Where has the time gone?

Last week was an adventure. I started Monday off with 2 hours of sleep since we came back from Paris early in the morning. It was a rough day but Tuesday was well worth it. I worked at the small animal hospital at A&M for about 7 months so I’ve seen plenty of animal surgeries; however, I’ve never seen a human surgery. It’s not that I didn’t love seeing the surgery, but visiting the uniklinikum made me 110% sure I want to be a veterinarian. This opportunity to follow the anesthesiologist around and see surgeries up close was unlike any experience I’ve gotten before. The thing that weirded me out was that the human on the table could be me. The surgeons are cutting into humans and I’d rather perform surgery on an animal. Don’t get me wrong, I find humans fascinating but my future's calling me to the animal side of medicine. I could never possibly forget seeing two thoracotomies and seeing a man's rib removed from his body. Thank you Bonn Unikliikum for giving us this unforgettable experience.

The next day we travelled to Bingen and along the Rhine River. It was very interesting to learn about the visions Hildegard von Bingen had and the paintings depicting them. What a bad ass woman. We then took a river cruise down the Rhine for about an hour. Second to the badahaus, this was very relaxing. I loved getting to put my feet up and just enjoy the wind and scenery. Of course an excursion would not be complete without a hike. We hiked up to the Rheinfels Castle and got to learn all about it’s role in history. The secret tunnels and holes for weapon use were really neat. It’s interesting that apparently Americans love to get married in the big stone cavern that used to be used for storing and dining. They also still hold concerts there. We climbed a little further up and got a beautiful view of the River Rhine. We finished our night with a cup of my favorite soup, potato and leak.

Friday came fast and we travelled to the Cologne Zoo.  You would think I’d eventually get tired of zoos because they’re kind of all the same but oh no. Zoos are still so exciting to me. I have to see at least one bear every time I visit the zoo. This zoo visit was exceptionally wonderful because we got to feeds the elephants. *dies of happiness*  They were so sweet and slobbery with their trunks. I ended the night with a bowl of spaghetti and my favorite grapefruit beer. I had to pack and get ready for my early flight to Switzerland.

Switzerland. Easily the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to. It was like Colorado but 20 times better.  Somehow we got our flight tickets for a great price and we didn’t have to pay for our cabin so that made the experience even better. It was a bit cloudy when we got into Zurich but that didn’t dampen our mood. We walked around Zurich for a bit then got yummy hash browns with eggs and cheese. It may have been a little pricey because hey it’s Switzerland but wow it was worth it. We then boarded a train to Buchs. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this small town but it had so much to offer. The family friend we rented the cabin from picked us up from the train station and showed us around. He showed us around Lichtenstein which is actually its own country. I had no idea! It apparently only has 45,000 people and you have to be born there or marry someone from there to take residence in Lichtenstein.

We then took the steep drive up to the mountain cabin and were in awe. Even with clouds shadowing the mountains, the view took our breath away. We made sandwiches then explored around our cabin. That night we went to the Walensee. It was slightly freezing but we had to take a dip in this beautiful lake. I had never seen a truly blue lake before. We relaxed and just enjoyed each others company. That night we made pasta and grilled sausages. It was nice to have a home cooked meal for once. We woke up the next morning to it raining. Most people would think this weather wasn’t ideal but hearing rain drops and seeing the beautiful green trees around the cabin made for a perfect morning. After it stopped raining, we took a two hour hike around Sevelen mountain. We were very sweaty and muddy but the hike was worth it all. We sadly had to say goodbye to Switzerland that night and made our way back to Bonn.

Here we are on our final week of our study abroad. These past 5 weeks have flown by. We’ve made an infinite amount of memories and I will cherish them for the rest of my life. We’re on our way to Berlin and I’m excited to see what this last adventure holds. Thank you Bonn for being a second home.

Until next time,

Sarah