Berlin

On Monday I woke up early, helped with breakfast and then me and my host mom rushed out the door with a quick goodbye because we were both running a bit late. At about 2 pm those of us leaving from Bonn made it to Berlin, unloaded all of our luggage at the hotel and then all of us headed over to take a bus your of the city. It was my first or second favorite bike tour since Norderney is high up on the list as well. Our tour guide was from Wales and was fun with the stories that he told along the way. The best thing during the bus tour was hearing how much history is centered in Berlin. All of the stories were very interesting and either made me wish I knew more or made me more aware of how much I didn't know. The weather was perfect for a ride at the beginning, but after a while into the journey a cold front blew through. Luckily it was kind enough to not rain until we made it back to the bike shop. For dinner all I wanted was something hearty and warm so we found a restaurant that had some of the best German food I've had so far. I ate way too much, but it was wonderful. My favorite days of the rest of the week were Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday we visited the Reistag building which is where Germany's parliament gathers. Their work offices are connected to this building with underground tunnels. The outside of the government building is the old facade while the inside is very modern and built with glass and metal to convey the symbolic idea of transparency within the parliament. The most memorable part of Tuesday, though, was our visit to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp. Friday was an awesome morning that made us all feel like kids in a candy store or toy store. We went to take a tour of the Otto Bock company museum. This company began in Germany and moved to America in the 1950s and it works on the development and production of prosthetic limbs.They also designed a device that fixes the drop-foot gait of some stroke victims. The museum was three floors and each floor had a theme and fun displays that were interactive so that we could play with them. On the first floor, there were displays related to our senses. There was a very disproportionate looking statue whose features were actually proportionate based on how many nerves were there. For example, the creature had a very small back with a large head and huge lips and hands. If you were to lightly poke yourself on the back with two needles, you would only feel one prick while if you poked yourself on a finger or on your lip, you would be able to count the two separate contact points. Next we got to play with an interactive video game that tested reaction times of grabbing different falling items. The second floor was related to the mechanics of how we move. This floor mainly consisted of a dark room that had screens projected onto tables. The screens had buttons that you could push to learn about different parts of the body such as ligaments, bones, and muscles. One projection had a place to put your arm and hand onto the table and then muscles, bones, nerves, and ligaments would be projected directly onto your arms so that it appeared that you had lost your skin. It surprised me at first but was really cool. Another screen compared the walking and running gaits of a man with and without a prosthetic leg. On the third floor, we found a showcase of the company's devices. There were two legs, one newer version and one older version. The most amazing thing about both of these is how unique they are for each person. The foot attachment can be changed, as can the knee to adjust to different levels and types of activities such as walking versus snowboarding. In addition, the place at which the prosthetic is attached to a person is molded for them and held in place with a vacuum. There was also a display of a prosthetic hand that could grasp objects more easily and gracefully than a claw type prosthetic hand. Another interactive game type display sat you in a wheelchair that was hooked up to a video screen of an animated recreation of a plaza near the museum. Its purpose was to test your skills at operating a chair and to demonstrate how minor obstacles for most walking people can mean the end of a journey for someone in a wheelchair. Overall, it was a really fun and worthwhile museum to visit.