Today we went to the Hannover hospital of medicine and had a lecture
with a cardiovascular surgeon there. He told us about the VAD
(ventricular assist device) device and the miracles it was doing.
The device was only created in 2001 and so has only been used
for a short time but it has already saved many people from an early
death. We watched a short clip on a non invasive way to implant the
VAD and it was super interesting. After the cardiovascular lecture we
had some free time and were able to grab a coffee before our next
lecture.I have never before been able to drink black coffee until now.
OccasionallyI will still put a sugar packet in but that's nothing compared
to the large amounts of creamers and sugars I used to put in my coffee
back home. We have been so busy with all of our excursions and
traveling back and forth I have to have really strong coffee to get
me through the day.
After our coffee break we got on a bus and went to the axolotl
regeneration research center. This place was literally the coolest.
We had a quick lecture on stem cells and the different regenerative
processes of stem cells. They also discussed silk spider webs and
the advances we have made in regenerative therapies.
We then started to discuss the axolotls, which are literally the cutest
animals. We learned about their species and where
they come from, which is a little part of Mexico City, and how they are
critically endangered. Even though they're critically endangered you can
still buy them as pets though because they reproduce so often and
because there are so many breeders that work very hard to keep the
species alive it's actually quite easy to purchase them as pets and
you don't even need a certificate/license.
I'm really thinking about getting one when I get back to the states. They
look like such happy little creatures and seem to be relatively easy to
take care of.
They also have an awesome trait where they can regrow any appendage
that has been cut or broken off, super super cool. We also went into the
room where they keep the silk spiders. This was interesting because they
were just kept in a big open room and could go wherever they wanted.
I was really hesitant to go into the room at first because thinking about
spiders crawling on me is terrifying. I went in anyways and I'm really
glad I did. To get in we had to go under a spider web that a spider
had made in the doorway and then once we were in it wasn't bad.
Most of the spiders make their webs pretty high on the ceiling and
never came down, so we were just looking up at them. There was
supposed to be 16, I only counted 10.... So hopefully none left with
us. They were relatively big and I got a picture with the one that hung
in the doorway. It was an experience. I don't think I've ever been that
close to a spider that big without freaking out.
Our total stay in Hannover came and went so fast. I was sad to leave
because the people there were so friendly. We went to get dinner at
a Biergarten that night and so many people were helping us translate
the menu and telling us what they recommended. They really made us
feel at home. There's also a vet school in Hannover, so maybe if I learn
German in the next year.........
The ferry to norderney was pretty cool just because I was on the North
Sea. I didn't ever think I would be traveling to the North Sea in my life.
Once in Norderney the air felt great. It was really nice outside and as
soon as we got off the ferry we went to rent bikes. I had to get a short
bike, but it was okay because I got a front basket on it while everyone
else had baskets on the back of the bikes. We biked to the hostel and
then we biked to go eat. After we ate we had to rush to change and go
on our run on the beach and yoga class. The sand was so soft and pretty,
but it was really hard to run in. We first tried to run barefoot so the sand
wouldn't get into our shoes and then we encountered way to many
seashells, so we had to go back and get our shoes. When we got back
from our run we had a yoga class with Dr. Wasser's fiancé. It was
interesting, I don't really like yoga, but it wasn't so bad I guess.
Running through the sand and doing yoga in the sand was pretty
difficult though. After the workout we went back to the hostel and
had a BBQ. It was delicious. It started to get really cold when the sun
went down though and I could easily see I didn't bring enough warm
clothes. We decided we wanted to go see the lighthouse after dinner
so we biked all the way there. It wasn't so bad getting there but we all
wanted to get back before it got too dark and biking over the sand dunes
was real difficult. I was definitely sore the next morning when I woke up.
The next day we woke up and went to a bathhouse in Norderney and
it was so pretty. We got a lecture on bath houses and their history and
then we got to tour the place. We also had to give a presentation that
we had been working on, but then we finally got to go enjoy the spa.
It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. There were hot baths,
cold baths, warm baths, steam baths, salt baths, mud baths (kinda),
and there was even a water slide that was pretty fun. It was for the kids,
but we couldn't resist. After the spa we went to dinner at a nice restaurant
right off the beach. There was such a pretty view especially because the
sun was starting to set. The dinner was delicious as well, we ordered
different types of fish and they were so fresh and delicious. The last
day on Norderney we did a mud walk off the coast. It was really
interesting, some mud was really deep and gross and some was very
shallow and just a little squishy. I had a big blister on the bottom of my
foot though so after a while it started to get irritated and the walk
wasn't as much fun anymore. The blister was my fault from playing
(and beating) the boys in soccer. It was worth it.
On our free weekend a bunch of us chose to go to Amsterdam.
I absolutely loved Amsterdam and am so so sad we only had
two days to enjoy it. The first night there we found a cute pizza
place with the BEST service. It was the best customer service we
have had while being in Europe so far. After dinner we walked through
the red light district and that was super interesting, and super disturbing.
The next day we didn't really have plans so we just went exploring
until it started pouring. We quickly decided we wanted to find
something to do indoors and that's when we saw a sign for the
Heineken Experience tour. We payed a couple extra dollars to
skip the line and went right inside. The old brewery was so huge.
I was not expecting it to be that big. We learned a lot about the
history of the beer as well as the family that started the business.
The whole museum was hands on and had so many different things
to look at their was defiantly a place for everyone. They also showed
us how to properly pour and drink beer which was interesting. The
best part was that on the day we went they were having a free party
on the roof. The people who worked there told us that open parties
only happen a couple times a year so we got really lucky. We made
our way to the roof and got a couple of free beers and were able to
listen to some great live music. After the experience we walked around
some more and explored. There were just so many good vibes in
Amsterdam I never wanted to leave.
I'm back in Bonn now thinking about how we only have 9 more
days left here... I don't ever want to leave. I think I've said that in
every single post. The only thing I'm looking forward to about
being home is seeing my family, and most importantly resting.
Speaking of resting, I need to go catch up on some sleep.
Bis bald!
with a cardiovascular surgeon there. He told us about the VAD
(ventricular assist device) device and the miracles it was doing.
The device was only created in 2001 and so has only been used
for a short time but it has already saved many people from an early
death. We watched a short clip on a non invasive way to implant the
VAD and it was super interesting. After the cardiovascular lecture we
had some free time and were able to grab a coffee before our next
lecture.I have never before been able to drink black coffee until now.
OccasionallyI will still put a sugar packet in but that's nothing compared
to the large amounts of creamers and sugars I used to put in my coffee
back home. We have been so busy with all of our excursions and
traveling back and forth I have to have really strong coffee to get
me through the day.
After our coffee break we got on a bus and went to the axolotl
regeneration research center. This place was literally the coolest.
We had a quick lecture on stem cells and the different regenerative
processes of stem cells. They also discussed silk spider webs and
the advances we have made in regenerative therapies.
We then started to discuss the axolotls, which are literally the cutest
animals. We learned about their species and where
they come from, which is a little part of Mexico City, and how they are
critically endangered. Even though they're critically endangered you can
still buy them as pets though because they reproduce so often and
because there are so many breeders that work very hard to keep the
species alive it's actually quite easy to purchase them as pets and
you don't even need a certificate/license.
I'm really thinking about getting one when I get back to the states. They
look like such happy little creatures and seem to be relatively easy to
take care of.
They also have an awesome trait where they can regrow any appendage
that has been cut or broken off, super super cool. We also went into the
room where they keep the silk spiders. This was interesting because they
were just kept in a big open room and could go wherever they wanted.
I was really hesitant to go into the room at first because thinking about
spiders crawling on me is terrifying. I went in anyways and I'm really
glad I did. To get in we had to go under a spider web that a spider
had made in the doorway and then once we were in it wasn't bad.
Most of the spiders make their webs pretty high on the ceiling and
never came down, so we were just looking up at them. There was
supposed to be 16, I only counted 10.... So hopefully none left with
us. They were relatively big and I got a picture with the one that hung
in the doorway. It was an experience. I don't think I've ever been that
close to a spider that big without freaking out.
Our total stay in Hannover came and went so fast. I was sad to leave
because the people there were so friendly. We went to get dinner at
a Biergarten that night and so many people were helping us translate
the menu and telling us what they recommended. They really made us
feel at home. There's also a vet school in Hannover, so maybe if I learn
German in the next year.........
The ferry to norderney was pretty cool just because I was on the North
Sea. I didn't ever think I would be traveling to the North Sea in my life.
Once in Norderney the air felt great. It was really nice outside and as
soon as we got off the ferry we went to rent bikes. I had to get a short
bike, but it was okay because I got a front basket on it while everyone
else had baskets on the back of the bikes. We biked to the hostel and
then we biked to go eat. After we ate we had to rush to change and go
on our run on the beach and yoga class. The sand was so soft and pretty,
but it was really hard to run in. We first tried to run barefoot so the sand
wouldn't get into our shoes and then we encountered way to many
seashells, so we had to go back and get our shoes. When we got back
from our run we had a yoga class with Dr. Wasser's fiancé. It was
interesting, I don't really like yoga, but it wasn't so bad I guess.
Running through the sand and doing yoga in the sand was pretty
difficult though. After the workout we went back to the hostel and
had a BBQ. It was delicious. It started to get really cold when the sun
went down though and I could easily see I didn't bring enough warm
clothes. We decided we wanted to go see the lighthouse after dinner
so we biked all the way there. It wasn't so bad getting there but we all
wanted to get back before it got too dark and biking over the sand dunes
was real difficult. I was definitely sore the next morning when I woke up.
The next day we woke up and went to a bathhouse in Norderney and
it was so pretty. We got a lecture on bath houses and their history and
then we got to tour the place. We also had to give a presentation that
we had been working on, but then we finally got to go enjoy the spa.
It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. There were hot baths,
cold baths, warm baths, steam baths, salt baths, mud baths (kinda),
and there was even a water slide that was pretty fun. It was for the kids,
but we couldn't resist. After the spa we went to dinner at a nice restaurant
right off the beach. There was such a pretty view especially because the
sun was starting to set. The dinner was delicious as well, we ordered
different types of fish and they were so fresh and delicious. The last
day on Norderney we did a mud walk off the coast. It was really
interesting, some mud was really deep and gross and some was very
shallow and just a little squishy. I had a big blister on the bottom of my
foot though so after a while it started to get irritated and the walk
wasn't as much fun anymore. The blister was my fault from playing
(and beating) the boys in soccer. It was worth it.
On our free weekend a bunch of us chose to go to Amsterdam.
I absolutely loved Amsterdam and am so so sad we only had
two days to enjoy it. The first night there we found a cute pizza
place with the BEST service. It was the best customer service we
have had while being in Europe so far. After dinner we walked through
the red light district and that was super interesting, and super disturbing.
The next day we didn't really have plans so we just went exploring
until it started pouring. We quickly decided we wanted to find
something to do indoors and that's when we saw a sign for the
Heineken Experience tour. We payed a couple extra dollars to
skip the line and went right inside. The old brewery was so huge.
I was not expecting it to be that big. We learned a lot about the
history of the beer as well as the family that started the business.
The whole museum was hands on and had so many different things
to look at their was defiantly a place for everyone. They also showed
us how to properly pour and drink beer which was interesting. The
best part was that on the day we went they were having a free party
on the roof. The people who worked there told us that open parties
only happen a couple times a year so we got really lucky. We made
our way to the roof and got a couple of free beers and were able to
listen to some great live music. After the experience we walked around
some more and explored. There were just so many good vibes in
Amsterdam I never wanted to leave.
I'm back in Bonn now thinking about how we only have 9 more
days left here... I don't ever want to leave. I think I've said that in
every single post. The only thing I'm looking forward to about
being home is seeing my family, and most importantly resting.
Speaking of resting, I need to go catch up on some sleep.
Bis bald!
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