Silvester and Other Experiences

When I last posted, we were hours from leaving Bonn to travel to Berlin. That is where I will begin. The train ride to Berlin was very easy and straightforward and we arrived at the largest train station in Europe early in the afternoon. We then made our way to the Hotel Alex where we rested up and prepared for the New Year's Eve Party at the Brandenburg Gate. Around 630 we left to attend the festival with Dr. Wasser leading us there (as none of us new where we were going). When we arrived and passed through security (I did get patted down but nothing extreme), the scene was quite stunning. A huge stage complete with laser lights and various other spotlights was set up at the base of the gate and there were large video screens on either side to show what was going on on stage. Extending back from the stage (with room of course for the thousands of people right in front of the stage) was the fest mile, complete with huts for food, beer, souvenirs, and various other treats. Throughout the course of the night, I sampled some of the local Berlin beers as well as tried some bratwurst, a chicken kabob, and some pommes frites, all of which were very good. As midnight approached, it became clear to us that we were not going to get even close to the stage so we backed up about halfway down the party mile and took a place right in front of the large video screen behind the ferris wheel. There we rang in the new year to Queen's We Will Rock You, a man singing opera, and of course the Hoff. We also met a couple from Poland who joined us in our champagne celebration and told us how much they loved the Houston Rockets. Finally we capped off the night by performing the war hymn in a large circle, which drew some attention and even a video from nearby spectators. After our celebration, we had to make the long trek home through the Tiergarten in which an epic snowball fight occurred. When we finally made it back to the hotel, the majority of us had only 3 hours to rest until we were back at the train station on our way to Prague.

Fortunately the Prague train was not crowded at all and we were able to get some sleep over the course of the 5 hour trip. When we arrived in Prague we immediately headed for the Old Towne Square and after some twisting and turning. When we arrived, I quickly realized why Prague is some of my friend's favorite European city. It was simply beautiful. Old Towne Square made you feel like you were back in the 1700s. With it's tall clock tower and large Catholic church, the supporting architecture really evoked a different time period. The fact that a Christmas market will still going on in the center of the square only added to the allure. I checked into my hostel which was surprisingly very nice and then we walked around the city for the rest of the afternoon and I picked up a few gifts before passing out relatively early from the sheer exhaustion of the last two days. The next morning a couple of us attended Mass in the Catholic church on the square which was a wonderful experience. Then we made the long trek across the beautiful pedestrian bridge and up to the Prague castle. The view from the top of the hill was well worth the climb it took to get there. The city was simply gorgeous with its old architecture and many church and government towers. The castle itself really showed the power of the royalty of the area and was a very large complex with its own cathedral that was surrounded by other building but still a beautiful Gothic structure. We were able to see models of the crown jewels which really increased my desire to somehow be a king someday. After the castle we returned to the train station to take a train back to Berlin only to find that it was packed and therefore we waited for the next train 2 hours later and reserved seats to make sure we could ride in comfort. We returned to Berlin late in the evening and quickly got to sleep to prepare for the next day.

Monday started off with a visit to the Charite doctor training center. We were able to learn a little about the medical school system in Germany as well as see some of the models the students practice on. We also got to perform some simple procedures on dummies ranging from intubation to CPR. After lunch, we took a guided tour of Berlin which revealed many wonders that had previously gone unnoticed. From the Reichstag, to the Brandenburg Gate, to the Jewish Memorial, to the Berlin Wall area, and finally to the many buildings from the Prussian period and Early German Confederacy period, I was extremely impressed with the city. It was very interesting to see the effects of so many different eras on the city including medieval, Baroque, World War II, the Cold War, and now reunification. All these time periods contributed something in the form of architecture and way of life of the city. After our tour, we visited the Otto Bock Center, which was basically a museum dedicated to showcasing the work that the Otto Bock company is doing to improve prosthetics. The center had many amazing and futuristic exhibits that showed their actual products in action as well as relating their design and function to our corresponding limbs and physical characteristics. The exhibit really demonstrated all the progress that has been made in this area of medicine as well as the exciting new developments that are coming in the future.

Today we took the morning train to Dresden, a city unfortunately famous for the massive bombing and subsequent firestorm it sustained towards the end of World War II. When we arrived, we took a tour of this "Florence of the Elbe" and immediately saw a city that was constantly changing to reflect its past. We saw the reconstructed Lutheran church of Our Lady which had been decimated by the fire in 1945. After the church, we saw many royal buildings which had been built by the Kings of Saxony, as Dresden was their capitol. Since the original buildings had been destroyed by the fire, most of the buildings were restored or being restored, but still maintained the same appearance as when they were first built in the 1700s. All of the architecture demonstrated the baroque period and was very gaudy but beautiful at the same time. After lunch, we visited the Hygiene museum which was dedicated to informing us about the processes that make our life what it is. There were many interactive exhibits and lots of pieces to observe related to themes ranging from eating and drinking to motion to beauty. Overall, the museum was very well done and gave a valuable look into life and its complexities as well as the ways in which humans have continued to learn more about themselves and their functions over the years. After the museum, we returned to Berlin.

Over the next two days we will continue to tour museums in Berlin and the surrounding areas. There are many more exciting things to be seen. I will be back on Thursday night. Cheers.