The past week has been a whirlwind of activities. From
Hannover to Norderney to Paris, France, the adventures just keep coming. The
thing that’s most fresh on my mind is the past weekend in Paris. I was a bit
worried at first because the other groups that had gone to Paris on an earlier
free weekend came back with mixed reviews. I was impressed with Paris overall
and had absolutely no complaints about the cleanliness of the city or the
attitudes of the French. Everyone we
talked to was friendly and willing to help if we had a question. On Saturday,
we went to the lovelock bridge, Notre Dame, Louvre, Arc de Triumph, and the
Eiffel Tower before taking a night boat cruise. Of course, I spent way too much
money on macaroons but it was totally worth it! I had never had a macaroon
before and I was not disappointed. I’d have to say my favorite flavor was
raspberry but vanilla comes in a close second. And even though the blue one
looks really pretty, the ice mint flavor is not very good…
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| Heaven in sugar form. |
We finished the night off with champagne under the twinkling
Eiffel Tower – talk about a perfect night! It was like a scene from a romantic
movie.
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| Eiffel Tower |
I would have to say that my favorite part of the weekend was
stumbling onto the Tour de France. We were trying to get to the gardens in
Paris, but when we got off the subway we were not allowed to go up the stairs
like we normally would have because the police were blocking the way. Instead,
we were directed down a hallway and up another set of stairs that actually led
right to the viewing area of the Tour de France. It was awesome! We had an idea
that the race was going on but we did not know where it would be exactly and we
had no intention of trying to see it. It was so awesome to see and I can’t
believe we were lucky enough to stumble upon it.
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| Tour de France! |
Norderney last week was incredible. The beach was a nice change of pace from the
things we have been doing so far. The day at the Badehaus was so awesome! I
loved being able to go into the baths and experience that type of healing. The
mud bath/sauna was definitely quite the experience. I know that I would have
never done anything like that back in Texas so I am glad I did it here. It was
a bit weird at first but it felt awesome at the end. It was also really fun to
visit the family bath and play like 5 year olds on the slide and the wave pool.
Being able to relax at the beach was also pretty cool. Even though the water was
pretty chilly, we went swimming and I can say that I have now been swimming in
the North Sea, which is something I never thought I would be able to
experience. In addition, the mud flat
hiking tour was also a fun way of learning about something completely different
from what we have in the States. I think we all enjoyed the excuse to walk
around in the mud and get all muddy. Plus the little sand crabs were so cute
and fun to hold!
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| Sand Crabs! |
I was very impressed with Norderney. I did not find the
island to be extravagantly beautiful compared to Islands in the Caribbean or
Hawaii but it had such a calming quality about it that is unmistakable and
special. I like that biking is the main form of transportation. The lack of
cars enhances the simplistic lifestyle that the island promotes. The perfect
weather we experienced also helped form my positive view of Norderney. The
bright colors of summer in this mural painting emphasize the beautiful summer
weather we had.
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| Norderney |
I think the time spent on the beach was a great bonding
experience for our group. The group dinner and ice cream stop were both
wonderful and watching the sunset on the beach afterwards made the evening even
better.
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| Beach Pyramid! |
We were not able to see much of the city of Hannover but the
program activities we did there were awesome. I felt as if the stop in Hannover
was a bit more engineering directed which is perfect for me. Even though it was
so hot I thought I might pass out, the lecture from the doctor about the LVADs
and modern advances in heart transplant technology was awesome. I found it very
interesting, especially since I spent the end part of last semester learning
about cardiovascular pathophysiology and LVAD technology. It was also super
interesting learning about the research being done with the Axolotls and spider
silk concerning cellular growth.
Can’t wait to see what this next week in Bonn has in store. The
trip to the Cologne Zoo and the Uniclinics seem really exciting!
Gig ‘Em and God Bless,
Emily Thompson
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