Ich wurde ein bär in Berlin

     So we made it to Berlin.  This last week flew by way too fast.  I already miss Germany.  This past Monday, we arrived in Berlin in time to eat some Vietnamese food before our bike tour with Sion.  I was surprised his first language wasn't english.  He gave us a great tour.  My favorite site had to be the Holocaust memorial.  Walking between the blocks was very disorienting especially when someone would cross your path only to disappear quickly afterwards.  There was no way of knowing where anybody was, and I could tell it would have been easy to get lost.  Also on the tour, we stood on the ground over where Hitler's bunker used to be, we visited Checkpoint Charlie, and we saw other Berlin sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, and the Book Burning Memorial.  At the end of the tour, Sion recommended Brauhaus Lemke for dinner.  I had a huge pork knuckle, some of the best sauerkraut I have ever tasted, and the beer sampler.  

     The next morning, we made our way to the Reichstag.  I loved learning about German history and politics.  I also loved learning about and seeing the transparency incorporated into the building to keep the people in charge.  Afterwards, we made our way to Sachsenhausen.  Sachsenhausen was extremely gloomy.  Although I had learned that it was prisoners that had to do the dirty work, the horror of it didn't hit me until then.  Sachsenhausen was depressing and actually made me angry at the terrors the victims of the Holocaust had to go through.  

     Visiting the Charite hospital on Wednesday was awesome.  We learned that the students teach the younger students, and then the students taught us.  We played with stethoscopes, do an intubation, and simulate what it physically feels like to be old.  The whole morning was fun.  I had a blast trying to run up the stairs like an old person and then having to step down two feet per step on the way down.  We then went into the Charite museum where we saw a collection of specimens with a variety of diagnosis.  Afterward, we had a lecture in an old lecture hall from Dr. Wasser.  

     On Thursday, we visited the pharmacy museum.  We learned some cool stuff like how they used to make pills back in the olden days.  Also we made some tea.  We then toured around Leipzig and saw some cool Leipzig things.  That night, I had a great time with my friends hanging out at the döner shop.  I'm going to miss döner.

     Friday was our last day in Europe, and it was a good last day.  We visited the Otto Bock museum that morning where they had a whole lot of hands on pieces.  We learned the obstacles prosthetic companies are trying to overcome and what advancements they have already made.  Being someone that had been on the fence about my future career before coming to Germany, I had decided med school after watching the surgeries in Bonn, but now I'm leaning more toward prosthetics again.  I'll just have to try and keep my options open.  That afternoon I visited the Pergamon Museum where I got to walk through the Ishtar gate of Babylon.  We then took a nap before having a delicious meal of lamb couscous.  

     Overall I liked the feel of Berlin.  I liked the feel of all Germany actually, and these past couple weeks have been some of the best in my life.