical events have emerged from Prague.  Sure, it was the seat of the Holy Roman “Empire” and played a role in the Protestant Reformation, but ultimately, it didn’t seem all that “impressive” to me, if that makes any sense.  For what it’s worth the Prague Castle made for an interesting visit, and was an incredible work of architecture.  It is a beautiful place, to be sure, but one whose economy appears to run mostly off of tourism.  This is unfortunate because I am a tourism hypocrite.  I am a tourist when I am here, but want to do as few “touristy” things as possible and certainly want to appear as least like one as possible.  In other words, I want to talk to locals and experience the culture (which is a problem since Czech is very difficult) rather than take a billion pictures of things I can just Google.  I know this sounds snooty, and I took pictures anyway so consider my hypocrisy acknowledged, ha!

On another note, goulash—not half bad, not bad at all.

Concentration Camps + Prosthetics (January 5th)

An interesting combination of things to do today.  We started off with a big helping of Holocaust history and finished off with a desert of an intro into Otto Bock prosthetics.

We visited the concentration camp of Sacksenhausen, which is a monument to the evils of National Socialism and harsh Soviet tyranny.  Much of the camp is not the structures that originally held political enemies of the Nazi party,  Jews, homosexuals, and Jehovah’s witnesses.  Prisoners were subjected to unbelievable living conditions, torture, and pain, to say the least.  Nazi officers were known to have drowned half starving prisoners in toilettes.  If that wasn’t abhorrent enough, the deaths of some 30,000 prisoners at the camp might add to that disgust.  When 10,000 Soviet prisoners arrived at the camp, the Nazi’s wanted to get rid of them quickly, so they organized an assembly line for killing.  In a very short period of time, Nazi officers dressed as doctors would pretend to perform medical examinations, and as soldiers would stand with their backs to a measurement wall, a hold would open up behind their heads where a Nazi soldier would shoot the Soviet prisoner in the back of the head.  The Nazis industrialized murder.  Other tours of the barracks were sobering as well, and the bitter cold wind that was blowing gave you just a taste of how awful it must have been just to live in the camp during winter (this winter is remarkably warm by German standards).

When a museum to some of the Jewish victims was opened at the camp (the Soviets did very little to preserve much of German history, and even used the camp as a propaganda tool) the barracks were attacked by Neo-Nazis.  The German authorities left the barracks burned as a reminder to the hatred that burns in the fringe elements of German society.

What are people truly capable of?  How could such animosity run amok in an educated, industrialized nation?  Modern psychology tells us that we are capable of many evils, and I think knowing our history is essential in preventing atrocities likes this from happening again.  Although, we have still experienced Rwandas, Cambodias, and Sudans since the demise of the Nazis.  It’s a pessimistic thought, but on that is worth considering.  This isn’t something that just “happened” on the other side of the world.  It’s a story of what humans can do to other humans.  It should be considered carefully and methodically.

On a brighter note, that evening we made an excursion to the Otto Bock science center in Berlin.  Now, prothestics aren’t really my cup of tea.  I know, as a biomedical engineer you would probably expect me to drool over the sight of an artificial limb.  It’s not my thing.  With that being said, the research going on at Otto Bock is nuts.  The latest prosthetics are connected to the nerves of patients, from which they can control a robotic arm with their thoughts.  Google this stuff.  It is INSANE.  This is coming from the guy who doesn’t think prosthetics are all that cool, too.  Look at that puppy and tell me that’s not incredible.

The Mega Colon! (Jan 4th)

Of all the things I thought I would learn during my trip to Germany, I would never have guess that I would have learned how to intubate a person.  Or suture skin.  This all happened when we visited the Charite hospital in Berlin two days ago.  We toured the hospital with two medical students and during our time there, we got to practice some basic clinical skills.  I winced empathetically for my “patients” wound, as my stitching isn’t the smoothest.

After this tour we went to the hospitals pathology building, where we saw a wide array of anatomical collections and learned a brief overview of how diseases were treated in the past.  If you haven’t taken a moment to appreciate the existence of anesthesia if you need to have a tooth pulled or a wound stitched, you might consider doing so.  Not only were surgeries of the past excruciatingly painful experiences, but the overall process of medical diagnosis and treatment was completely bizarre.  Basic principles of Western medicine (i.e. evidence-based medicine) was essentially nonexistent until only two and a half centuries ago.  Methods before this time were based on assumptions from Hippocrates, who simply crafted this farcical vision of how the body worked, essentially ensuring a painful, laborious, and ineffective treatment.  The main components of the body were believed to be blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Illnesses were believed to come about from the imbalance of these fluids.  This means that “doctors” might try to treat your wound by stitching hay into your wound and sowing it into your body because this would generate puss, meaning that you were restoring balance to a yellow bile excess.  Really what they were doing was causing an infection as the hay decomposed in the body.  Needless to say, medicine has become a science, and we are incredibly lucky to be alive in this day and age.

One of the creepier moments of the entire trip was the anatomical collections of the Charite.  Some of the specimens were from healthy people, while others were bizarre like the “mega colon,” weighing in at over 20 kilograms.  Bleh!

A visit to the beautiful city of Dresden showcased the history of this country.  Apparently, residents of the town believed that they would be spared an Allied bombing raid because of the beauty of their city.  Having just been there, I can understand why they would have thought this.  History, of course, tells us that Dresden was one of the more unfortunate cities of World War II, suffering a firebombing that killed over 30,000 people.  Most of the city was razed, but many of the buildings there now have been rebuilt, some using what portions of the old buildings that could still be kept.   That being said, much of the city is very young, and the main cathedral was only rebuilt in 2006, which is a testament to the lack of Soviet attention to German culture (or religion for that matter).

Other things that we’ve been up to in Germany?  Drinking beer and eating doner, a meal invented by the Turkish immigrants of Berlin.  Beer in Germany is fantastic.  This is worth mentioning.  I would write more but I’d prefer to not sound like an alcoholic.

…

Okay, so beer is cheaper than water here, which is a little hilarious, to say the least.  Personal favorites: Franziskaner Hefeweizen and the Erdinger Pilsner. 

Living History in Berlin (Jan 2nd)

The last few days in Berlin have proved pretty eventful.  For starters, I finally got my wallet back.  Too bad it and everything inside it had been melted by the industrial-strength dryer used by the hospital.  I suppose it could have been worse.  At least it wasn’t stolen.

The five hour train ride to Berlin took us through the German countryside from the sleepy town of Bonn to the capital.  Immediately it was clear that Berlin was an international city in a category of its own, separate from other German cities.  Cosmopolitan and VERY spread out, tall buildings stretch out of the earth and history is literally beneath your feet at every step.

Having been here a few days and getting the chance to learn and understand a bit of the city’s history, Berlin seems rather like a monument to tragedy.  Everywhere you turn there is a memorial to some violent event.  And this doesn’t just apply to victims of the Second World War.  The city has been around for some several hundred years and belonged to many rulers, whether we’re talking the war-hungry Prussians, the Nazis, or the Soviet Union.  People in Berlin have been through a lot.  Whether they deserve half the misfortunes that have befallen them is ultimately a matter of speculation and, in my opinion, dependent on how forgiving you are towards a city that stands at the epicenter of many terrible events.

Today we went on a tour of the city, seeing the depth of history in Berlin and how all the elements of the past lie on top of each other in layers.  Berlin was the hearth of German aggression in World War I, World War II, and a critical point of the Cold War.  Throughout Berlin, there are various memorials and markings designating the Berlin wall or a memorial to some unfortunate group of people lost in one of the countless catastrophes that erupted in the past.

One of the most interesting things that I learned today involved how the end of the Cold War was brought about.  Under Mikhail Gorbachev, the policies of perestroika and glasnost brought a certain openness to society in the Soviet Union.  As this openness increased, the Soviet Union began considering allowing the immigration of East Berliners to the West for a period of 30 days, allowing people to go to and from the East.  Then, when word of this got to the ears of East Berliners via Western radio of this policy, massive protests broke out at the checkpoints.  Although the Soviets were prepared to violently put down the protests, they never received the orders to do this.  As the protesters gathered, the Soviets began allowing the louder and more “active” protesters to leave, in hopes that this would diffuse the situation.  Yet, protesters caught on that the louder they were the better the chance they had to leave the East.  Soon, the crowds and the pressure became too great, and the gates were open, allowing Easterners to flood into the West on December 9, 1989.  This is how the Berlin Wall fell, as if by accident.  Interesting, no?

The visit to the Reichstag also proved rather interesting.  The German “parliament” is the only decision making body of the German government and consists of multiple parties.  This is very different than the U.S. system because in Germany, if your party receives at least 5% of the vote, then it has representation in the Bundestag.  Germans get two votes: one for the party and one for the candidates themselves.  Germans also have a great trust for their government, as many decisions that are made qualify as “government intervention,” but the Germans seem to be doing well.  I read today that they German unemployment has reached a new low around 6%.  They also have great healthcare.  Say what you will about the role of government in society, but it makes you wonder if we don’t at least have a thing or two to learn from our friends across the Atlantic.

Cologne (December 30th)

In Bonn we had the chance to visit a museum to post-war German history.  This did include exhibitions on the nation’s Nazi past.  You have to really respect a country that is making a conscious effort to confront its past and realistically portray its previous wrongdoings.  Honesty will hopefully keep history from repeating itself.  Unlike America, nationalism is heavily downplayed in Germany.  There are very few German flags, and limited expression of national pride.  It’s interesting to note the contrast and see that we truly are in a different place and that the history we were taught before lives in the world beyond our borders.

The next day, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we visited Cologne.  I knew that the city’s claim to fame was a giant Cathedral, but that was about it.

I am fortunate enough to have traveled to several European counties.  I have seen Notre Dame in Paris, the Duomo of Florence, and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Considering how incredible these churches were, I was uncertain if I would be impressed by Cologne’s.  When I first saw the cathedral, I was taken aback, because its height is tremendous.  After entering the building, one cannot help but marvel at the Gothic architecture.  The arches stretch huge distances skyward, and the interior is a massive volume.  The beautiful windows colored the sunlight, which radiated distinctly in the shadowy interior.  It was beautiful.

As with all of the great cathedrals, the building was filled with noisy tourists who come to see the splendor of the building.  Yet it’s a church—a house of worship.  Walking through the church I couldn’t help but feel like it seemed like a relic of Europe’s religious past—the leftovers of a bad breakup between faith and the people of Cologne.  I also wonder if the sole purpose of the church was to honor God, or if it was meant to represent the power of the Catholic Church.  Quite possibly, some people believed one or the other.  Regardless, the cathedral is a fantastic building.

Having failed to research beforehand, when we arrived to the El-De House, I had no idea what waited inside.  The El-De House is a museum located in the former Cologne Gestapo Headquarters.  In this building, thousands of people deemed suspicious or enemies of the state were brought in and “interrogated”—a Nazi euphemism for torture.  The chilling part about all of this was that in the basement of the building, where prisoners were packed like sardines into their cells, were the prisoners’ graffiti they left during their stay.

On the walls were accounts of torture, people crying out to God, words of encouragement, and words of desperation.  It was a little chilling, and added a human element to the victims of Nazi rule.

My favorite quote on the wall: “Everything is transient, even a life sentence.”

Learning the history of the Nazi regime in Cologne would fill anyone with shame, particularly that of the Catholic and Protestant churches.  Sure enough, in a photography exhibit in the museum was a photo of a Nazi rally held in from of the Cathedral, in the square where I had seen the church for the first time.  The layers of history in Germany are as perplexing as they are fascinating.

Getting Started (December 28th)

Today, we set off for Germany on our 9.5 hour flight to Frankfurt.  The journey was easy enough, except for the crying, nay, shrieking baby three rows in front of me.  After our landing, we were surprised to find the weather rather mild as we took an hour and a half bus ride to Bonn, where we have our first stay.  The city certainly lives up to the “sleepy” description provided by Dr. Wasser.  The town is a quaint, pedestrian friendly town located on the Rhine.  The sound of traffic is noticeably absent, and the brick-laden streets placidly welcome anyone willing to take a stroll.

The orientation just got me excited.  We’re getting the chance to do and see things that are really unique in the scope of traveling in general, as well as from the standpoint of engineering itself.   We’re lucky to be a part of this program, and the group is already gelling nicely.  I’ve got a fair amount of learning ahead of me, but rather than feel anxious as I would for school during a typical semester, I’m genuinely excited for what lies ahead.

My first beers in Germany were two dunkels at a local restaurant in Bonn.   My German was a little sketchy, but I managed to order my Jagerschnitzel with a little flair.

The first full day of the program (in my mind) began the next day.  We started off by going to a hospital in Bonn to watch surgeries.  After a few people ran off when I asked if they spoke any English, a friendly doctor who had studied at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for a year hooked us up with some pretty awesome procedures.  Shelby and I managed to shotgun a coronary bypass surgery.   Sure, lots of people have seen these surgeries, but this wasn’t your garden variety viewing.  We suited up in scrubs an walked into the operating room and stood literally 2 feet from  the patient’s heart.  Shelby chickened out when the initial incision was made and the sternum was sawn apart (she claims she was hungry).  Anyways, I watched at this man’s chest was opened and the wound was cauterized with an electric tool.   Saw the lungs breathe in and out and for a moment realized what a miracle the human body truly is.  Step by step the surgeons walked us through the process and we watched inquisitively as the patient’s heart was stopped.  The vein was removed from the leg, trimmed, and used for the heart.

The heart is evidently a durable organ, as the surgeon would occasionally poke the heart, and all you want to do is scream, “Dude!  That’s a guy’s heart—cut that out!” Ha, but the surgery ended up a success (that is to say, when we left it appeared this way).  The other thing to note is the smell of burning flesh is truly disgusting.  The idea that you are smelling the smoke of fried skin, blood, and muscle is a bit much to handle.  Consequently, I would take a deep breath and watch the surgery, and then Shelby would cyclically retreat to do this same.  In this way we didn’t spill our breakfasts in the operating room.

Later that night the group was exposed to some culture.  Apparently, German’s are obsessed with this video called “Dinner for One” and as a modern day tradition play it on New Year’s Eve while drinking the traditional winter sugar-wine called… ferzangenbowle?  If you have a chance to check this video sketch out, I recommend it!

Vienna: A Wonderful City and A Perfect Ending

Although it was my second time to visit Vienna, it was just as wonderful and beautiful as the first time! The city of Vienna combines old architecture with a new, modern spirit flawlessly. I would definitely have to say Vienna is one of the more beautiful cities we visited on this trip. But my time there was filled with many visits to hospitals, museums, and other cultural centers. One of my favorite things we did while we were there was seeing Mozart's, "The Magic Flute". Music has always been a large part of my life so I loved getting to experience a real opera. Even though I couldn't really understand what they were saying, the music and the costumes was more than enough to keep me entertained.

Along with the opera, one of my other favorite activities we did was visit St. Stephen's cathedral and the catacombs. I think St. Stephen's was one of my favorite cathedrals we visited on the trip. The trip to the catacombs was also quite amazing. It's fascinating to see all of the history each city and church has. In the states, the oldest building we could have is 300 years old, which is young compared to the buildings in Europe. I think that's what makes Europe so special to people, especially those of us from the states. The history is so rich and impressive.

The next day the group traveled to Mödling, a small town right outside of Vienna. We were fortunate enough to get to spend the entire morning with a team of cardiologists and shadow their every move. It was really amazing to see everything they could do with the technology they have today. One of the cardiologists did an EKG on one of the students on the trip, which was really cool to see! Just the fact that we got to watch so many procedures and we got to see it up close was such a great part of the trip. In each city we got to shadow a different specialty and learn about what each type of doctor did. In all we shadowed doctors specializing in cardiology, internal medicine, nephrology, and surgery. It was an amazing experience! The town of Mödling was also a really lovely city. We finished the day at a traditional Viennese restaurant, which was delicious. It was a perfect way to end the day and the trip!

Hannover

Our first day in Hannover wasn’t even in Hannover, but fun nonetheless. We travelled to Duderstadt to the Otto Bock Center. After a video presentation about the company, we were shown around the showroom to see the different products. They have different prosthetics and orthotics based on cost and the mobility of the patient, and the technology varies based on this. The most impressive to me were the Genium, which can walk backwards and up and down stairs and the prosthetic arm that uses the still intact nerves to move the arm. We also saw the production facilities which were interesting. We saw where they make feet out of a liquid that turns into foam, the different parts of the knee joints, and other parts of the legs. We also saw how they test products such as feet or joints by putting them through two million cycles. One of the best was the storage rooms. It is in a huge room and completely automated.

Tuesday was one of the best days of the trip so far. It started with a trip to the cattle clinic and the Hannover vet school. It was great to compare the aspects of human and veterinary surgeries. It seems like human surgeries are much more sterile conscious, but as we learned from Dr. Wasser, cattle can block off infections and are much less susceptible to sepsis. After a look around the Rathaus, and lunch, we went on one of the most exciting visits ever. The zoo. We saw giraffes, lions, wolves, caribou, addaxes and snowy owls named Harry and Hermione. The guide also took us to see a polar bear feeding which was fun. Next to the polar bears were seals and sea lions which we saw being trained. The sea lion would wave a hand, run up to the trainer or give her a kiss. I wanted to take one home. We also spent time seeing the hippos. When we walking on to the balcony, they came up with their mouths open asking for food. After the tour, we went back to see the other animals that we missed, such as the elephants, tigers, great apes, sloths, reptiles, kangaroos, emus, pigs, Guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens and others. We stopped to feed lorikeets a banana and to see the wallabies. I wanted one of each to take home, too. I think we stopped counting how many fun facts Dr. Wasser told us. One problem that zoos have today is breeding the endangered species and breeds, since the main focus of them is to breed animals. Some species are getting too interbred and some can’t be brought in because there are too few or they are too expensive to maintain.

Wednesday, we went to the nephrology department and learned more about the German medical system. Even though the systems are different, doctors here take advantage of the system just as much as in the US. They prefer private insurance patients, milk them by ordering extra tests and procedures and make the initial diagnoses for inpatient hospitalizations worse than it actually is so that they can they can be paid more since the patient is I know that doctors don’t have to pay much for medical school and other costs such as malpractice insurance, but I don’t think I could practice in Germany. To have an allowance for the procedures seems kind of silly, but it makes sense from the government and taxpayers’ side. We also saw the dialysis unit and learned about the mechanisms of the process. In the afternoon, we learned about Axolotl research. As a person fascinated by stem cells, this was uber exciting. Even though the regeneration process is known, the details and the exact differences are still unknown since the research is new. They have proven that AmbLOXe expression can quicken the healing process in human cells and mice, and the expression within an animal differs based on whether the skin cells are on a leg or the back. Axolotls are also much less susceptible to cancers and live much longer than other animals of their size. This kind of research shows how simple yet extraordinarily smart evolution can be.

Otto Bock Part Zwei, Sydney Day, and Other Hannover Activities

Our first day in Hannover, we got up and took the train to Duderstadt to spend the day at the Otto Bock facilities there. Even though this was a day of the program that catered to the engineers in our group, it was quite the eye-opening experience for me. We had the opportunity to see the latest in prosthetics and orthotics as well as other older models that are still popular in other countries. Their organization of their manufacturing facilities was amazing. I wish my dad would have been able to see it, because as an owner of a fabrication company that also incorporates robots into their infrastructure he would have had an even higher appreciation and understanding of their use in the facility. What was the most impacting for me was the realization that life without a limb is definitely not the end of the world. I had always thought that, although I would never admit it, I would be devastated if I lost a limb. Vain, I know, but my views are now completely different. I feel that I would lose very little quality of life living with a prosthetic, and because of this I feel so much more confident in my view of life. I have never been one to shudder at the thought of aging, but now I feel that I can look forward to the later years of my life no matter what obstacles I may encounter and that, my friends, is a beautiful gift.

Tuesday was Sydney Day! Yep, all about Yours Truly, and it was fabulous. In the morning we were able to visit the vet school cattle clinics. It was awesome to see some of the original school buildings in use as well as have some cow interaction since I've been a little animal deprived the past few weeks. Every time I get to be around a veterinary setting, I feel at home. I think I get that feeling that you are supposed to have when you are passionate about something, and it makes me feel even more driven in my academic and professional goals. In the afternoon, we were able to check out some animals at the Hannover Zoo. One great aspect of this zoo was that they are following the new ideas of zookeeping in which compatible animals from similar environments are kept together and animals are organized geographically. This method of organization keeps animals intrigued and happy. We had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some polar bears during feeding as well as hippos which was super cool for me. I had never gotten to be behind the scenes at a zoo before. Even though I want to pursue a career in equine medicine, I have always been interested in zoo medicine, and now I would definitely jump at an opportunity to get some experience in that area.

For our last day in Hannover, we spent the morning learning about kidneys and different methods of dialysis which was a subject that I did not know much about so I found it especially interesting. Later in the day we went to the axolotl research lab where they are studing the mechanisms of axolotl regeneration and how they might be used to develop treatments in human medicine. Axolotls are the coolest little animals ever! They are a member of the salamander family and are mainly aquatic. Axolotls regenerate limbs and heal wounds rather fast and regenerated limbs are often identical to the limb it replaced. Topical ointments developed from this research increased the rate of healing in back wounds of mice in the lab and further research is in development. The fact that these little animals can self-heal and live up to fifteen + years is simply amazing, and it looks like they may very well help us in our own human healing endeavors.

My Patronus: A Sloth (January 10th)

The trip to the Hannover Zoo was probably the most exciting day for everyone! Who knew a bunch of twenty year olds could turn into a group of five year olds just by saying the word "zoo"?? Well we did. It looked like someone fed us pure sugar based on our excitement. I think we had most of the kids beat. I mean, we did have the height and the strength to take out any five year old in our way. But of course, we never had to resort to throwing some 'bows to knock the kids out of the way.

Anyways, after a tour of the vet school in Hannover the group made its way to the zoo. After Dr. Wasser and Nils calmed us down and threatened to not give me a ticket since I was too excited, I was allowed to see the animals. We started with a visit to Africa where we met a giraffe named George and his family. Next, we saw the lion family. After spending an hour in Africa (fastest trip to Africa EVER), we made a quick trip to the Yukon territory to visit the wolves, polar bears, seals, and caribou. We got VIP access to the polar bear show, which was pretty awesome. Then we got to visit the lovely hippos! The zookeeper let us go to the private area where they're normally fed, so we were super up close and personal. I felt a little bad because the hippos expected us to be the zookeepers there to feed them dinner But alas, we were just there to watch them for 30 minutes with no offering. I must say that they are really persistent animals. They sat there with their mouths open for at least 20 minutes before giving up and realizing we were food-less.

After our zookeeper tour-guide left us, we visited the rest of the park. The animals we saw included monkeys, birds, snakes, flamingos, wallabies, elephants, jaguars and many others! It was definitely one of the best days of the trip. This zoo was especially awesome because the animals all seemed so close to us. The park was very open and had low fences so seeing the animals was easy. It almost felt like you were in the habitat area with them. Going to the zoo brings out the inner child in everyone and is always a great time.

It was decided that the sloth is patronus. Someone made this discovery for me a few months ago and it just stuck. Apparently my monotone voice and my laid back demeanor reminds people of a sloth. And the fact that I'm definitely the slowest power walker on the trip doesn't weaken the comparison.

Going to the zoo should be a requirement for everyone. It just makes you happy.

Is this trip almost HANNOVER already?! So punny. (January 9th)

Aren't I just so punny? I hope you got my pun, but if you didn't then...read it again.

After Prague the group journeyed to Hannover! The first day in Hannover was not spent in Hannover. Confusing right?! We arrived in Duderstadt where the Otto Bock Center is located. The group had previously visited the Otto Bock Science Center in Berlin, but the center in Duderstadt is where the main factory and research center is based in Germany. The day was spent learning more about the company, taking a tour of the factory and research center, learning about job opportunities with Otto Bock, eating a delicious lunch in the VIP lounge, and playing with all of the cool displays because we're all easily distracted and nerdy. It was the first time I've ever really been to a large scale factory, and it was very impressive. I'm pretty sure all of the engineers on the trip were peeing their pants a little. But anyone can admit how amazing and brilliant these types of factories can be. The take home message from the tour of the packaging and shipping center is that robots will eventually rule the world.

I kid, that's not the only message I took away from the Otto Bock Center. The Otto Bock company is quite a fascinating company. It's one of the leading companies in prosthetic manufacturing and has clearly impacted many peoples' lives. The type of products they make range from basic orthotics to prosthetic arms and legs to wheelchairs made especially for handicapped basketball players. So many people have Otto Bock to thank for giving them more flexibility and ability in their lives.

Our visit to the Otto Bock center was really enjoyable for everyone! The medical students learned more about how the prosthetics work with the body, the physical therapy students learned about how it affected the patient's lives and abilities, and the biomedical engineers...well we all know how it was for them.

Adventures in Praha

For our free weekend we took a little adventure to the Czech Republic. We stayed at a cozy hostel in Prague where we met some friends from other parts of Europe and the UK. During the day, we went to see the sights. We hiked up to see the monastery where we were blessed with a few snow flurries. From there we went to see the castle and cathedral - both beautiful sights. We then crossed the river and wondered through the historical district and the jewish quarter. By night we ventured out to check out the night life with a guide and a group from our hostel. We got to do some Czech beer tasting - yum - and go to some really cool pubs and bars - my favorite being one that was situated in a mess of caverns underground. Prague is a beautiful city with a totally different vibe than the other cities we've been in. I can't quite explain it, but I like it. I would have loved to have had more time in Prague, but we made the best of our weekend there.

Now back to Germany!

Free Weekend in Praha

Before leaving for Prague, we visited the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. I thought it was remarkable that the center worked with clinics to integrate its own basic research with the research of the clinics in order to maximize results. In addition, we got to see an MRI machine, and it was very impressive in size and capability. It was truly amazing to me to see how it functions and its utility in medicine.

We then embarked on the five hour train ride to Prague. As we approached the city and immediately when we got off the train, I could tell we were moving into Eastern Europe since the city was just so destitute in comparison to Germany as you could tell it was just not nearly as developed. When we arrived at the hostel, I was thoroughly surprised by how nice it was. My only issue was that the room only had one outlet for nine people! After arriving late at night, we decided to grab some food to prepare for the next day. As we walked around, I definitely started to panic a little bit because I did not know what a single word meant. Other than the language problem, the city seemed incredibly sketchy as we walked through trying to find food. To my surprise, all the convenience stores and restaurants were closed by 11 so we just got a quick snack at a gas station.

As we started our day excursion of the city, one thing became apparent very quickly: Prague is super hilly! It was definitely a workout climbing to the top of the hills, but it was worth it for sure. The views were fantastic and you could really capture glimpses of the entire city. We tried going up to the monastery, but it was closed so we decided to make our way to the Castle. The Castle lived up to its iconic image with its marvelous architecture. We didn’t get to take a tour due to time constraints but it would have been nice to learn more about its history. After getting some amazing food, we crossed the Charles Bridge and went into the Old City to visit the Jewish Quarter. We got to see the renowned synagogue as well as a few other nearby historical sites. We then called it a day, and to get back home, we walked for what seemed to be an eternity until finally finding the tram to take us back to the hostel.

Overall, it was a very fun weekend, but I’m glad our program is based in Germany and Austria. Prague was cool to visit for a short period, but besides the touristic places, the city itself was not very impressive. With that said, I’m still glad I got to visit the eastern part of Europe and that everyone came back safely!

Prague!

For our free weekend, we went to Prague, which was a great decision! Despite not being able to find food past 11pm and wandering around what looked like a stereotypic Eastern European city on Friday night, Saturday was fun. We started with a hike to the top of a hill to see the monastery and it snowed! It was barely anything, like what we get in Texas, but we finally saw some! On the trail, there were places to stop and see Prague. It is a stunning city. It seemed as though any picture could be on a post card. We stopped by a porcelain store on the way to the castle. Learning about Czech history was interesting, because we don’t learn about Eastern European countries much in history classes. Some of the things we saw looked like they were out of a cliché medieval movie. We also saw the Charles’ Bridge, crossing the Vltava River, which had different religious statues. We walked around the Old Town during the afternoon and saw the Lennon Wall. It was interesting to read the quotes that different people from different places thought were important. That evening, we went on a pub crawl, which was definitely fun! It was great meeting people from other places and hearing their stories. Visiting Prague was exciting, but the places we went were too tourist based and I was glad to get back to Germany on Sunday.

Otto Bock (Round Two)

Today we went to one of Otto Bock’s major manufacturing facilities in Europe, located in Duderstadt. So, in this sleepy little relaxed town, a person can find one of the most high tech, cutting edge plants in the area. We first arrived and were given a presentation on the company and some of the statistics (1,700 employees in Duderstadt and 4,500 worldwide). After that, our next stop was the showroom floor; here we were able to see most of the products we saw in the presentation video. The major standouts of the products were the brand new Genius new replacement and the full arm replacement prosthetic device. The Genius leg features a complex process, which receives inputs to determine how much pressure needs to be exerted on the hydraulic cylinder. This allows for strong support on the application of force on heel strike, yet also a natural swinging gait after toe removal from the ground. It also has an amazing safety feature allowing the joint to stiffen if premature load is put on the leg before the completion of the swing, and preventing the patient from falling. After that, we toured the manufacturing and assembling facility. We saw some massive presses for metal rod pressing and molding, methods used for polyurethane injection molding, and the complicated hand assembly of the prosthetics. One of the most fascinating areas was the quality control and testing department. This was where the synthetic body parts were put to the test and cycled millions of times. This very noisy room is a vital unit to the Otto Bock body, so that customers continue to get quality products for today and the future. This area single handily allows for the perpetuation of the company in the future. To wrap the day up, we were given a presentation from a Human Resources representative on the process of advancing in a company and succeeding in a corporation like Otto Bock.

Off to Prague!

Our last day in Berlin was Friday, I'm going to miss this city! We visited the Institut für Mikrobiologie, where we learned a bit about the history of biochemsitry, its role in drug research, and the mircoarray reaction microscopes, which can help determine a specific reaction with a computer scanning system. The MRI portion was the most interesting though, I haven't had my imaging class for biomedical engineering yet, so this was the best possible introduction! We saw a 7 Tesla MRI, which had a super powerful magnetic field (as in, my earrings were being pulled towards it). The student also informed us of attempts at taking MRI's of the heart, which is extremely tricky due to the inability to take a dynamic picture. You have to time the MRI to take a portion of the picture at the same point in the heart rhythm by listening for the valves to close. This is so ingenious! I never realized the field of imaging had so much potential for growth.
After a short introduction to Otto Bock, a prosthesis company (more on this soon), we ventured off to Prague! I met two students from Mexico on the train, who were pretty awesome to talk to (I now know quite a bit more about the MLS), and when we arrived at our Hostel, Sir Toby's, and looked for food at 11 pm (this doesn't exist) we crashed! More on Prague soon!

Days 9-11 Last Days in Berlin

On Wednesday, we spent the day at the Charité. First we visited the skills training center which is completely run by students. I don’t know how they have time to teach classes AND be a medical student, since either would be enough to keep someone busy. We learned how to listen to chest sounds, saw models of the brain, leg and ear and my favorite: how to suture and intubate. In the afternoon we went to the museum where we learned more about the history of medicine. We saw old surgery tools that barbers used to perform procedures and learned about specific cases and their corresponding tools and procedures. At the end of the exhibit were the specimens, some of them collected by Virchow. This was definitely exciting since I’ll be spending over four years studying these organs and diseases. And that night, I tried currywurst for the first time! It was absolutely delicious and easily now one of my favorite foods.

Thursday, we went to the Sachsenhausen prison camp. This was one of the most interesting excursions so far. The conditions the prisoners were in and the medical experiments performed on them are still unimaginable. What people can claim in the name in the name of a better society is completely shocking. And what people aren’t willing to do, for example the Red Cross not attempting to discontinue the Nazi’s deeds. One of my favorite parts of the camp was in one of the museums. There were quotes from different years, and once the Soviets rescued the camp, there was a definitive difference in the moods and attitudes of the speakers. That afternoon, visited the Otto Bock Science Center. This was a nice contrast to the morning. There were game-like displays so that we could see the effects of different prosthetics and the different motions that they attempt to simulate with their technology. The Michelangelo Hand was really amazing. The motions of a human hand are so intricate, for a machine to do almost the same things is mind-boggling.

Friday, we had a tour of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. We learned about Max Delbrück and his influence on Schrödinger and Watson and Crick. We also saw the 7 Tesla MRI machine which was an interesting experience. Almost everything metal started moving towards the scanner, including earrings and bobby pins. Later, we learned about the chemical biology research and saw some of the microscopes and the robots used for the plates with hundreds of wells. That would definitely make pipetting much easier.

I love Prague....Prague Prague Prague (to the tune of Ron Burgandy's song, "I Love Scotch")

So I guess you can probably tell that I love Prague!

Everyone told me how beautiful Prague is, and I must say I was not disappointed. The city literally looks like something out of a fairy tale. Pretty much all of the buildings are old and majestic and look like they belong in a palace. Prague actually reminded me a lot of Budapest, because of the layout of the city and the river that divides it, but Prague was more beautiful. The hostel we stayed in was super fun as well! I got to meet so many people from different countries, which was pretty amazing. And the 9 person sleepover in our room was pretty interesting to say the least haha. The hostel was your typical European hostel, with plenty of conversation and a cool little pub in the basement where everyone hung out. The group spent some time there on Friday night since we got in pretty late, but Saturday was jam packed!

We began the day on Saturday with a walk up to the monastery overlooking the city. It gave us such good views of the city and it was absolutely gorgeous. It even snowed while we were up there! Except we couldn't find the tram up the mountain so we did a nice little hike to start our day. And now I know how horribly out of shape I am. There aren't hills in College Station! Anyways, after we visited the monastery we walked back down and wandered around the city until we stumbled upon the castle and cathedral, which were also, you guessed it...gorgeous. It was hard not to take a million pictures since everything was so pretty. Then we crossed the Charles' Bridge to get to the other historical part of the city and walked around the Jewish Quarter and the Old Town Square. We had an amazing lunch of beer and pasta...two things I've never really had together...but hey it was delicious.

Saturday night was an adventure to say the least! Our group went on a pub crawl hosted by the hostel. It was pretty crazy but really fun. There were so many people there from different countries, but then quite a few Americans. The pub crawl was a perfect thing to participate in since we didn't know the city that well. Now after a long day of traveling, the group finally made it to Hanover....all by ourselves!! Our professor and coordinator should be so proud! :)

Another busy week ahead! But I'm looking forward to every minute of it. It's sad to think I only have a week left here...but I'm really in need of some good tex mex and queso stat so Texas will come at the perfect time!

Until next time!

Dresden and Bonn [1/3-1/6]

The third was another on-the-go day. As is the fashion, it involved a train; this one brought us to Dresden. Upon arrival and a little walking, we were greeted by our tour guide in front of a Lutheran, Baroque-style church. It was perfectly uncharacteristic of a Lutheran church, but perfectly Baroque. Later, we saw a large yet rather bare Catholic church. They are an intersting pair to share Dresden, but both wonderful and unique. It is interesting to note that for a city with such large churches, 80% of the population claims no religion. This is a product of East Germany's unique history. I was impressed by their resolve to rebuild. It can't be easy for a city that is bombed to pieces to wait so long or fight so hard to restore what they can of their beautiful city on the Elbe. After lunch, which I'm certain was something delicious, we headed to the Hygiene Museum, which is a very interactive museum on biology, health, and wellness. We had a lot of fun picking our favorite aspects of each room and presenting them to our groupmates. The fourth of January revolved around the Charité training center ann museum. We were given a tour of the training center and a presentation of what medical school can be like in Germany. Then they let us learn and practice some skills on their training resources. We got to intubate a dummy, suture, take a part a model brain, and many other things. The Charité museum was very intersting and had a great many kidney, bladder, and gall stones. The museum was full of examples of health and disease, and since we all made it through without passing out, I'll admit the mega colon made me a little uncomfortable. I wrote down a lot of words so that I can look up a description of the disease or defect in english. Definitely sparked my curiosity. January the 6th was a hard day, but one I expected from the start. Sachsenhausen required a lot of mental preparation. I tried to really see the the camp as it would have seemed to someone who was told "this is where you must live, and these are the rules you must follow. I felt it was necessary to let the reality of what happened at this concentration camp sink in and, as these museums and memorials are intended, to bear witness to the people who lived or died there. The Otto Bock Science Center was a really exciting experience for me. They are cutting edge biotechnology and had a really interesting exhibit of prosthetics and other real 'game changers '. This was fascinating to me from a PT perspective, and I know that keeping up with current biotechnologies is important for giving patients the best therapy and treatment. On Friday we went to the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine. Highlight there for me was the MRI machine. 7 Tesla and my earrings and bobby pins were trying to jump off my body. Even my body itself felt strange due to the magnetism. Also exciting: I had broccoli. Thats right, I stubled across a real, green vegetable in Germany and it was delicious. After that it was bye bye Berlin and Hello Prague. Welcome to even stranger languages and lands!

End of Berlin...off to Prague

The train ride to Prague was quite interesting. I met a Lebanese German car dealership owner who was off to Prague for a weekend vacation. He knew very little English so we carried a three hour conversation by guessing meanings, gestures, and pictionary, and from all of this I gained some very important insight into the life of a German immigrant. Abos seems to be leading a tough life driving between cities during the week and conducting international sales, he's separated from his family that's scattered across the world, and he has very liberal views about religion, politics, and sex.
We also visited the molecular medicine center today. It was fascinating to see how universal science is. Regardless of languages or difficult accents, a picture of a benzene ring means the same thing of this side of the Atlantic as it does back home. The MRI tour was also very useful for me especially since I worked at a research imaging center over the summer and had a little background on MRIs. Standing next to the 7 tesla MRI I was able to feel the wires in my braces bend, which was a very strange sensation, but was a good demonstration of how strong the magnetic field was even at the one-ish foot distance from the bore where I was standing.
I can't believe that our time in Berlin is over, but I really feel that I so much more out of the city than a tourist experience. Now for Prague!

Berlin Wrap-Up

Wednesday we visited the Charite where we were able to get a little hands on training at the skills lab. The Charite training center is run by students who are able to help fellow students hone their skills. Best of all we got to work on some of their training equipment. I am by no means ready to be a doctor, but I think I might be a little better at sewing up a wound, just don't ask me to intubate anything. I loved getting to play with coolstuff in the training center, but my favorite part of the day was definitely the Charite museum. We had yet another lovely tour guide who led us through the museum and provided some history on the development of medicine along with some good anecdotes. The museum also houses a collection of medical curiosities and specimens which I found quite intriguing. With our free time we visited the Pergamon museum which houses beautiful, not to mention enormous, Roman and Babylonian artifacts as well as a really cool Islamic art exhibit.

Thursday we visited Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp outside Berlin. I knew that seeing a concentration camp would be a difficult experience but the gravity of the topic was only amplified by the cold and drizzling rain. I can hardly imagine the daily lives of the people subjected to the concentration camps. While I used to think it completely absurd that people would try to deny the holocaust, I am beginning to see how one might really find it hard to believe. While it was difficult to force myself to think about the reality of what happened in Sachsenhausen, I am really glad that I had the opportunity to go there. It is a piece of history that should not be forgotten.

After we returned to Berlin, we visited the Otto Bock Science Center. I loved seeing the mechanics behind prosthesis and how things I've learned in my basic sciences tie together to create miracles for people who might otherwise be seriously disabled. Prosthesis is amazing, because it gives people an independence that they could probably never have without it. So cool.

Today, Friday, was our last day in Berlin and we wrapped it up by visiting the Max Dellbruck Center for Molecular Medicine. My favorite thing was the MRI. I had not realized that there might be other uses for MRI other than imaging, but after speaking with a scientist working on a 7T MRI I know that there be uses for killing cancerous cells non-invasively. Yet again, so cool. Science never ceases to amaze me. These are they days that I am so glad this is the route I chose to go down. Every day brings new discovery and new opportunities.

Now off to Prague!

Halfway Point

It's been a few days since my last blog so time to recap:

Tuesday 01-03-12
We took the two hour train ride to Dresden and started off by visiting the Frauenkirche and the Lutheran church definitely lived up to its iconic image. Dresden was definitely the most beautiful city that I have seen in Germany so far, which is probably why the people of Dresden are so proud of their city. This is all the more amazing considering the fact that almost the entire city was destroyed by the Second World War. After our guided tour, we then headed over to the Deutsches Hygiene Museum. Unlike all the other places we’ve visited, this museum actually required us to do a little bit of work. The museum contained information about things such as sexual activity, nutrition, and sensation, which was awesome since it provided a well-rounded perspective of health.

Wednesday 01-04-12
The Charité Medical School was a really fun and interactive place. Despite learning about the German medical school process from Dr. Wasser, it was interesting to hear from the perspectives of actual medical students. We were able to learn and perform various medical procedures such as intubation and suturing from the student tutors. They were very helpful and genuinely seemed to enjoy working with us which was really refreshing. The procedures which are routine for doctors were not as easy as they look and it was awesome just getting to do things that I hope to learn one day in medical school. Before heading out to the Charité Pathology Museum, Dr. Wasser gave us a lecture about Rudolf Virchow, who is considered the father of pathology. It was pretty cool that we got the lecture in the same exact room as where Virchow gave his talks! We got to see some pretty crazy stuff like the megacolon and babies born with only one eye. It was amazing to me to see how small errors can completely derail the complex machine that is our body.

Thursday 01-05-12
The concentration camp at Sachenhausen was one of the most “memorable” experiences in my life. I’ve learned so much about the conditions of concentration camps but to actually see it up close was slightly rattling. To know that more than 30,000 people were killed there at that very site was a hard fact for me to wrap my head around. In addition, the way in which they mechanized the killing process was super disturbing to me. After leaving the concentration camp, we got some lunch and made our way to the Otto Bock Science Center to see the prostheses exhibits. Since I want to get into sports medicine, it was really cool for me to see how biomedical technology is developing and its integral role in the future of orthopedics. And the interactive nature of the exhibition really made it enjoyable as I was able to experience how one feels while using some of the devices such as a prosthetic leg.

Off to Prague!!

Berlin [12/31-1/2]

Arriving to Berlin was exciting and overwhelming! The train station was crowded and bright and always moving. You know that training program in the matrix that is a city scene with the woman in red? And how that is like crowded and almost everyone but Neo and Morpheus are going the other way? Okay well it felt like that. Its amazing to me how large Berlin main station was. Just layer upon layer of transportation and food and stores and bathrooms that cost a Euro to use. We were oriented with regards to Alexanderplatz and the TV tower. The Alex Hotel is absolutely fantastic. Well it was the eve of the new year so we got to go where the party was! The party mile main stage was right by the Brandenburg gate and stretched for 1.2 miles down alongside the tiergarten to the victory tower. We had a really great time listening to music, watching performers, and trying authentic Berlin cuisine! The fireworks show was amazing and we met some fellow english speakers as we passed them by in the crowds. For our free day on the first, we walked all around Berlin, seeking out sights and museums and crepes. There were still wonderful firecrackers to be seen and heard and the people of Berlin seemed to be in good spirits. On the second of January, there was a lot of drizzly rain, but we completed our city tour of Berlin without faltering. As usual, our guide was absolutely amazing and he taught us many things. We saw a pretty long strip of the Wall, a lot of remnant propaganda/art, and many memorials. The memorial to the Jews if Europe was striking. In a way, it reminded me of the Houston Holocaust Museum, which shifts its architecture from warmish or neutral colors and tall ceilings and wide rooms to small, dark, and narrow rooms as you move through. This is said to represent the way such an event occurs; world events like this do not happen overnight. They move slowly, creeping into society and making short advancements so as not to alarm the citizenry or spark an idea outside the steady diet of propaganda. As we walked through the stelae, or giant concrete blocks, they rose higher and higher and you lose sight if the way in, the way out, and what is around the next corner. Of course, this memorial is up for individual interpretation, and the above is just a thought that my walk through he memorial evoked. We also saw the Reichstag Building. It was very interesting to learn about the German government and their party system. It really clarified and aided in my understanding of the introduction that Dr.Wasser gave us to German politics. I think the general rule here is that the days are long but the sun is only interested in hanging out for a third of it. Nonetheless, we are making the most of our days and enjoying our experiences here. :)

Charite

Written 1/4

Today we took a venture out to the Charite Hospital; this hospital has a lot of history and has seen many patients from the past, to even some current day patients. In the past, this hospital was mainly used as a containment/treatment area for many of Berlin's widespread disease outbreaks. More recently, the hospital is used in an educational scope, more than medical applications. But, it still does have a cancer treatment ward in the building. When we got to the Charite University, we were greeted by two medical students who very generously showed us some areas of the facility. After a brief powerpoint presentation covering topics including, the medical system in Germany, the structure of the medical school, and their current position at the University to name a few, we were given some hands on training techniques. This included a demonstration and individual application on how to stitch a wound, how to detect the sound of normal heartbeat and respiration, and lastly how to intubate a dummy. For me the intubation lesson was the part that interested me the most; it was a real life application that is used everyday and I had witnessed on multiple hospital shows. It includes tilting a patients head back, locating the trachea, and then inserting a breathing apparatus so manual respiration could ensue. After this, we had a brief lecture and lunch, and then toured the Medical History Museum on the grounds of the Charite. This museum was fascinating, it basically analyzed and presented the advances and history human physiology. From early understandings of medial devices and tools to their comprehensive selection pathological/anatomical body parts. In most areas, you were able to look at functional, healthy areas of the body; but even more interesting was the mutations and nonfunctional body regions. This grouping was very extensive and somewhat grotesque. This collection was very diverse, and accumulated over a hundred years of collection. It was definitely something to see, but not on a full stomach.....

The Musings of a Granny in Berlin

Hello from Prague!

The group successfully made it to Prague, which is kind of amazing in itself since we completely rely on Nils and his bright orange jacket to lead us through Germany. And since this is our first weekend on our own (eeeeeek), I thought there was a high chance of us either ending up in the wrong country or not even making it on the train. But alas, we're here! I'm pretty excited about seeing the beautiful sights of Prague tomorrow morning!

Leaving Berlin was sad, but a welcome change. Berlin is a wonderful city, but it's very metropolitan. My roommate and I were getting accustomed to settling in bed with our matching books (The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo series) and a cup of hot cocoa by 10 every night. Okay....maybe it was more like 9. But now we're on the road again! On Thursday we visited Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin. This was one of my favorite excursions so far. I've always been fascinated by World War II history and the history of the Holocaust, so it was pretty interesting to be at an actual concentration camp. But it was definitely a creepy experience at the same time. It's hard not to dwell on what actually occurred on those grounds without getting too upset. There were definitely times on the tour where I felt a little uncomfortable, but it was all part of the experience. Sachsenhausen wasn't a death camp, but a prison camp instead. Although as many as 30,000 people were unjustly killed by the Nazis at this camp, it was not one of the largest killing factories they operated. Most of the prisoners at this camp were enemies of the Nazi party. However, one of the more awful things that occurred at this camp were medical experiments conducted by Nazi doctors. It's inconceivable to think that people thought it was okay to treat other humans like test dummy's. But that's exactly what they did. I think it's important for people to visit concentration camps, to honor the victims and to reflect on the past, however gruesome it may be. The visit to Sachsenhausen will forever be ingrained in my memory.

On a lighter note, after the visit to Sachsenhausen we took a tour of the Otto Bock Science Center in Berlin, which was enjoyed by everyone. Otto Bock is one of the major prosthetic companies in the world. We were able to understand the science of different prosthetic apparatuses such as the C-Leg and the Michaelangelo hand. It was really interesting not only seeing the engineering side of it, but also the body's and the patient's response to the apparatus. It was definitely a cool place to visit, and we'll be visiting the production center next week. It's pretty amazing what science can do now!

Now the bigger question is, do I want to explore the hostel and Prague tonight....or be a granny and get acquainted with my bunk bed? Decisions decisions. Maybe we'll just go with exploring the hostel....and then my bunk bed. Winning.

Adios! (I'm not even going to try to say something in Czech)