Week 2: When in Barcelona

   I had never rushed out of bed as fast as I did when I got the email from Henning at 7:23 am that Group A need to be at the AIB by 8:45 am. I am not sure how, but I made it. In German class we learned all about different ways to introduce ourselves as well as did a funny walking dance that involved numbers and a hat. After German we had class with Dr. Wasser. He taught us about the physiology we should know for when we visit the sauna next week, and he introduced us to the amazing song “Break a Sweat” by Becky G! 

   On Mittwoch, also known as Wednesday, we went to Cologne. Our adventure started out at the cathedral, and then the tour guide lead us into some ruins which were actually in an underground parking lot. My favorite part of the tour was seeing all the locks on the bridge. Once we finished the tour we ate a traditional German lunch. I was happy to learn that German sauerkraut is very different from the sauerkraut we have in the United States. Following lunch, we were given some free time to explore the city. A group of us found ourselves at a park listening to a street performer sing and play guitar. Next, we meet up with Dr. Wasser again and went to the Cologne Zoo where we had the opportunity of meeting the zoo’s vet. She explained to us how she treats the animals and then showed us a few of the darts she uses to sedate them so she can treat them. After we finished at the zoo several of us stayed in cologne and ventured around the clubs. At one point there was a group of us dancing to “Break a Sweat.” 

   The next day we had our first class for Pharmacology. Dr. Fajt gave us a brief overview over what we would be doing in the class and then had us go to a local Abotecha (German Pharmacy) to learn about what they can prescribe. Prior to walking in, I expected the pharmacies to have antibiotics and a few stronger drugs that you get over the counter, but to my surprise this was not the case. Germany actually has more regulations for what is considered an over the counter medication. For example, in the United States you could walk into any CVS and pick up cough medicine, aspirin, and even a few higher strength vitamins but in Germany all of these are over the counter. Once I realized that these basic medications were not sold openly we had to know why their regulations were so strict. The pharmacist explained that anything that fits into the standard of a drug has to be behind the counter. She told us that even though there regulations are very strict they still face problems.  One of there largest problems is that they have no way to regulate how much of a certain medication someone buys. This only accounts for the over the counter medications. There are still several medications that have to be prescribed by the doctor.

   On Friday, Emily Disney, and I started our hero’s journey to Barcelona. I say hero’s journey because it was not an easy trip. Our trip started by us missing our first train. We did not know what to do so we repurchased our tickets. After buying new tickets we ran to the platform. Then we were not sure that we were on the right platform, so we started to frantically ask people if we were waiting for the right train. Once we got on board the train we knew we needed to change trains in Cologne. Unfortunately, we were both so disoriented from the first train situation that we got off at the wrong Cologne stop. It  did not take us very long to realize this and we sprinted back to get on any train that was next. We were lucky because one pulled up as we started running and a nice man put his foot in the door to make sure that we made it on. Some how we make it to Cologne central station and then to Dusseldorf. On the train we were able to check our fight, and saw that it had been delayed. Once at the airport we attempted to go through security. I honestly thought Emily was right behind me when I was walking through the metal detector at security, but when I finally made it through she politely let me know that she had in fact not made it through and security was making her get out of line to buy bags for her liquids. We finally both made through and were able to catch our flight to the lovely city of Barcelona. After our crazy day we decided to not attempt the local transportation and took a taxi to my Aunt’s apartment. 
   Barcelona was an incredible experience. The food was phenomenal, the sangria was unlike anything I had ever tasted before, and the views looked like they came straight from a postcard. By the end of the trip, Emily and I knew they city so well that we were able to walk from the Picasso Museum to my Aunt’s apartment without using our phones.