Northern Germany

My past weekend was spent in Northern Germany, starting with the whole group in Hannover and Nordeney, and ending the excursion with Mario, Mikaela, Sarah, and Meredith in Hamburg, Germany. Hannover has to be one of my favorite spots so far, aside from the fact that my host family said Hannover is boring, because of the visits we were able to have with Dr. Kielstein and Dr. K. Reimers at MHH (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover). From my perspective, it was very interesting to hear both of these men talk about the health care systems of Germany and the United States and the differences between each of them. While Dr. Reimers seemed to highlight the benefits of what came from the Bismarck model health care system, Dr. Kielstein highlighted what disadvantages can arise in such a system where there is such a difference between the government-run insurance and the privately-run health care system. I feel as if I now know more about my own health care system simply from learning about the systems that are run in Europe, and this information is definitely helpful to me as I prepare my life for a career in medicine or wherever I may end up. Dr. Reimers spoke largely of what benefits come from the Bismarck model and what 'red tape' may hold back some doctors in the U.S. It was easy for me to understand these statements about what regulations in the U.S. may hinder a doctor from being able to perform a certain surgery that could theoretically save a life. While things like FDA approval or lawyers may be helpful in keeping what devices or procedures can be used on patients, I feel like these can be abused or used incorrectly in ways that do not allow the doctor to make the decision that is best for a patient. On the other hand, the German health care system can also be abused, allowing certain people to fall through the cracks. These cases may not be life threatening, but there can definitely be some discomfort in waiting for a hip replacement once the limit number of hip replacements is reached for a hospital to be covered for.

After these enlightening sessions with some 'real-life' doctors, where we were able in both instances to see the doctor interact with a patient, our journey brought us to Nordeney and Nordeich Mole, the land where there is a tax on the air. We walked on a guided tour through the mud flats of this northern haven and got to see and experience the healing powers of this natural habitat. I can definiteyly see how living in this area of the world would be such a healing process for almost anyone, and it was very interesting to see the actual statistics on how so many chronically sick people have benefitted so greatly simply from living there. The rehabilitation clinic was eye opening in the presentation of research on the effects of the Wadden Sea on the lungs and such.

For the actual weekend, our group of five (Mario, Mikaela, Sarah, Meredith, and I) headed to the 2nd largest city in Germany, which wasn't so far away from our previous destinations of Nordeney and Hannover. This city was so very different from anywhere I've been in Germany. Maybe, Frankfurt is more similar than Munich, but nothing has come close to the mere glimpse we got of the Reeperbahn, St. Pauli's street, and the red light district. These are all pretty close to the fish market, but we didn't get to see any of this until Saturday because our train from Bremen was delayed for about 40 minutes on Friday. When we finally arrived in Hamburg late Friday night, the hostel computer system was down; we couldn't check in for another 40 minutes or so, so we didn't get our room until about midnight.

The next day was well spent, in my opinion, in walking around the city for the scenic pictures and walking in and out of shops. We lunched in a small bistro-type place, which seems to be the norm throughout Germany, and I picked up what I now think is a Homeopathic remedy for a cold I could feel arising in my nose and throat. I don't know if it was a cold or if the meds I got from an Apotheke were Homeopathic, but I felt better within hours. After lunch we caught an underground tram over to where the Beatles' clubs were to catch a day-time glimpse of this red light district scene. I'm glad that's all we did, because I would not have wanted to somehow get lost there at night. A brisk walk through here brought us to a path through quite a large park, where we strolled and wandered for a few hours taking in the weather that had proceeded the rainy and cloudy morning. We then took a long walk back to the Generator Hostel while stopping for photos by the small lake in the city center, and we decided at hostel our plans for the evening. These decision processes always seem so long in getting everyone on the same page, but we finally got out and about for a night well spent with dinner at a brauhaus called Paulaner's, a pub, and clubbing at one seemingly abandoned concrete tower and one packed club apparently called the Green Hunstman.

The next morning was also spent in walking, trying to find St. Michaeli's Cathedral. Before taking on this journey, though, we coffeed in a cafe that seemed Viennese from structure and the fact that Melange was served. We then took on the task of finding this cathedral, where we climbed to the top of the tower for a birdseye view of the parts of the city that we had already explored the previous day. This was definitely one picturesque moment aside from the bars that blocked some view of the city, and the giant statue of Otto von Bismarck in the park was easily visible from this point. We were all pretty exhausted after this weekend trip and some Chinese food in the Hauptbahnhof for a late lunch at about 4 in the afternoon was well received, at least by my stomach. I'm just glad I was able to get a nap in on the train for an hour or so.