The Fourth Week

We started the week off with an early train to Hannover on Monday morning. Soon after checking into our hotel, we headed over to the Axolotl Research Center in town. Axolotls are salamander-like animals capable of physical regeneration. They can regrow any body part they lose including limbs, their tail, and even parts of their head. It was extremely amazing to learn about this animal’s very special ability, and really got me thinking about what future human medicine could look like if research on these kinds of animals continues.

The next morning, we took a train to Norddeich Mole then got on a ferry that took us over to the island of Norderney. The three days we spent on this island have been by far one of the best experiences I’ve had on this program. We started our day that Tuesday with a bike tour of the island and saw many early buildings and dunes from the 1500s as well as much of the wildlife that resides on the island. After the tour, we had a group BBQ back at our hotel consisting of bread, sausages, and potato salad followed some very delicious desserts provided by Dr. Wasser. Wednesday the next day was probably everyone’s favorite of the three days. After a short lecture from Dr. Friedhart Raschke on Thalasso Therapy, a long tradition of the people of Norderney, we got to experience this enriching therapy for ourselves. This natural healing process, as it was described, consists of using algae, mud, and salt water from the ocean as natural resources to calm, energize, and renew the body and mind. We experienced many kinds of salt water baths and shower treatments ranging from ice cold temperatures to up to 100^oF, all of which provided a unique feeling and experience. There were also very hot sauna and steam rooms available for us and a mud bath session that we all took part in, which made your skin as smooth as that of a baby. This entire SPA experience was everything we were hoping for and more. We ended the day with a mudflat hiking tour after the tide subsided in which we walked barefoot on the seafloor and encountered and learned about many of the wildlife living there. Finally, on our last day in Norderney, we got a tour at the Inselmuseum, which housed much of the island’s history, then rode our bikes back to the harbor to catch our ferry back to the mainland.

Thursday afternoon was the beginning of our second to last free weekend on the program, and a group of us decided to spend this time in the beautiful city of Paris, France. There, we grabbed some delicious pastries to start our day off Friday morning, then spent the rest of the day walking around the city and visiting several sites including the Arc de Triomphe, which is surrounded by perhaps one of the busiest roundabouts in all of Europe. We ended the night with a nice dinner with a view of the Eiffel Tower, then of course a visit to the tower itself. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person was almost like seeing a celebrity, it was unbelievable and way bigger and brighter than I expected. It was a truly unique experience and such a good one that we ended up at the tower again on Sunday night. Saturday, however, we decided to visit the city of Versailles, not too far from Paris, and explored the old palace there which had some of the most beautiful architecture and art I’ve seen so far. We returned to Paris that afternoon and spent the night watching over the city from the Grand Palais. Finally, besides visiting the tower once again on Sunday night, we had to visit the Louvre Museum on our last day before returning back to Bonn. All in all this entire week was extremely enjoyable and very rewarding.