Hopping through Hamburg and Hannover: Days 10 through 13

Hallo once again! I actually began this post on the plane ride to Vienna but eventually finished it and finally posted this today! I will write this post as I was writing it in pieces on the way to Vienna. This is for the dates January 5th through January 8th. We arrived in Hamburg on January 4^th 2013 and it is now January 8^th 2013 and we are on our way to Vienna, the capital of Austria. It is crazy to think about how quickly this trip picked up after the first half finished. It is almost as if the first half of the trip was slow and the second half just sped up like crazy!

On the nice cold river cruise around Hamburg's port industries.

On day ten, January 5th, Kitty, Ariana, Austin, and I woke up rather late and ate lunch at an Iranian place down the street from Hotel Continental where I shared a room with Austin and I ordered a delicious lamb dish with rice. We went around the marina area near the Elbe River through a cruise service that cost around 20 euros per person and it was actually quite the neat experience. I remember it being very cold and somewhat rainy. The sheer number of shipping containers that goes through Hamburg makes sense due to its strategic geographic spot in Germany. It was pretty beautiful actually to see all the metal “islands” rising out of the water. We then walked around the harbor area and window-shopped for Hamburg souvenirs but I ended up buying a sugar crepe since they smelled so good and warm in the cold air. Anyway, we then proceeded to spend the rest of the day and evening in the Reeperbahn, probably one of the most decadent places on Earth. The Reeperbahn is one of the craziest places in Hamburg and in Germany and is known for its brothels, strip clubs, and other sketchy businesses. We shopped for souvenirs for a while with me buying basically nothing and then by the time it got dark, we walked around and went to an Irish pub where we hung out for a while and danced a little bit. After a while, I left with Austin to go back to the hotel to Skype a friend and then go to sleep.

St. Michael's Cathedral was nice but not nearly impressive as the one in Cologne.

On the eleventh day, January 6th, we did not do very much with the time we had left in Hamburg. We began by eating breakfast at a café where I ordered a meal that consisted of eggs, meat, and bread. We visited St. Michael’s Cathedral and then went back to walk through the Reeperbahn one more time where we went window-shopping again. Most of the day was spent in the train station where we waited for almost 3 or 4 hours with the majority of our time being spent buying various food items such as currywurst and other German quick foods and spending money at the pharmacy to restock on various needed hygiene products. But in our defense, our early arrival to the train station was mainly motivated by our desire to ensure that we did not miss our train to Hannover. The train ride was a rather comfortable ride as we rode in the “Harry Potter”-style booths for about an hour and a half. By the time the ride was over, we arrived to our hotel called the Haus Marten where I shared a room with just Austin. It was definitely not my ideal rooming arrangement as I have lived with him for my whole life before coming to Texas A&M but I made due with it. We then met Dr. Wasser and Suzanne sharing a bottle or so of wine where we chatted for a while, and met the Munich group when they arrived. I then left with a few people from the Munich group to find food. Everything was closed but eventually, we found our way back to the train station where we found a McDonald’s to chow down in. Sleep then followed upon return to the hotel.

We had a pretty roarin' good time in Hannover. Heck, the whole trip.

On day twelve, January 7th, I woke up late after 8:30 AM or so, missed breakfast, got ready in less than four minutes, and rushed down to meet the group. After going through public transportation, we found ourselves at a hospital in Hanover to visit the Nephrology department and Dr. Kielstein who talked about dialysis and showed us the different dialysis apparatuses. It was interesting to see how a large machine that someone had to be hooked up to was filtering blood and doing what a normal kidney would do. Every organ in our bodies is so important and it is difficult to find good substitutes for them. Dialysis is a very expensive process in the USA but again, the German government basically pays for dialysis treatment for Germans who need it. We then ate lunch and then went to the Hannover Zoo where we met the tour guide who took us through to see all the lions, tigers, and bears. We only saw lions and polar bears but there were other animals we saw such as giraffes and antelopes. It eventually came to the point where we made a stop at the clinic in the zoo where we met with Dr. Kumerow, the zoo veterinarian, and she told us a lot about her job as a vet and mainly the challenges associated with treating larger animals. She showed us her blow darts and other equipment used to sedate and treat animals. Being a veterinarian must be a really tough job, especially since your patient cannot tell you what symptoms you have and I am just glad I am doing pre-med instead of pre-vet. The tour concluded soon after the vet visit and the program ended for the day. I then left to purchase a German football jersey at the Galeria in Hannover and after picking that up, I ate dinner at a somewhat upscale restaurant with Kitty, Ariana, Austin, and Cassie. In order to meet up with the Munich group for the evening, I had to use Austin’s cell phone as I ran out of minutes but I was able to have Monica guide me to where they were all hanging out. We then chilled for a bit and then explored Hannover at night. It was somewhat late when I got back to go to sleep.

Axolotl look so cool. They remind me of Pokemon!

On the thirteenth day, January 8th, I woke up feeling a bit more worn out than usual, probably from the lack of sleep, but Kitty was nice enough to pack a pretty decent sandwich for me. We then took the transportation system back to the MHH but this time, we went to the Cardiovascular unit. It was there where we met with Dr. Schmitto, a man who specializes in heart and lung transplants. He is a very accomplished doctor who was the youngest person to be a chief of surgery in his department and he has done so many transplant operations as of now. He then told us background and information regarding heart transplants and assistance devices and even brought in a patient who wore an assist device that helped his heart work until he could get a new heart. He seemed very well taken care of and in decent spirits. All of us could definitely see the German healthcare system at work here. The man lived at the hospital day-in and day-out for the most part and had his expenses covered. Something like that would definitely cost a fortune in the USA. I will admit, during this particular part of the program, I dozed off for a while since I had a rather large headache but I went back to participate as much as I could once I felt better. After the visit, we had to skip lunch due to the fact that we were behind schedule and we arrived to the Axolotl Research Center to meet with Dr. Reimers who told us a lot about her work. What makes axolotls special is their ability to regenerate lost limbs and even organs. It is incredible to think about how such a creature can actually do that. It seems way beyond our ability to do that. The lab works with many things regarding the axolotls, especially in investigating the genetic origins of their ability to regenerate. After hearing presentations regarding axolotls, we left to pick our stuff up from the hotel and left for the Hannover Airport. The flight that I am currently on is en route to Vienna where we will stay at the Hotel Deustchmeister and it is kind of sad to know that I am leaving Germany but this whole trip has made me want to return to Germany for the Spring Semester in 2014 where I can have a longer and more genuine study abroad experience.

Riding the River Elbe with style.

The free weekend offered a very refreshing “independent” experience, as we had to plan our itineraries and excursions as well as make our own trains. I am though, very glad that most of the trip is not like the free weekend because from this experience, I know that a pre-planned, scheduled day trip enables you to see more and experience more because if one does things on his or her own agenda, that person will tend to keep a slower, more relaxed pace and as a result, not fit as much in one day as is possible. Regardless, there are pros and cons to both methods of trip travel but the experience was one that was needed. I will be cataloguing my time in the final destination of the trip, Vienna, Austria, in my next post. Everything about this trip has been nothing short of amazing and it still feels unreal that I am in Germany and halfway around the world.