My second week abroad was a week well spent in Bonn. I realized that we really don’t have that many more days in Bonn which is sort of sad, but I’m really excited to visit other places as well. This week in History of Medicine we learned about Medicine in the West and comparative healthcare systems. The main thing I took away from out Medicine in the West lectures was that in Medieval times medicine and magic were viewed as similar ideas and that there was a heavy emphasis on the balancing of the four humors. In our comparative healthcare lecture, we discussed the different models of healthcare systems. The main thing I gathered from the lecture was that healthcare systems sort of stem from the type of government system and the concepts and ideas that certain societies find important.
On Wednesday, we went to Cologne and did a walking tour of Cologne. We had lunch at a ‘stereotypical’ German restaurant, which was very fun and delicious. In the afternoon we had some free time and a few of us went to the chocolate museum which was just as heavenly as you can imagine. They had a mini production line set up for on-lookers to view and there was even a station when you could perform ‘quality control’ and try freshly made Lindt chocolate. Also, the chocolate fountain and just the smell of the whole room were equally unforgettable. We then returned to the Cologne Cathedral and took an elevator to many different levels of the cathedral and our tour guide, who was working on the excavation and reconstruction of the cathedral, told us all about the construction and history of the cathedral which was both engaging and very unique. During our climb to the top, I discovered that I might be a little afraid of heights. Which I feel is justified due to the fact that there were some places there was little railing in between you and the pavement below. Overall it was a very nice day in Cologne and it was interesting to visit another large town in Germany.
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| Kölner Dom |
The rest of the week after Cologne we had Pharmacology class. We learned and discussed what qualifies a drug as a drug and what the approval method for drugs are in various parts of the world. I learned a lot about the differences and similarities in the drug approval process between the FDA and the EU’s European Commission. In the EU drugs can be approved 4 different ways while in the US going through the FDA’s process is the only way to get drug approval.
And on Thursday I learned my lesson to never leave the house without an umbrella or a raincoat because the weather app is not always accurate.
Over the weekend we ventured to Munich. We saw a cute market with fresh produce, wooden Christmas ornaments, and little knick-knacks. We also went to the main plaza of Munich, the English Gardens, rapids where a lot of people river surf called the Eisbach, Nymphenburg Palace, an Egyptian museum as well as the Neue Pinakothek where we saw “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh. On our way back to Bonn our bus got pulled over for a passport/immigration check which was an interesting experience. We also had an hour layover in Nuremberg so we walked around Nuremberg and found a very picturesque street.
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| Nymphenburg Palace |
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| Nuremberg |
Overall, my second week in Germany was wonderful. This week I felt like I was able to experience Bonn quite a bit more than the first week and maybe even picked up some more German?! I can’t wait to see what next week will hold.
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