Berlin!

31  December, 2012, Day 5- New Years Eve

Today we woke up, had breakfast and headed to the train station to catch our train to Berlin. We had a 4 hour train ride to Berlin. After exiting the train we headed to catch the bus, and find our hotel. We had a lot of down time today. We checked in, did some exploring and came back to the hotel to get ready to party down at the "Fest Mila". We went to the party mile at around 8 p.m.. I had read up on this event, but had no idea it would be that massive. We tried to make it to the front of the stage, but it was so packed we settled for around the huge ferris wheel area. We enjoyed food, drinks, and the various entertainment. At midnight the amount of fireworks were unbelievable. Fireworks are illegal in Germany everyday except for New Year's Eve so the locals go crazy with them. All in all, it was a great night, and I was so happy to share it with my fellow abroad students.

1 January 2012,  Day 6

Today is New Year's day. We had a pretty low key day today since we were at the party mile celebrating last night. We had a city tour of Berlin that consisted of various historical sites around Berlin. Our tour guide was a man named Sean. He was extremely knowledgeable of all the sites around Berlin. Some of the sites we saw was the Humboldt University, the Holocaust memorial, the remaining pieces of the wall, the Brandenburg gate, and the site of Hitler’s bunker. The tour was great and full of information. After the city tours we had a group dinner at the potato cellar. I ordered a broccoli and cheese potato dish. It was very good.

2 January 2012, Day 7- Day trip to Dresden

This morning we caught a train for our day outing in Dresden. We had another exceptional tour guide who had an interesting name. Her name was Cosima. She was very energetic about Dresden and all it offers. Dresden is a very beautiful city. The fact the sun came out today added to the beauty of the city. We toured around the city seeing various sites such as the “red cobblestone road”, a wall that was made entirely of intricate tiles, and the Church of our Lady. We also toured an interesting museum that housed many remarkable art masterpieces. We saw a unique clock, a ship with sails made of ivory, a rare tea set, and a 40 carat remarkable rock (diamond). As for lunch we had a sack lunch between adventures. We ended the afternoon with trip the Hygiene Museum. We broke into groups and each groups gave a quick lesson on their exhibit. My partner was Monica, and we had the Life and Death exhibit. I felt like our exhibit was one of the most interesting. The day concluded with a train ride back to Berlin.

3 January 2012, Day 8

Today we went to the Molecular Medicine Institute. We were given a tour of the facility and had two lectures. We then toured a few of their lab facilities. We dined at the cafeteria. Honestly, I was surprised how good the meal was. Normally I am not a fan of cafeteria food. Following lunch we took a bus back to center of Berlin. We toured a museum at the Charite that displayed the progression of anesthesia, moulages, and a large number of wet samples of various body parts. Personally, this was very interesting for me. Following the museum we met up with a medical student attending the Charite. I believe she had 3 semesters left. She informed us of the three options students are able to pursue in order to become a doctor. We then were able to se some of their simulations. We got to intubate a dummy, listen to heart and lung sounds, experience the feeling of tremors, and lastly experience the toll old age takes on the body. To end our evening we toured the Reichstag Building. We took in some history on the parliament as well as the building and its significance. We were even able to see the actual room where the parliament meets.

4 January 2012, Day 9

This morning we went back to the Charite for a lecture from Dr. Wasser. He discussed important individuals that paved the path of modern day medicine and innovation. We then ventured to the Otto Bock. This facility was very innovative. The science center had various prosthetic attachments. Their artificial limbs were truly remarkable in efficiency. I can’t even imagine what the future holds on store for prostheses.