During week 4, we had the
incredible opportunity to go observe surgeries in the operating room at the
University Hospital in Bonn. We also got to visit the Klais organ factory and
get a complete behind the scenes tour of how these incredibly intricate instruments
are made and how much time and effort it takes to make them perfect. As a
class, we visited the Rhineland town of Bingen, where we got to learn more
about one of the most important figures of medical history in Europe,
Hildegard. The week ended with a relaxing personal excursion to the absolutely
beautiful town of Interlaken, Switzerland.
At the University Hospital
of Bonn, we suited up in our scrubs and crocs and stood right next to the
surgeons, nurses, and anesthesiologists as they performed surgery, some of
which were life-saving operations. Some of the surgeries I observed dealt with
the menisci in the right knee, overgrowth of scar tissue from a previous
surgery, and even two open-heart surgeries. It was amazing to see all of the
content I’ve been learning throughout my college career being put into action.
The only surgery observation I had seen prior to this excursion was dramatized
scenes on ER or Grey’s Anatomy, but seeing it in person was, of course, very
different. It was an experience and a feeling I had never had before. Of
course, it was a little uncomfortable because I was seeing someone being cut
open right in front of me, but it was so eye-opening to how far modern medicine
has come and how we’ve been able to correct and fix so many physiological
problems. At the organ factory, we got to see the entire behind the scenes
process of what it’s like to design and create one of the most intricate
musical instruments ever. It was so cool and eye-opening to see how much work
it took to make just one organ, and it made me realize why these instruments
are and have been so treasured throughout time. At the end of the week, we
visited the town of Bingen, which was the home of a famous figure in medical
history, Hildegard. The first place we visited was a museum dedicated to the
life and work of Hildegard. Here, we got to go even more in depth learning
about all of the things she did to help bring a new perspective to medicine,
and how important it was that a woman was able to contribute as much as she
did. Then, we took a cruise along the Rhine and got to see how beautiful this
area of Germany was. Every view we got on that boat was gorgeous and could have
been put on a postcard.
For this weekend
excursion, a few of us visited the city of Interlaken, Switzerland. Words
cannot describe how absolutely beautiful this entire area was. The lakes and
rivers had the bluest water I think I have ever seen, and no matter what
direction you looked, there were mountains towering over the town. It was its own
paradise oasis in the center of Europe. First, we flew into Zurich. This is
where we got our first taste of how expensive Switzerland was. I got an
iced coffee from Starbucks in the airport for 8 franks (basically $8). So, it
was bittersweet that we could only be there for one night. I didn’t drain my
wallet, but I didn’t get to spend much time in possibly the most beautiful
place I have ever been. The first thing we did when we got there was take a
trolley up to a nearby mountain peak called Harder Kulm. It wasn’t a highly
elevated peak compared to some of the others in the area, but it definitely
provided one of the best views of all of Interlaken that we could have seen.
There, we ate at a restaurant where we had cheese fondue, which really changed
my life honestly. From now on I only want to have a diet of cheese fondue.
After we went down the mountain, we walked around the town and got to interact
with some incredibly nice Swiss locals. The entire time we were there, it felt
like we were in a fairy tale scene, and I want nothing more but to be able to
go back there and spend more time.
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