We were staying in Paris

The train pulled in around Midnight to the station and we groggily got off and headed for the buses. We just arrived from Amsterdam and we were hurrying home because some of us had to be up in 5 hours to head to the hospital for the day. I happened to be one of those people, so all too soon I was awake again, bleary eyed and still dreaming, making my way to the bus station. Fast forward though the bus ride and we were all at the hospital, in need of coffee but excited to be there. Fast forward again and I was changed into scrubs, given a cup of jo and on my way to an OR room. I was introduced to the anesthesiologist and the medical student in the room, they were the ones who were mainly free to talk and answer questions throughout the procedure. The surgery was a hip replacement on a man who was in his eighties. I was told that there could be some complications with the surgery due to his age and because he suffered from CHD and atherosclerosis. The surgery started and it was an experience that made me realize I do not think that orthopedics is my future path, reason being I just don’t think I have the strength for it. The amount of hammering and pulling and manipulating that happened in the surgery was definitely something new. Those surgeons were getting in a serious workout. The anesthesiologist that I was with was amazing. He would periodically call me over and ask me questions or explain different aspects of the anesthesia to me. The surgeons also asked some questions and they out a few jokes when the pace of the surgery was slower, but that was rare with this case. As predicted, the surgery had many complications due to his age, the hip piece not fitting and the patients pre existing heart problems. The surgery, which usually takes around 3 hours, took double that amount of time. There was an moment where the room was in panic and they were getting ready to flip the patient over to preform CPR. Thankfully this could be avoided and the surgery was finished. The patient left the room intubated and with a blood pressure in the 40’s, the doctors told us that he would spend the night intubated so that his vitals could be monitored. This surgery was one that I feel fortunate to have been able to watch. It was long, but it was an honest representation of what a career in medicine means. It means a lot of hard work, and some complicated situations that do not always go your way. A surgery can go from routine to emergent in the blink of an eye. It shows how important it is to be the best doctor that you can be. To study hard and try even harder so that one day when someone’s life is in your hands you have the ability to help them.

The rest of the week was pretty typical. School, friends and good times. We took another excursion to Cologne on Wednesday and I was able to go into the cathedral this time. Once again the cathedral amazed me, even more this time because we were able to climb to the top and learn more about its history. The cathedral is truly beautiful and it was incredible to see all the detail and thought that went into making it. Every piece was worked on, carved and detailed by someone in some point of time. It is an amazing piece of history that we are lucky to have standing. The tour was amazing, though the rest of our time in Cologne slowly headed downhill. I don’t know what it is about that town, but both times we’ve been the experience was less than fun. The night ended with us sprinting through the train station to catch a tram that we would spend an hour on getting back to Bonn. But I suppose that all is well that ends well, and we all made it through and were able to laugh the next day and turn our exploration of Cologne into another memory that we will look back on.

The other excursion that we did this week was going to the anesthesia museum in Bonn. The museum was a great experience and it is one I am definitely happy to have had. Seeing the progression of medicine and how the discovery of chemicals as anesthetics shaped the course of medicine was an important thing to learn and see.

Once Friday rolled around it was off to Paris with some of the best pals I could ever ask for. We emerge from the subway into a night full of neon lights from the various restaurants lining the street and the smell of bread wafting from somewhere. We linked arms and strolled down the street, walking until we caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel tower. It was just a portion of it, still to far away to really see it, but it was the first time I felt like we were truly in Paris; the city of lights, love, art and culture. A place where people have flocked to for decades and I was excited to experience why that was. Now, considering it was around 1 am this was the point that the girls decided to head back to the airbnb so that we could have a good start on the next day. The boys however decided to meet up with some friends at a club. The next day we came to find out the girls had the right idea, the boys excursion led them to a sketchy club by the river where there were some questionable characters and substances hanging about. Bryan also got pickpocketed where they made off with his entire wallet. Fortunately he was able to convince them to give him his cards and ID back, saying he would otherwise be trapped in Paris and unable to get back to the states (not quite true but desperate times right?).

So pick-pocketers: 1

Us: 0.5

The next day was an early morning breakfast of coffee, crepes and orange juice. Then it was off to fit in as much of Paris as we could in 24 hours. The Eiffel tower was spectacular, looks just like all the photos but there was something about seeing it in person that just made it that much more special. We stood around for a while taking some very cliché pictures and being the epitome of a tourist, but we didn’t care, we laughed at ourselves and continued on. It was a quick walk to the Arch de Triomphe and a long while to figure out how to actually get to it. Some dare devils of the group just ran across the traffic of circling cars leaving me and Madison to find our own route. We wandered around for a bit, followed another confused group into the subway tunnels which led us in a circle bringing us back to where we started from only for us to find the real entrance to the tunnel that would take us to the Arch—which we had passed a few times.

The adventure continued with a hunt for macaroons. Walking down the Champs de Élysées, going into the Louis Vuitton store just for the hell of it, and eventually reaching Ladurée – aka the most boujee macaroons one can find in Paris- picey, but honestly worth it. Over to the convenient store for a few bottles of wine and then off again to the Eiffel. We sat on the lawn eating a diet entirely made up of macaroons, cherries and red wine. Some more completely typical pictures were taken, a proposal witnessed, and slight sunburns received.

Our next excursion was a night bike tour by Fat Tire Bike Tours, a company that happened to be founded by an Aggie (Whoop). This was by far one of our best choices that we made. The tour took us to all of the highlights within a few hours. We saw places such as the old military school and housing complex, and Notre Dame. Stopped for ice cream, rode through the different districts of Paris and then rode up to see the Louvre at sunset. The tour included a river trip with wine where we went by more Paris landmarks. We learned about our tour guide, made friends with the people of our group including one couple from Michigan who saved us all by letting us charge our phones on their portable charger. After the tour and a few bottles of wine later it was back onto the bikes to ride to the Eiffel in time to see it sparkle.

After the tour the entire biking group went to the same restaurant to grab a bike to eat- which turned into one of the weirdest moment of my life. Witnessing a yell off, yodel off? Between a French woman in the bar and a woman from our group. We said goodbye to all our new friends, all the girls got a kiss from our Scottish tour guide Jack and the we were off.

It was back to the Eiffel to watch it light up some more. So there I was laying in the grass looking up at one of the most famous structures in the world, surrounded by some of the coolest people. We laughed, looked at the stars and the moon, talked about life and fended off some people trying to sell us key chains every 10 minutes

-- easily one of the most content moments of my life, because of both the place I was in and the people I was with.

The next morning it was off to the Louvre. Truly an incredible museum full of wonderful pieces of art. My favorite pieces were The Virgin on The Rocks by Da Vinci and the sculpture of Psyche by Canova. Yes, I also saw the Mona Lisa, but only after fighting my way through a crowd of people trying to do the same thing. A painting that is worth seeing at least once, but far less impressive than some of Leonardo’s other pieces in the museum. We continued to wander around the museum for a dew hours, making our way to the lower levels and sometimes finding a room all to ourselves.

Around lunch time we found ourselves once again by the Eiffel. Then it was an all out last meal in Paris. Escargot, a glass of Bordeaux, a salad and some crème brulee for dessert.

On the walk back to get our luggage we passed some Sunday markets, found a Beetles Abbey Road record (not much cheaper than usual but at least I can say I got it in Paris) and then found my typical art piece souvenir.

Back on the train and heading back to Germany broke my heart a little bit, Paris was not a place I was ready to leave; but we listened to music, talked about life a little bit more, cried a bit when the song Twenty- Something’s came up in the queue. Once again I was blown away by the experiences I was having and was thankful all over again for these amazing friends that stumbled into my life.

The last few hours have truly been a blur, getting back to Bonn at 11, a quick meal, un-pack, re-pack, a quick 3 hour nap and then back up to the train station. Now its off to Vienna for the next leg of the journey. Sitting in the train, watching it all fly past the window, listening to Billy Joel’s song Vienna play through my headphones, I am excited for whatever comes next. 

Paris was arguably the best weekend I’ve had yet while abroad. So call me a cliché for loving the City of Lights, but let me just say that Paris is a classic for a reason.

Au Revoir for now, but don’t worry we’ll be back for the annual girls trip (+ Bryan)