Berlin, Berlin, Where to Begin?

So here we are at the final week of the trip, and I don't think that it could have been spent anywhere more enjoyable. Of the three week-long excursions (Hannover, Vienna, and Berlin), I think that Berlin was probably my favorite. The size and immense history of Berlin are probably dominating factors, aside from the vast amount of program events. I enjoy the big city life, although regular bike travel would probably give me a heart attack haha. Either way, the week was jam-packed with events and excursions, and by the end of the week I was exhausted.

Despite the fact that the bike tour was much longer than i had initially suspected, the overall experience went smoothly (with a few bumps here and there). For example, on one of the first streets, we were turning left across traffic, and I was solly paying attention to the other biker speeding right at me and not the poles that lined the sidewalk...I pretty much smashed into the pole, but there was "no harm, no foul" as Dr. Wasser said. We saw a lot of the major sites in the city while on the tour, and I noticed this even more as we were walking around the town later on in the week. The Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Euthanasia Victims Memorial were all great stops that were made on the tour. I think that this bike excursion coupled with the bike ride I had in Venice made me remember how much I like riding bicycles.

Another very interesting and influential exhibition, from an engineering standpoint, that I saw was at Otto Bock. This company produces and designs prosthetic limbs for the customer/patient to ensure them a better quality of life. Tihs type of produc is what sparked my interest in Bioengineering, so I really enjoyed the fully interactive exhibit that allowed you to feel when an orthotic was necessary, or allowed you to feel what a wheelchair felt like through the use of a virtual simulation, and allowed you to virtually peel back the skin to see the mechanics of a working arm and then compart that to a prosthesis. Very cool.

One day we made a trip to Dresden. Seeig as the only previous knowledge that I had of Dresden was from the burning of the city and the reconstruction of the Frauenkirsche, I had no idea what to expect. I had seen pictures of the city before the burning and I knew that it was reconstructed, but to what scale I as unsure. Upon the arrival to the city and subsequent city tour, I was awed at how much the city had rebuilt and modernized. It was amazing how far the city has come in this amount of time. Aside from the modernity, there was also some of the most entricate architecture that we have seen at the Zwinger Palace. It provided an interesting contrast between the modern shopping plazas and the classical cathedrals and opera houses around the corner. The rauenkirsche was absolutely phenomenal. To think that not too long ago the building was in ruins is so strange. The gold plating on the inside makes the figures glisten in the sun, and I think it brings the detailed sculptures to lofe, so to speak. I think that Dresden was a good trip.

Ultimately, we all knew that the final day of the program would come, but I don't think we wanted it to come so soon. The final day brought us the the German Hygiene Museum. the progression of the six permanent exhibits followed a basic structure of the functions of the human body, and I am an absolute sucker for interactive museum exhibits. This almost caused me to lose track of time and not have an adequate amount of time left to finish my presentation material. I enjoyed the student presentations in the juseum because it allowed fora closer understanding of some of the displays, and it forced us to build a presentation in a short amount of time. We also went to the Body Worlds exhibit on Thursday, and I have to say that this was my first time at such an exhibition. The plastenated bodies were entriguing in both an anatomical nature and an artistic nature. The displays showed how the body behaves in various situations, which was eye-opening to say the least. I also liked how the gorilla and giraffe were incorporated into the displays because it extended it the exhibition beyond the human barrier. Overall, this a good end to the week/program.

The goodbye dinner was one that had a bittersweet taste. The "sweet" came from the good food, good friends, and the prospect of returning home to the states. The "biter" was the fact that we would be leaving our trip in Europe and this newly formed family. I think that the most touching and emotional part of the evening was when everyone went around and said their favorite parts of the trip. I think that the group dynamic that we had is what distinguishd us from the other groups Dr. Wasser has had, and that makes me feel special. I think that it is awesome that the common ground of medicine brought us together, and thanks to this program something great happened in Europe.

I love this group, and I loved this program.

Matt