Berlin

Berlin was definitely a lot different than the other cities we've been to so far--much more lively and exciting.  Die Festmeile is one of the top four places in the world to be on New Year's Eve, and it was amazing to be able to experience it as my first taste of the city.  The amount of fireworks and commotion is unreal--and slightly frightening on the streets after it hits midnight--but the celebration near Brandenburg Gate was an incredible mix of people from all over the world, and I couldn't imagine a better way to ring in the new year.

And while the NYE celebrations were certainly the most thrilling event in Berlin, this city tour has also been my favorite one to date.  The guide was always amusing, and a city that was once divided has so much history to offer that there was never a lag in fascination at what he had to share.

In this stretch of the trip we also had the opportunity to visit the Charité and the student-run skills center at the medical university.  Even though I am not interested in going to medical school, it was still interesting to visit the museum and listen to German students talk about their country's heathcare system and the structure of the medical school's curriculum.  On one hand I think it would be nice to be able to enter professional school immediately out of high school without having to worry about undergraduate studies, but on the other hand choosing a career path such as medicine is a rather weighty decision, and undergraduate years are designed to help you figure out if that's truly what you want to do with your life.  Regardless of this debate, though, the skills center that they have created is a great addition to the education, and I'd love to have access to something like that in veterinary school to have more chances to apply what I'm learning in a practical setting.