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!