Groβe Post Part I

First Free Weekend in Amsterdam (July 11, 2010)
Throughout the first week we have been following Nils & Dr. Wasser, jumping on trains and buses, not knowing exactly where we were going, but on our first weekend trip, it was up to us which train and stop to take. I learned this weekend that as long as you are sure of its direction, you can hop on almost any train with no fear. The Eurail pass is an excellent security for the inexperienced traveler. It makes the trip so much less stressful when you know you could take the wrong train without having to spend money on extra train tickets.
Amsterdam is an interesting city and it was definitely intimidating to go there for our first free weekend. Of all the places that are easy to get to from Bonn, we coincidentally chose to go to the capital city of a country with a soccer team in the World Cup finals. While we were making our way to the hotel from the train station, my eyes were darting around, on the alert for a bike lanes and pickpockets. Once we arrived at the Radisson Blu, I felt a little more comfortable. It was so American and familiar. During the weekend, I planned on going to the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank house, and seeing some tulips. After breakfast with one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had, the girls and I went to the Van Gogh Museum. The galleries were arranged in chronological order beginning with popular artists of the time of Van Gogh's teacher and ending with artists influenced by Van Gogh around the time of his death. I really loved the museum and the walk in the arts and antiques district to get there. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Anne Frank house because we heard the wait was three hours long. We saw plenty of flowers and bulbs at the Bloemen Markt, a huge strip of flower shops along a canal. I wish we could have seen more, but it was so hot on Saturday and we had to leave earlier on Sunday to avoid the World Cup crowds. Even as we were leaving a few minutes past noon, there were throngs of orange clad fans filling the train station and street. I'm not sure when I'll be back in Amsterdam, and as much as I enjoyed the air conditioning and widely used English, I sure am glad that Bonn is the base city for the program.

Hannover (July 15, 2010)
Our first excursion with the program was to Hannover. During the past few days the program has had more of a medical emphasis than history. We've been to the heart and diabetes center in Bad Oeynhausen (a city that got its start as a health and spa destination, like Hot Springs, Arkansas), a nephrology clinic, and both small and large veterinary clinics. The heart and diabetes center was the first hospital visit of the program. It was a great first impression for future hospital tours; everything looked so new and modern. I especially liked the art exhibition in the hallways and the pediatric play area with the glass portion of the ceiling so patients could see their visiting siblings. The doctor who was guiding us through the nephrology clinic was really good at keeping our attention by asking us questions. I didn't know many answers (I'm taking my first A&P course next semester), but I learned a good bit about dialysis and how the machine works.
On our final day in Hannover we toured three different animal clinics. First we went to the small animal clinic and the newer large animal clinic that was used to treat horses. The final veterinary clinic was older and was used only to treat cows. I've never been to a vet's office period, so it was neat to see the similarities and differences between clinics for humans and animals and the changes that are made to accommodate treating larger animals. The most notable difference at the large animal clinic was the track on the ceiling for transporting anesthetized horses from the operating room to the stall. No one in our group has plans of going to veterinary school, but once we saw the calves, it was just as if we were kids on a field trip to a petting zoo. It was great to do some hands on things since we can't really do anything with human patients. I was also surprised at how much can be done for cattle. I never thought of their injuries and diseases as being treatable or worth the effort. (I hope that doesn't make me sound like a horrible person.) I've never wanted to be a veterinarian, but the day was a great addition to the program.

The Hills are Alive... (July 19, 2010)
This past weekend I traveled to Gimmelwald, Switzerland. I'm not sure why, but out of all of the weekend trips, Switzerland was probably the one I was looking forward to the least. I could not have been more wrong! I know this is only our second trip, but our weekend in Switzerland is now my favorite weekend. It will be hard to beat the amazing view, the relaxed, homey feel of the Mountain Hostel, the security I had with my bags, and the awesome experience of canyoning and hiking in the Alps.
As soon as we checked in, the eight of us set off for a little exploring. On the way to the hiking trail we walked through the neighborhood. We passed several wooden cottages, fresh spring water fountains, and goats with bells around their necks. The scenes were straight out of The Sound of Music and Heidi. We were surrounded by the most gorgeous views of the Alps. Later that night there was a thunderstorm, and the whole hostel watched the lightning from the porch. The Mountain Hostel has a great common room that's really cozy and conducive to meeting fellow travelers.
On Saturday, everyone went canyoning. It was the experience of a lifetime. Adventurous is not an adjective that I would use to describe myself, and from the description I heard, I wondered if I would really enjoy it. We rode in a van for about 45 minutes until we reached the field where we changed into our damp wetsuits. It had been raining the night before, so for the first time during our trip, I was cold. After a quick overview of safety on the side of a road, we were rappelling down a 50 meter cliff. I never thought I would enjoy walking backwards down a cliff, but after the first few steps, all my fears were gone. The rest of the trip was spent walking through the canyon and either jumping from or sliding down the larger rocks. Even though it was raining, canyoning was really fun, and I wasn't too cold for most of the day. I would definitely recommend it for anyone going on the program in the future!
To make the most of our last day in Switzerland without spending any money, we all went hiking near the hostel. We weren't really prepared. It was supposedly a hike suitable for children, but it was pretty long. We didn't have all day to hike, so we had to turn around after we said "surely we're only thirty minutes to the top…" a few times. We rode a gondola, bus, and train to Interlaken to eat and do a little souvenir shopping before getting on our night train to Vienna. I will never forget my trip to Switzerland; I hope I will be able to return for a longer visit sometime soon!