The final full week in Bonn

At this point we still have another whole week in Germany.  After this upcoming weekend though we will only have one night left in Bonn.  Towards the beginning of the trip I can remember being a bit homesick.  As time has gone by though I have become more and more comfortable in Europe.  It seems that now as the end is approaching I am starting to really feel comfortable here.  I have overcome all of the minor things that come up when you are in a new place and now I really feel at home.  I have learned so much up to this point and I have really come to appreciate Europe.  Although it is different from what I was used to I have grown and I have really loved my time here.  I have really enjoyed being able to get a different perspective on things and feel that this has really shaped me in a positive way.  Now to talk about week five!

Week five has been more of a relaxed week.  We have activities spread throughout the entire week but it has felt like we have a lot more wiggle room in relation to time.  The week started a little stressfully when the whole class discovered that Neurophysiology of Music started at 10:15AM instead of 11:45AM.  We had all been referring to an old version of the schedule apparently.  Luckily Professor Waltz was not upset about this.  We had to go a little later than originally planned but this was not that big of a deal.  After class a group of us went and got ramen for lunch.  Asian food is definitely my favorite type of food so I was pumped when I found out Bonn has a place that serves ramen.  I was a little skeptical as to how good it was going to be but I was pleasantly surprised.  After our lunch break we headed back to AIB to meet up with the rest of the group.  Once we were all together we headed to Organ Factory Klais.

Going to the organ factory was a really cool experience.  Our tour guide told us about how everyone who works at the organ factory is essentially part of a family.  While she was giving the tour I definitely got that vibe.  Not only was she very knowledgeable about her trade, she was also very passionate about it.  Her passion for her craft made the tour that much better.  She was engaging and happily answered any questions that we had.  It was really interesting to learn about the price of some of the organs and the production process as a whole.  We learned about everything from the wood they use to how the actual pipes are produced.  After the tour was over we were done for the day so I headed home.  Monday night was a good night.  I had dinner with my host family and then just relaxed the rest of the night.  On Tuesday half of the group went to the university clinic, while the other half of the group received a lecture from Dr. Wasser.  I was in the group that received the lecture.  This was one of my favorite lectures as we learned about the medical theories that served as a precursor for a lot of the Nazi Party's ideology.  The Holocaust was a horrid event but it has always been something that I find extremely interesting.  Hearing of the monstrosities that occurred almost makes the whole thing seem like science fiction in a way.  I fully acknowledge that these horrible events occurred but they are so awful that it can be hard to fully grasp.  After a day of lectures I headed home and had another relaxing evening.  I tried to begin working on my paper but I ended up hanging out in the garden with my host family.  I had my laptop with me but the wifi was not strong enough for me to really get anything done.  After a while I just gave up and enjoyed the time with my host family.  On Wednesday we had the Rhine Cruise and a visit to the Hildegard von Bingen Museum.  Between the visions and her rebellious nature, Hildegard von Bingen seems like a very interesting person.  After the museum we had lunch at a nice restaurant.  Before boarding the boat a group of us went and blew off some steam at a playground.  This was a little funny to me considering the fact that we were about to go on a hike, but we had fun anyways.  Once on the boat we saw a lot of beautiful scenery.  It was kind of funny to me just how many castles we passed on the cruise.  Since you used to have to pay a tax at each castle it seems like a trip down the Rhine would have been super expensive.  After traveling for a bit we ended up getting off so that we could go tour Schloss Rheinfels.  

Once there we learned about how the castle was defended and also about the tunnels that run underneath it.  The castle has mining tunnels underneath it that the soldiers could use to evade attackers.  Unfortunately we did not get to go through the tunnels because they were closed while we were there.  After the tour we were able to climb to the top of the castle where there was an awesome view of the Rhine.  After taking some pictures we climbed back down and had a snack before heading back to Bonn.  Once we were back in Bonn I pretty much just had dinner and then went to bed.  On Thursday, my group headed to the university clinic.  Visiting the university clinic might have been the coolest thing we have done on the trip thus far.  While at the clinic I watched multiple orthopedic surgeries and a cardiac bypass surgery.  The two orthopedic procedures were very cool to watch but watching the cardiac bypass surgery was amazing.  Being able to lean over the drape and look down on the patient's heart was amazing, I do not know how else to describe it.  I was not there for a majority of the surgery but I did watch as they restarted the heart and then pumped all the blood back to it.  I also watched the surgeon suture the patient's ribcage back together.  Watching the surgeries at the university clinic was an amazing experience.  Afterwards a few of us went and got a late lunch before heading back home.  On Friday we headed to the Cologne Zoo.  I had been really excited to visit the zoo since I had heard it was on the schedule.  I was really bummed that I was not able to visit the zoo in Vienna so I was happy we were visiting the Cologne Zoo.

While we were at the zoo we had the opportunity to feed some of the elephants.  We got to see the matriarch of the herd as well as one of the very young elephants that the zoo has.  Being able to actually interact with the matriarch was awesome.  When I fed her I could actually feel just how strong she is.  In spite of being so powerful though she rather politely took bread from our hands.  One thing that I thought was really cool about the Cologne Zoo is how open the exhibits are.  The zoo has managed to design their exhibits in such a way that it seems as though the animals could just come right out at you if they wanted to.  Pictured above is one of the cooler things I saw while at the zoo.  The picture shows a Chinese Giant Salamander.  This salamander was as big as a medium sized dog.  It was pretty funny to think of the little axolotls in comparison to this monster.  After the zoo a group of us headed to the airport to catch our flight to Mallorca, Spain.  This was my first time flying with Ryanair.  I figured it would be just like any other flight, but it ended up being a little different.  The interior of the plane seemed very cheaply made and actually reminded me of a taxi cab.  I am not complaining, I really just thought it was funny.  Another interesting thing was how everyone acted on the plane.  Once we had reached cruising altitude a lot of the passengers just got out of their seats and stood in the aisles.  

This was surprising to me because on every other flight I have taken you are not allowed to just hang out in the aisles.  So overall, flying Ryanair was an interesting experience.  We got to Mallorca around  11:00PM.  We promptly hopped into a taxi and headed to our Airbnb.  We could not see much since it was dark outside but we could just barely make out the ocean every now and then.  Once at the Airbnb we hung out for a bit and then all fell asleep.  The next day we got up, got some snacks, and then headed to the beach.

The water was beautiful.  The water was so incredibly blue in Mallorca and the weather was perfect.  The water was also a lot warmer than the North Sea, which was really nice.  We spent the entire day at the beach and it was awesome.  We finally ended up leaving because it was getting dark and we were hungry.  After a beautiful dinner by the water we headed back to the beach to watch the sunset.  Watching the sun set over the water was beautiful.  I felt so incredibly lucky in that moment to be with my friends in such a beautiful place.  We stayed at the beach for a while longer before heading back to the Airbnb.  Once we got back we all showered and then pretty much went straight to bed.  The next day we packed our bags and then headed back to the beach.  We ended up having a good amount of time at the beach before having to call a taxi.  I stayed in my bathing suit the whole way home.  Once we got back to Bonn I just wanted to shower and then hit the bed.  We all had an amazing weekend and I was so relaxed.  It felt nice to be able to just be able to go to bed once I was home.  I can not believe it but we are now entering the last week of the trip.  It seems like it came so incredibly fast.  Next stop, Berlin!