Ahh So Much To Write About!

So I believe that I left off last time in Berlin...

I ended last week with a long day of city exploration in Berlin. After our guided tour around the city, Sarah and I ventured off and found a very trendy area and some great shopping boutiques. The final stop of the day took us to Checkpoint Charley and the Berlin Wall, which was pretty amazing. I have grown up hearing about such historic monuments in history class and books and television, but to see them in reality produces and entirely different effect! With World War II being two generations removed from me and the Cold War ending soon after I was born it is hard to comprehend the full gravity of the events caused by these wars. But I am being to see that the aftermath continues to shake Europe to this day, and the marks of the past are especially integrated into Germany today.

On Saturday we took a day trip to Dresden, a small, gorgeous, Baroque city that lays on the Eastern boarder of Germany. It was destroyed during the last weeks of WWII after having survived the entire war will only minor damages. The city has since been restored to its orignial style and is quite as sight to see...especially in sunny weather!!!

I spent my first free weekend in Prague with 9 other people from our group, and the experience could not have been better!!! I was not sure what to expect from Prague, I have heard many great things about how beautiful it is but still knew relatively little about the city or the Czech Republic, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. I was also a little nervous about my first hostel experience, but Sir Toby's was perfect and made the trip really special. We met a lot of fun people from all over the world with crazy adventures and interesting stories. On our first day in Prague we rose fairly early, treated ourselves to a very cheap/very good breakfast at the hostel and then spent the day roaming the streets and checking out the sights. Prague reminded me of an adult Disneyland, with its cobblestone streets, buildings, bridges, clock towers from the middle ages and a castle!!! I danced around the Old Town district to the sounds of a jazz band set up in the middle of the street, wondering in and out of a few shops and then accompanied the rest of the group across the Charles Bridge and up to the castle! We all ended the evening with the amazing opportunity of listening to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra play all the great classics! It was truly an incredible show! Monday proved to be just as fun as Sarah and I caught a bus to Menik, and enjoyed the landscape and shops of this small, typical Czech town nestled in the wine country of the Czech Republic

When we returned from Prague we spent the week learning a lot about different fields of medicine and medical history. I have been very impressed with the wide spectrum of diverse medical applications and professions this trip has introduced us to, and even more impressed with all of the doctors and other professionals we have met on this trip. I found Dr. Witt's lecture on complementary medicine to be very interesting, and a good link between conventional medicine and what we had previously learned about homeopathy last week. As I stated in my last blog, I was intrigued by homeopathy but found it difficult to fully believe that one solution cures all with no understanding of how it works at the molecular level. But what Dr. Witt lectured on had a much more solid medical foundation and a true understanding of how CAM therapies work on all levels. I also enjoyed the Charite Museum, and found their collection of specimens: brains, huge kidney stones, massive tumors, etc very ineresting.

Our trip to the Hannover Zoo and guide tour by the head veterinarian was so exciting, and I felt rather privileged...how many people get to pet a rhino? And the sled ride in the zoo's winter wonderland is definitely worth mentioning! I had sooo much fun! That same day, we visited The University medical facilities in Hannover and I really enjoyed the lecture the nephrologist gave us about medicine in a socialist system, and I found it rather applicable considering the talk of health care in the United States making steps in that direction with the election of Obama.

As for yesterday...the doctors at Gottingen University were wonderful, but the walking tour was FREEZING!!! After hearing the pre-vet students talk about the open heart surgery they watched yesterday, I cant wait for my chance on Monday!

XOXO
Amanda