After our long weekend, our group got to sleep in while the other group went to visit the hospital. We had our last German lesson with Frau Hilde. I was a little sad to say goodbye to her, especially because I love the way she teaches German. She's a funny little woman. After our last German class, Dr. Wasser gave lectures and then our group headed to the organ factory. I originally thought we were going to a body organ factory, and I was quite confused. But I soon figured out we were touring an organ instrument factory. One of the men that worked at the Orgelblau Klais gave us a very informative tour. There, we learned how an organ works, how they make these intricate instruments, and what they're used for. I knew nothing about organs beforehand, but it was very interesting to learn just how complex these instruments are. Our tour guide said they can take 2-3 years to build, and can cost a couple million euro! We also got two free scoops of gelato today, so it was a great day. I think I have eaten gelato every single day this trip.
Wednesday:
Hospital day! Our group met at the bus station at 7:15 AM today to go to the Uniklinik. We split up into groups, and students were able to observe general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and cardiac surgery. I was assigned to the general surgery group. We changed into some scrubs, scrub caps, and grabbed a mask then headed into the operating rooms! I was a little nervous going into an operating room in a foreign country with people who speak a language that is relatively unknown to me. However, the anesthesiologists and surgeons were very welcoming and communicated with me a lot during the procedures. The first procedure I saw was a patient receiving a catheter because there was a tumor in their bladder blocking urine flow. This catheter would allow them to pass urine. This procedure only lasted about 15 minutes, and then I saw a kidney transplant. I was able to see the donor and the receiver in surgery. The kidney looks just how I would imagine it, but a little smaller than expected. It was very interesting seeing the surgeons cut all the connections, take out the kidney, then insert the new kidney and reconstruct all the connections. This surgery only took about 2 or 2.5 hours. After deciding whether to go home and eat or watch another surgery, we decided to try and watch an open heart surgery. Luckily, we asked some of the nurses and they were very happy to let us watch an aortic valve replacement from start to finish. Although our original plan was just to see the beginning of the surgery, we ended up staying the whole time and didn't leave the hospital until around 6 PM! Although we were starving and maybe even on the verge of going crazy, it was so worth it. We were able to get an excellent view of the surgery, and the surgeon was the coolest. He talked to us the whole entire time and asked us lots of questions. It was so amazing to watch him cut open the chest, stop the heart, replace the valve, and restart the heart. We could not stop watching. It was so dang cool! We learned that it takes at least 9 or 10 years after you graduate medical school to officially be a cardiac surgeon. The experienced surgeon also told us that he works over 80 hours a week sometimes. That's a no from me. You have to be truly devoted to do that. Today may have been one of my favorite days of the trip. I learned that German OR's and American OR's are very similar despite the differences in health care delivery, and I got to see three incredible surgeries. Woohoo!
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| Grey's anatomy cast |
Thursday: Today we had lectures from both Prof Waltz and Dr. Wasser, including a brief lecture over the history of anesthesia. After class, we headed to the anesthesia museum. This museum is one of only four anesthesia museums in the world. And conveniently, it's located in Bonn. It is run by Dr. Stoeckel, who is one of the pioneers of modern day anesthesia. It was such a unique experience getting to meet him in person and hearing him give a small lecture. Dr. Wasser led the rest of the tour, and it was so interesting getting to see the transformation of anesthesia since the mid 1800's. It's crazy that they handed out cocaine and other opioids like it was nothing. Another thing that surprised me is they gave Queen Victoria a dose of chloroform during childbirth, and she then gave her public approval of chloroform. We also were able to see an iron lung, which was used to support polio patients that had breathing issues.
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| Operating Room from 1900s |
Friday:
Today we first visited Bingen, the place where Saint Hildegard was born. Bingen is a gorgeous town right on the Rhine. I really enjoy learning about Hildegard because she was a bold woman, a leader in medicine, and eventually canonized. At the museum in Bingen, we were also able to see some very old surgical and medical tools. There is so much history of medicine here in Germany that I was not expecting. After our lunch in Bingen, we all got two scoops of gelato (thanks Dr. Wasser) and headed to our Rhine cruise. I had a great time sitting on the deck of our boat soaking in the sun and passing by hundreds of vineyards and castles. After our 2 hour Rhine cruise, we headed to Marksburg castle for our guided tour. After somewhat of a challenging hike, we made it to the castle and had a beautiful view of the Rhineland. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the castle, and we were able to see its dining halls, bedroom, stable, and armory. I really felt like I was in Game of Thrones or Camelot or something. Marksburg is one of the only castles that survived the wars that took place over the centuries. It was never overtaken, and is in pretty good shape for being built in the 1100s. After our long day, we headed back to Bonn, stopped at the bier garten, then settled in for the weekend.
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| Knight Armor |
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| View from the castle |
Saturday:
There were a few of us that decided to stay in Bonn for the weekend, which is srsly one of the best decisions I have made on this trip. It ended up being one of my favorite weekends and it was very restful and relaxing. We slept in on Saturday, then our host mom took us to the Birkenstocks outlet. Highly recommend. I got three pairs of Birks for so cheap compared to the prices back in the US. After that, we headed to Drachenfels with our host mom and dad and hiked up to the castle. It was a challenging hike, but well worth the amazing views at the top. After that, we went up to the Petersburg Grand Hotel close by. This hotel has hosted several famous political leaders, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. We saw what the Germans call the "Bill Clinton Trail," because Bill Clinton used to jog up and down this trail close to the hotel during his stay. After marveling at the views again, we walked down the mountain; just a 30 minute stroll back to our house. It is amazing how these beautiful mountains and castles are right in our backyard! Me and Suji were exhausted when we got home. Our host parents, who are experienced hikers, were laughing at how worn out we were. It was "only a 7 mile hike." After recuperating for a while, we showered and headed to a wine festival in Bad Godesberg. After eating and hanging out, we went to experience the bars and nightlife in Bonn. I was surprised by how many people were out! Bonn has so many surprises.
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| Bill Clinton Trail |
Sunday:
Once again, me and Suji were able to sleep in later today. After eating breakfast, we headed to the swimming pool close to our house. German swimming pools are on a whole new level. There had to have been hundreds of people at this pool. People of all ages were there either tanning, reading, or playing in the pool. We spent several hours here just hanging out and relaxing. I also went down the huge slide of course and conquered my fear of falling by jumping off the high dive. Everyone was having a great time, and it was unlike any pool I've ever been. It was just what I needed after traveling so much. I felt like a new woman after this weekend! I entered the week feeling well rested and ready for anything.
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