Castles and Hearts and Elephants Oh My

We arrived in Bonn Monday morning from Paris just in time for class…sort of. (Sorry the entire class was over an hour late Professor Waltz) Later that evening, we visited the organ factory in Bonn. I never really put much thought into the way organs were made before. After visiting the factory, however, I gained a much greater appreciation for these instruments. Hours and hours of countless effort are put into just one organ. It was also obvious how passionate our tour guides were about their jobs. If I were in their shoes, I would find it very rewarding to offer people such magnificent instruments. After the organ factory, a group of us were on the hunt for a good place to grab dinner. To our surprise, we came across an older married couple at a bar that said they would show us to their favorite beer garden. The couple ended up sitting down and eating dinner with us. They told us stories about where they were from and places that they love to visit. These are the little moments that I have loved the most about this trip. It doesn’t get any better than being able to sit down with some locals that we just met and have a beer.

On Wednesday, we traveled to the Hildegard Museum. I was fascinated with Hildegard’s story and visions. Hildegard is really the first significant woman in the history of medicine that we have talked about so far. She was named a doctor of the church by the Pope and seemed like a pretty awesome lady. I admired how independent she was, doing exactly what she wanted even with some criticism. I would like to do more research on her life to try and study and better understand the paintings of her visions. After lunch, it was finally time for the infamous Rhine cruise. I had been looking forward to this day for a while and I was not disappointed in the slightest. The views of the rolling hills and vineyards from the boat were gorgeous. I have never seen so many castles confined to one space before in my life. It seemed as though every five minutes there was a new castle in view. The ride was so relaxing I ended up falling asleep for a short time. After we hopped off the boat, we made the trek up to the top of the hill where Rheinfels Castle stood. I cannot believe we were walking around a castle that was built back in 1245…that just blows my mind. I loved walking through the narrow corridors, I felt like I was in a movie such as The Hobbit. The view from the top of the castle was to no surprise beautiful as ever and I felt on top of the world.

My visit to the hospital on Thursday was incredible. I went into the day hoping I would be sent to watch cardiovascular surgery, but I did not expect for my wish to actually come true. I was able to see not just one, but two open-heart surgeries! The first surgery was a mitral valve repair and it took a little over 4 hours. I have only seen minimally invasive surgeries such as laparoscopies in the past, so what better ways to accustom myself to open surgery than see an entire chest get sliced open. I have to say that watching the ribs get sawed away and then pried open was not the most pleasant experience in the world. Once the chest was open, there, in front of my eyes, just about a foot away from my face was a beating heart. I couldn’t believe it. I had to keep reminding myself where I was. Before preforming the repair, they made the heart stop beating and used a heart-lung machine to pump blood through the woman’s body. The surgeons then repaired the damaged mitral valve by cutting out extra valve leaflet tissues, and then input a ring to reinforce the valve. Unfortunately, I do not believe the surgery completely fixed the issue. The anesthesiologist told me before the surgery that he did not think it would work. After the repair was made, the anesthesiologist took a look at the ultrasound and stated that it did not look much different than before. After completing the procedure, the surgeons did not have to shock the women’s heart to beat again; it just naturally started to on its own. I then watched them sew up the chest, which was even less pleasant than when they cut it open. The surgeons had to use all their power to push the chest back together. Metal wires were then shoved through the bones of the ribs in order to tie them back together. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed, and then I was on to the next heart surgery. Since the first surgery lasted so long, I arrived to the bypass surgery about halfway through. The man that was undergoing the procedure was overweight and had a lot of fat buildup around his heart. The man needed a double bypass and from what the surgeons said, it seemed to go smoothly. The surgeons were very helpful and took the time to explain every step they were taking. They were also very laid back and jokingly told us we were in the splash zone at one point and to back up. I could see the lungs of this man, and since he was a smoker, his lungs were filled with black lines throughout. The surgeons worked even harder to bring the man’s ribs back together than the woman in the last surgery. It hurt me physically to watch and the surgeon made the comment “He is going to feel some back pain tomorrow.” I have done a lot of shadowing in the past, but this day topped every other experience I’ve had. It was incredible to witness open-heart surgery in another country and compare the way they carry out procedures compared to the United States.

On Friday we went to the Cologne Zoo where my dream of touching an elephant came true. Elephant’s are one of my favorite animals and I have always wanted to ride or touch one. It was so awesome that we were able to go behind the scenes where even some people who work at the zoo are technically not allowed to go. The baby elephant melted my heart with how cute it was. The elephant we were able to feed seemed so happy every time it would get a piece of bread from one of us and it felt so funny as it scooped it up from my hand. Again, I don’t understand how I got so lucky to be on this trip. We have experienced so many things that most people will never experience in their life.

Goodbyes are Hard

     Berlin, the last week, had finally arrived. Though, I was somewhat ready to go home, it was hard because I'm not good at the whole goodbye thing, which there was a lot of this week. 

     The first goodbye was to my host family. They took us to dinner at this beautiful winery where the food and drinks were absolutely stellar. There was an orchard that shadowed over the restaurant which we climbed and saw Bonn as entire city one last time. They gave us departing gifts with handwritten cards so we could remember them which I definitely will. I'll always be grateful for their hospitality and willingness to put up with two traveling college students. The next morning, we snuck out at the crack of dawn to depart to Berlin and it was almost like we were never there. 

     The second goodbye was to Bonn. As the train departed from the station, I started to remember what all I had done in the small city named Bonn. It was where the rest of the students and I first met, it was where we had the bulk of our classes, and in a weird way, it felt like a home away from home. I will always remember you Bonn. 

     We arrived in Berlin, and my first impression was "this place is huge." There were multiple HBF's and the city was crawling with people making a life there. Our hotel was amazing and was like a penthouse on the bottom level. We embraced it because that would be the place I would leave to go home in a few days. After getting to the hotel, we left to begin our bike tour around the city of Berlin. The bike tour itself went by so fast and I enjoyed it so much. The richness of Berlin's history made it a heavy, but necessary learning experience. Walking through the Jewish memorial was an emotional experience, seeing the Reichstag was surreal, and standing next to the Berlin Wall was somewhat eerie, yet liberating. The bike tour concluded our day, we had dinner, and we went back to our place to be rested for the next day. 

     What a day the next one was. It was a hard day, not physically, but mentally. We visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial and all I could think is "how?" How could an entire country of people let this happen. How could they morally justify it? And lastly, how could they let it get that far. No matter what, I will never be able to fully grasp the horrid events that happened in WWII. All I can do is pray it never happens again. Seeing the morgues, the crematoriums, and seeing a small section of a gas chamber was eerie. The methods they used to kill were in-humane. Luckily, we had the rest of the day free to roam Berlin and process what had happened. I used the free time to write and submit my neuro paper which I'm glad I finished early. That night, we went out with Henning and experienced Berlin to the fullest. Not in the good way. At the first place we went to, I noticed a man who suspiciously went out of his way and walked between our two tables. The next thing that happened was Karen telling us very causally that the man had taken her purse and I was infuriated. Me, Miguel, Joseph and Henning all got up and chased the guy down. Miguel got there first and snatched the purse back saving the night. Joseph and I were also ready to defend him but luckily it didn't escalate that far. The next thing that happened that night was that Joseph was attacked by some drunk guys who got a hold of him on the way to the last place. He was upstairs and the rest of us were downstairs and all I heard was him yelling my name. The second I heard his voice, I ran towards him and Henning was already halfway up the stairs. The men let him go and shortly after, we ended our night. 

    The next day was filled with activities and educational experiences. The first place we visited was the alchemy fair, which was probably the most unique museum I had ever been to. It was filled with ancient exhibits but also had a mix of modern exhibits embedded within. It was super informal and we just had a great time there. From there, we went to the Otto Bock science center which was also very cool. It was probably the most modern and futuristic museum we had been to yet. Learning about human motor movements and the future of prosthetics was very interesting to me. I learned so much that day and I felt like a sponge soaking in so much information. That night was the long awaited Blink 182 concert. We had been looking forward to this night for so long and it did not let us down. The only problem with it was that it went by too quickly. It was a band that a lot of us grew up with and it was a memory I would cherish forever.

     The last day was hard. The rest of the goodbyes happened that day and night. We received a lecture at the museum and visited the medical school which went by like a blur partly because it was so interesting and partly because it was our last day in Berlin. The first goodbye that night was to our last excursion on the trip we would ever take. We had gone on so many excursions and site visits throughout the trip and it was all over. That night we had our farewell dinner and I literally had some of the best meat I had ever tasted in my entire life. It was so tender and juicy and I can't describe how delicious it was. After dinner, our 3rd and 4th goodbyes happened. We said goodbye to the program because it was officially over and I'm eternally grateful for it. I learned so much and experienced Europe in a way I never would have imagined. Next we said goodbye to the professors, who have put up with a bunch of college students running around with flying colors. They were great leaders, great educators, and lastly, they were great mentors. 

     The next goodbye was to my peers. I would not have wanted to experience Europe with any other group of people and I'm glad I met them. I formed many lasting relationships, and if you're reading this, I'll hopefully see you next semester so we can catch up and relive some of our European memories.  

     The last was goodbye to the adventure of a lifetime. It was one I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life. It was indescribable in the way that it impacted me and changed me. This is an adventure I will strongly recommend to future students because I feel everyone who has the chance to go on this trip should take it. I was able to see Europe in a way that nobody ever has because it's a personal experience. It touches everybody in a different way according to their beliefs and backgrounds which was the beauty of it. Peace out Europe, I'll definitely be seeing you later. 

*side note: I currently don't have wifi while posting this so I will post the pictures later.

Chasing Waterfalls in the Black Forest

     For the 5th weekend, a group of us travelled to the Black Forest and what an adventure it was. It started when our train was running late which compounded to the next trains that followed. There was a lot of running and stressing but at the end, it worked out as always. However, when we arrived at our town (Oppenau), some of the group forgot to get off, which caused them to be forced to go to the next stop in which they couldn't get the door opened. Finally, 3 stops later, they got off, ran some lady down, and hitchhiked back to where they should've been.

     Despite, the complications with traveling, it was worth it all. It was worth it for the memories that we could tell our kids about, and furthermore, it was worth it for the sheer beauty of the place we were in. Our air BNB was stellar, chasing waterfalls was a blast, and exploring the town was beautiful. We met many local townspeople who surprisingly spoke English and welcomed us so well. However, what's a trip without more complications? When we arrived at the waterfall, one of the students saw a blog that said the last bus to town left at 20:00 so we planned the hiking accordingly. We decided to leave at 19:30 to give us buffer time which is when the student decided to inform us about the fact that the blog post was from two years ago. Sure enough we arrive at the bus station and find out the last bus left 3 hours ago. Long story short, we did a lot of walking that night. However, the beauty of the environment around us made it all worth it. From the many grazing pastures to the vast mountainsides inhabited in a scattered fashion, you could call it the scenic route. 

     That night was a blast. We enjoyed each other's company in our air BNB, told scary stories, and embraced each other's company, realizing that we only had one week left. The last day, we hiked around and took it easy because we didn't want to get too lost before our train left. We departed at 14:30 and somehow everything ran smoothly. We made it home and I was in denial that my last week in the Europe had just began. 

*side note: I currently don't have wifi while posting this so I will post the pictures later.

Berlin and Goodbyes

So, this is the week I’ve been dreading. I cannot believe this trip of a lifetime is actually coming to an end but I’ve tried my best to push that out of my head and enjoy the last few days in Berlin. Monday was the final day in Bonn, and needless to say, it was hard to say goodbye to the beautiful town and my wonderful host mom, Marita. It was also hard to close my luggage because it is absolutely packed to the top with souvenirs and clothes.

            Tuesday morning we met bright and early and headed to Berlin, which took most of the day by train. When we arrived we had a few minutes to put things down in the hotel, get something to eat, and then head to our first activity—a bike tour of the city. We were lucky that the weather was nice for the bike tour because every day afterwards was very rainy. Our tour guide was a very funny Welsh man who was incredibly knowledgeable about the city. It was amazing to see the remains of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. I also couldn’t believe we got to stand right above Hitler’s bunker, where he spent his last days. It was a great intro to the city and, somehow, there were no bike accidents. We finished the night at a biergarten and then went back to the hotel to write our neurophysiology of music papers.

            On Wednesday morning we ate breakfast and headed to Sachsenhausen to visit the memorial and museum of the concentration camp. Although a lot of the buildings were no longer there, it was such an eerie feeling to be standing in an actual concentration camp where people were killed and basically enslaved. I can’t even describe the feeling of standing in the mortuary area where they would drag the dead bodies to be burned. I felt a very heavy sadness to be witnessing this work camp area first hand, and I can only imagine how much more amplified that feeling would’ve been at a death camp, like Auschwitz.

After the tour, we headed to the Kartuffelkellar (Potato Cellar) Restaurant, where everything on the menu included potatos! I ordered a Roma schnitzel with mozzarella and tomato on top, plus some amazing roasted potatoes. I also got to taste the Cologne casserole, which was potatoes, cheese, and bacon… Sooo good. The rest of the day we finished up our essays.

            That night Henning took us out. We went to a couple pubs and experienced the city nightlife. What I didn’t expect was how targeted we were. Karen got her purse stolen while it was basically on her lap with all of us around but, thankfully, Miguel jumped up and chased down the thief. We also went to a club called Suicide Circus. This was definitely a sketchy area, and we were lucky to be with Henning because four men almost jumped Joseph. Luckily we all ended up safe and got inside the club with no issues. There was smoke everywhere and techno playing—not quite my scene but still a lot of fun.

            Thursday it rained all day, so we started at the Alchemy Exhibition at Kulturforum. I had very limited knowledge of alchemy prior to this trip, so it was very interesting to see what this practice involved. The art was beautiful, especially the big scroll on the lower floor. There was also a thirty minute long Rube Goldberg-esque video playing that was absolutely insane. Next we had the chance to grab lunch, so we had one last big German meal… plus some gelato. Next we went to the Otto Bock Science center, where we learned about the prosthetics they create and how the joints work with your remaining limb. It was interesting to hear how your nerves can still be used to move the prosthetics, and learning more about the mechanics of the arms and legs.

            Following the museum we returned to the hotel for a nap and then got ready for the Blink 182 concert! Henning came with us and we all had a blast sitting together screaming Blink songs and head banging. Plus, at the end of the concert there was a fan wearing a Karbholz hat that fan-girled hard over Henning. They even took a picture together. It’s so interesting to see him as a little rock star, and we’ve all loved getting close to him on this trip.

            Friday was hard because we all knew it was the last day together. We started off with a final lecture by Dr. Wasser in the hotel lobby over Robert Virchow and then had some free time to get things together and eat some lunch. Next we went to Charite Berlin for a guided tour by one of the last year medical students that work there. He was really interesting to talk to and spent a good portion of the time telling us what medical school in Europe is like. Here, you can enter med school right after high school and it lasts six years. It’s crazy to think that they get the majority of schooling for free, because it leaves so many more options for doing what you really want to do instead of deciding on a job that maybe pays more so you can pay off debt quicker. After his informal lecture, he took us around the building and showed us a bunch of different simulation models that can be used by the medical students that are being tutored by the older ones. It’s a great system to use the more advanced med students to teach the younger ones because it’s cheaper and it helps both sides get a better grasp on the topics.

            Next, we took a short break to grab some souvenirs, and then met back up for our final group dinner at a Moroccan restaurant called Kasbah. I had no clue what Moroccan food was like before this meal, but they ended up bringing out huge bowls of lamb and chicken with a massive plate of couscous in the middle. The food was pretty good, and the dinner got sentimental when we handed Dr. Wasser, Henning, and Professor Waltz their cards and gifts. Surprisingly, Henning got up and gave us all signed copies of his Karbholz CD, which we all loved. We said our final goodbyes to the professors and went back to the hotel to hang out one last time. It was fun but a little somber to be there knowing it was our last night. I know we all go to A&M, but it’ll never be the same hanging out there as it’s been here where we all basically live together.

            Today, I sit here in the hotel lobby alone. This is the longest I’ve been alone (maybe two hours) since before this program started, and it’s a very strange feeling. I already miss everyone and am absolutely amazed and grateful that I had the opportunity to partake in this program. I knew this would be a great experience but I never expected to form such close relationships with these people and truly enjoyed every single moment. Next stop: Iceland!

           

             

Weekend in Paris

Weekend in Paris

After a lengthy train ride from Norderney, we arrived in Paris. It was pretty late, so we immediately tried to figure out our transit for the weekend. It took us a little bit to figure out, because not only were there different regions within Paris that required different ticket options, we also did not know exactly what all we wanted to visit while we were there. Once we managed to get it all figured out, we hunted for our hostel. As the 12 of us walked down the street for our hostel, we saw a hotel-looking building with bright lights. We jokingly said we wished we were staying there. Then we saw that the name of it was “The Generator,” which was in fact where we were staying. This was my first experience booking a hostel for myself, so it worked out fantastically. We even had a full breakfast in the morning. Gabe, Nick, Kathryn and I shared a room and the other eight people were in another room. The next morning we tried to get an early start and head to Louvre. We (Carter, Gabe, Kathryn, Alana, Emily, and I) walked around, admiring the art and antiquities for a couple of hours, yet still only managed to look at maybe a corner of the entire museum. We split up, so once we all got to a good stopping place (aka when we got hungry enough that we couldn’t focus anymore) we decided to go get some lunch. We walked around until we saw a little corner café. I had some delicious salmon brought to us by a saint of a waitress. She made sure we had an endless supply of water and bread. Holy cow, she was my favorite lady. She even gave us some tips for traveling around and how to stay safe. We decided the next landmark we should see was Notre Dame. The stained glass windows really stood out to me. They all had a central color of blue, which I thought was absolutely gorgeous. We walked around the entire church and read some about its history, then headed to Saint Chapell. After seeing that it cost more than zero dollars, we just headed for the metro. nächster halt: Eiffel Tower. We all wanted to just sit under the Eiffel and hang out (we really like just sitting if you have not caught that vibe yet). So, we stopped at a couple of markets on the way and picked up some meat, cheeses, fruit and a couple of bottles of wine. 10/10 would recommend. I had to keep reminding myself that this was reality. I was actually sitting under the Eiffel Tower with cheap bottles of wine and cheese with my new best friends. After a couple of hours of sitting in disbelief, we decided to try to make our way up the tower. The girls got in line for the elevator, while the guys tried to show their athleticism by taking the stairs. There is no way I could climb to the top, it is so tall, I think my legs would give out before I made it halfway. However, because it was about 10 PM we could only go to the second floor. We knew then that we would be back the next day because we couldn’t not go to the very top. We enjoyed the view from the second floor until about 11:15. After taking the stairs down, we headed back to the hostel.

Day two was just as filled as day one. We began by going to the Church on the Hill. Gabe and Kathryn acted as our tour guides. According to them, the view from the Hill would have been more beautiful, but it was still neat to look over most of the city. We waited in line to go inside the church, but were turned away because we wee wearing shorts. From here, we followed Kathryn to an impressionist art museum, and I am so glad we did! At the Musée d’Orsay, which was an old train station turned museum, we saw many pieces by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet. My expectations were extremely surpassed. We finished at the museum and made our way to Avenue des Champs Elysées. We just walked around the shops, not really buying much, except for Kathryn whose family gave her a list of things to get them. The avenue ended into the Arc de Triumph. We walked in a tunnel under the busy street to get a better look. The Arc was beautiful with the French flag waving in the center of it. We did not stay long because we wanted to have time to go back to the hostel to change clothes and freshen up before the night. We left the hostel a little later than we had hoped, so instead of getting dinner we went straight to the Eiffel Tower. The six of us all took the elevator to the top. Gabe was a little disappointed that he did not realize until it was too late that the line we were in was elevator only, so he could not run the stairs to the top. We made it to the top of the Tower and I never wanted to leave. I was ready to just spend the entire night standing and staring at the view. We watched the sunset below the horizon, the Emily, Kathryn, and Carter went down to the bottom, while Alana, Gabe and I just relished in the fact that we were looking over the city from atop the Eiffel. We watched as some of the buildings below slowly, one-by-one, turned their lights on making the view even more breath taking. The three of us walked town at the last possible minute in order to find a spot in the lawn. We ran into the rest of the group and sat next to them to watch the Tower sparkle at 11 PM. I cannot even describe the splendor of seeing this. Everyone’s attention that was previously on the conversations with their friends and significant others was now completely focused on the sparkles that filled the night sky. We sat in awe for a few moments before realizing how hungry we were. So, we decided to head to a restaurant we saw on our way to the Eiffel Tower that we hoped was still open. To our surprise I was. Carter and I split a bottle of Merlot and Alana ordered a plate of escargot for the table. There was just enough for each of us to have one snail. So, we each tried one and passed the plate around to see each person’s reaction. It was my first time ever trying it and OH MY GOSH it was so good. We all debated on order more, but decided we should see how hungry we were after our meal first. After sitting at the restaurant for a good while, we decided we should catch a metro to the hostel before they quit running for the night. 

Carter, Kathryn, Gabe and I all being a little delirious after a long day decided to stay up and watch some funny YouTube videos. Honestly, we may have laughed a little too hard at things that were not super funny, but that was the best part.

Day three was not very jam-packed. All we had to do was pack our bags, eat breakfast and make it to the bus stop. We had a bus ride back to Bonn that would take about eight hours with only one stop in Brussels. However, the ride did not feel that long. I was going through the notes on my phone, where I had a bunch of random questions typed out from a small group I was apart of this past year, so I just started asking them to everyone on the bus ride. The questions were kind of all over the place, but gave so much insight into each person’s life, goals, and family. Before the bus ride began, I was prepared for Carter and I to be the only people awake, because we hardly ever sleep on any public transit ride, so the fact that everybody was awake and talking was wonderful. Then you add the great discussions that we all shared made it even better! I will never forget this weekend and the incredible memories that will forever flood my mind when I think of Paris.

-Hailey

I'll be back

This past week was like a dream. Monday we traveled to Hannover. We were only there for one day, so we were moving quickly. After a quick lunch, we went to the Axolotl Research Center. The Axolotls were actually pretty cute because they always have a smile on their face. They are being used for research because they are capable of limb regeneration. Next, we went to the medical school in Hannover. Here we got to learn a great deal about valve replacement surgery and how it has drastically changed over the years. The first pumps being used were so large and pretty heavy. He then shared about some of the operations he has worked on and you could hear the passion in his voice as he shared his stories. We also got the opportunity to hear from a patient living with an LVAD. He lived a full life as a travel reporter and seemed very happy to be able to share with us a little about his life and the device. It was really neat to hear from a patient instead of just a doctor telling us what their life was like. We finished at the medical school, went to dinner, and went back to the hotel to try and get more than 4 hours of sleep like the night before. 

The next morning we left bright and early for Norderney. Since I heard about this program, Norderney was the place I was most excited to visit. We got off the train and got onto the ferry that would take us to the island. It was about a 45 minute ferry ride so we hung out on top and watched the waves roll past the boat. When we arrived on the island we immediately hopped on bikes to get to the hostel. This was the beginning of my favorite day yet. We went on a bike tour around the island led by Dr. Wasser. It was a little tricky at times riding around with 25 other people, but we managed to make it without any serious accidents. After the bike tour, we had some free time before our dinner. There was a large grassy area beside a basketball court(ish) and soccer field. So Alana, Jules, Kathryn, Emily, and I grabbed a volleyball and passed for a while. It wasn't long before I spotted a soccer ball and we got a game going. It felt so good to run again and score a couple of goals on the guys. It was in the middle of this game that I realized Norderney was my favorite place. It wasn't even the fact that I was playing soccer, it was more of the atmosphere and attitude of the entire group. It was dinner time now, and Henning was on the grill. He grilled some good brats, with sides of potato salad and cole slaw. We ate and went back to playing on the playground, like most 19-21 year olds do. There was a short zip line that was a ton of fun. Carter and Gabe came over and began pushing each of us to see just how fast and high we could swing on it. It was going well until they gave me a really good push and my feet flew up past the cable that held the zip line, where my foot got a little caught and I fell to the ground. It was absolutely hilarious! After everyone was able to catch their breath they came to check on me. Marissa managed to get this one on video, so we can all relive it when we need a good laugh. That night we all went to the beach. Juliette, Nick, Dae, Henning, Gabe, Carter, and I had the bright idea that we would swim a little in the North Sea. The boys all stopped to take a picture before getting in the water, but Jules and I went straight to the water. It was absolutely freezing as we ran in, but once you were in, it was not so bad. This one of the coolest things I have ever done. We did not swim for too long before wrapping up in our towels and heading back to our rooms where we could wash all of the salt and sand off and curl up in a warm bed. 

Wednesday was a day we were all looking forward to. Fairly early that morning, Alana, Carter, Juliette, Gabe, Abby and I woke up to see the sunrise. I am not much of a morning person, but I am very happy we did this. The beach was empty, beautiful, calm and everything you could ever want in that moment. Today was also spa day at the Badehaus. There were numerous pools of varying temperature and salt concentrations. My favorite one was the high salinity pool which was in a dark room where everyone just floats. It was incredibly relaxing, to the point where I almost fell asleep. There were many steam rooms, a shower that falls from six meters up, and varying degrees of saunas. I don't think I have ever been so relaxed in my life, especially when this was a school day for us. We all experienced a mud treatment which we were pretty apprehensive about at first, but we quickly got over it. It was a thick layer of mud that when rinsed off I felt like a new person. I went into every sauna, including the traditional Finnish sauna. I did not stay in there for very long because it was just too hot. After a glorious afternoon of sweating and laying in salt baths, we ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. When lunch was over, we rode our bikes back to the hostel and immediately decided to play a little sand volleyball. Gabe, Carter, Kathryn, Jules, Emily and I played a little 3 on 3, but had to end after our second game (we will have the championship game when we get back to College Station). The program had a tour of the mud flats this night. I was not quite sure what to expect from the wattwanderung, but it was actually really cool. Our tour guide taught us a lot about the ecosystems and really loved the island. Surprisingly, nobody fell in the mud, but whenever we stopped I would slowly sink further down. As we finished the mud tour, the sun was setting making it picture perfect. The golden hour. After making it back to the Haus Detmold, a group of us went back to the beach to continue watching the sunset (which I am convinced the sun never completely sets here because there is always a glimpse of light even after midnight). After hanging out by the fire and hearing a couple of pirate stories from Henning, we decided to call it a night around 2AM. 

The last day in Norderney was a bit shorter. We went to a museum about the island and the Badehaus, then took a ferry to the mainland. We grabbed a bite to eat before getting on our trains to Paris. I did not want to leave this island, even though I knew our weekend would be great. I can definitely say that this week in Norderney was one of my favorite places and I hope to be back.  

- Hailey 

Adventuring in the Black Forest

Right after our elephant exhibit tour ended at the Cologne Zoo Dae, Nick, Karen, Sarah S, Joseph, and I all sprinted back to the train station to make our train to Oppenau. This was the first weekend that we literally had nothing planned until the morning of. Actually, all we really planned the entire trip was the AirBnB and trains, but it ended up being one of the best weekends yet (which I know I say about every weekend). Of course our first train got delayed, so we were sure that we'd miss our connection to the next one, leaving us to take a seven hour night train. As luck would have it, our next train happened to be delayed with just enough time for us to hop across and squeeze in before the doors shut. This kind of luck was the theme of the weekend. Our next connection was smooth, however, when it was time to get off at Oppenau, Joseph, Dae, and I all hopped off but Sarah, Nick, and Karen were distracted and never made it off. Aaaaaaand somehow they also missed the next stop. So, now we had Sarah with the Airbnb info on a train to the middle of no where. Somehow, though, there was one other person that got off the train at the stop they finally managed to scramble off of who was kind enough to drive them back to Oppenau. So, they somehow found a way to get back to Oppenau with basically no repercussions for their actions. By the time they showed up I was perfectly happy again with a beer in hand and a pizza on the way, so I couldn't complain.
In the morning we made breakfast and then decided to go hiking to Wasserfalle Allerheiligen. We were told it would be about a four mile hike from the town, which meant we first had to hike the three miles in. Of course five minutes into this hike I got a wasp sting. But, we made it into town finally and I learned to ignore the sting. Because we were starting later in the day we decided we needed maximum time at the waterfall, so we decided to ditch the four mile hike idea and we just took a bus up the mountain to the nearest stop. Once we got to the entrance of the trail we got to see the real beauty of the Black Forest, and followed the waterfall all the way to the top. As it turns out there's a little town at the top, so we stopped and had a bite to eat. The weather was clear and sunny, so it was the perfect place to stop for a drink.
Nick was certain that the final bus came at 8pm, so we had some more time to take group pictures and explore a little more. But of course, when we arrived back at the trail head it appeared that Nick got the times wrong and the final bus had come two hours prior. Everyone except Dae and Nick took off down the mountain so that we'd make it back down by sunset. Dae and Nick stayed back to try to get advice from a motorcyclist and call a taxi. I actually wasn't upset at all about the hike down the mountain because, by that time, the weather was nice and cool, and the views down the mountain were stunning. At about a half kilometer from Oppenau an incredibly nice car stopped and took us down the rest of the way to the town. Nick and Dae had managed to find a taxi along the way as well, so we all piled in when they got back to Oppenau and made it back to the AirBnB before it got dark. So lucky.
That night we all played card games and joked around. I love all these people and love getting to basically live with them.
In the morning we took it easy and just cleaned up before our train in the early afternoon. Our AirBnB host called us a taxi but it ended up being very late. Finally, just in time, the taxi driver showed up and got us to the station with about five minutes to spare. From there it was pretty smooth sailing back to Bonn. Even though it was a very short visit, it was so beautiful and a nice change from our usually hectic weekend trips.

Last Week in Bonn

            Sadly, this week was the last I had in Bonn. Monday started off like a normal school day with a couple classes and a trip to the Organ Factory in the evening. Before this trip I wasn’t very interested in organs, but after seeing all the work that goes into making one I realized how cool they really are. It’s crazy to think about how long the wood is dried and aged and then even when work starts it still takes about 2 years to finish making and installing the organ. I also didn’t realize that organs are custom-made for the space they are going to—I always just assumed there were standard kinds of organs you get. The only thing I wish we could’ve been able to add to the trip was seeing the finished product and hearing it.

            Tuesday was one of my favorite days of the whole trip because we got to go to the Uniklinikum in Bonn and observe surgeries! I was placed with an anesthesiologist, Dr. Achilles Delis, who made it incredibly interactive and was quizzing me the whole time. We were working on ENT cases, so the actual surgeries weren’t as interesting as finding out about the methods of anesthesia. In fact, at one point he let me collect a vial of blood from the patient’s arm. I, of course, managed to make a fool out of myself by accidentally pulling out the line causing blood to pool everywhere, but it was still a great experience and I gave the doctor a good laugh. I’ve observed multiple surgeries but I’d never had an experience that included me so much and, consequently, that I learned so much from. I wish I had more time to go back and shadow again with him, but I’m grateful for the time I got.

            On Wednesday we went on a cruise of the Rhine. The weather was perfect, so we all piled onto the top deck and sunbathed while watching the scenery. The boat dropped us off at the base of the Rheinfels Castle, so we spent the next 30 minutes climbing up to the top. There we got to see all of the tunnels and some cool sections of the castle. Apparently one of their modes of defense was to collect urine and feces and drop it on intruders as they tried to take over the castle, so I watched what I touched pretty closely after that. There was also an observation deck that we hiked up to get a great view. We’ve seen some breathtaking views just about everywhere we’ve visited and it never gets old.

            Thursday was a more relaxed day just going to class and taking my host mother, Marita, out to dinner. She’s been incredibly hospitable and I really couldn’t have asked for a better host mom for this trip, so buying dinner for her felt good. That night I went for one last walk in the forest area behind our house and watched the sunset. I love how peaceful and cool it is at night in Bonn.

            Lastly, Friday we visited the Cologne Zoo! Being an animal science major, I could hardly contain my excitement. Unfortunately we were in a time crunch because we got there late and had to leave right after our tour ended, but it was still a great time. It was definitely a little strange that they had a raccoon exhibit but I guess to Germans they’re exotic. Hands down the best part, though, was getting to feed the elephants. We got a private tour of the back of the exhibit and then all took turns feeding and petting the elephants that would come up to the side of the exhibit. It’s interesting that they can be trained to do things like lift their legs and hold still, because I never thought about that being someone’s job at a zoo. I know how rare it was that we were given the opportunity to touch them, though, and I absolutely loved it. Can’t wait to stay in Germany and see the beautiful Black Forest this weekend!

Long Weekend in Paris

            As much as I loved the relaxing feel of spending the week in Norderney I couldn’t have been more excited to visit Paris and see everything there was to see in the three days we had. We spent most of Thursday traveling to Paris, but once we got there the atmosphere and fast movement of everything got me reenergized. Our hostel was called the Generator and, I have to say, I definitely got spoiled for my first hostel experience. The entire feel was very grungy and modern and within the hostel there was a bar, a club in the basement, and another bar on the rooftop that overlooked a lot of Paris. We had to go down and dance at the club on the first night and meeting all of the people from all over was so interesting and fun.

            The next morning we slept in a bit and then went out to grab a latte and chocolate croissant from a nice French bakery. We ended up at a mega bakery that had the most beautiful-looking pastries that I’d ever seen. After breakfast we headed to the Arc de Triomph to start our Parisian adventure. The Arc was wonderful and massive with the names of the French generals and a memorial in the middle with a burning fire for one of the soldiers buried under it. Next, we headed down to the Champs Elysee to check out some of the shops. I’ve never seen such a long street of expensive stores, but luckily we were able to find some cheap ones to go into and do some shopping without going broke. It’s so interesting to see the fashion in other countries and the European styles. After that we were exhausted, so we headed back to the Generator for a few minutes to nap and get ready for dinner. We ended up eating at a French restaurant that had a view of the Eiffel Tower. The restaurant had a sassy American waiter and the food was alright, but way too expensive for the quality. The real highlight of the night was going to the bridge next to the Eiffel tower and then walking over to the field right in front of it and just admiring it. I knew it lit up but I had no clue that once an hour it had a light show that sparkled. I was in complete awe of the tower and that I was so lucky to be able to sit right next to it with my favorite people and just enjoy it. There were plenty of people selling champagne and wine so we grabbed some and toasted to being in such an iconic place.

            The next morning we woke up early to make the trip to Versailles. Our ticket was for the palace and the gardens, which was probably the most ornate piece of architecture, aside from the Vatican, that I had ever seen. There was gold everywhere and so many rooms inside the palace. It was interesting to see that there were not only gates surrounding the palace but also a guarded bedroom. I had no idea they were so worried about intruders at a palace but I guess with all of the valuable things and people inside it makes sense. After exploring for the morning we went to a creperie for lunch. That afternoon we went back to Paris and went to the Notre Dame. Unfortunately we arrived too late to be able to look inside the church but we walked all around it and it was still breathtaking. There were also street performers outside the church that were doing fire tricks. I have no clue how they did it but it looked amazing and it ended with basically a fireworks show. Lastly that day, we went to watch the sunset at the Sacra Cur area of Paris that had a beautiful white church as well as the most amazing view of Paris. There was yet another street performer who was doing karaoke with people in the crowd in the amphitheater area, which made it even more laid back and fun. Needless to say we took plenty of pictures there and stayed for a long time watching the city and soaking up the atmosphere.

            For our final full day in Paris we woke up and headed for the Louvre. This was something that I was happy to do but wasn’t a must-see for me because I’m usually not so excited about large crowds of people. To my surprise, by the time we got there, there was no wait to get in and the museum was relatively empty. I popped in my earphones and explored all the exhibits while chilling with music. I loved seeing the Egyptian exhibits as well as learning more about the Greek mythology pieces. The Mona Lisa was underwhelming but I didn’t have my heart set on it being amazing so it wasn’t much of an issue. Overall the Louvre ended up being so much more amazing than I expected and definitely my favorite art museum of all time. Following the actual museum we met outside at the pyramids and dipped our toes in the fountains. The rest of the day we decided to relax and not rush through things. We decided to do something a little different for dinner and had Asian food at a restaurant by our hostel. This meal was hands down the best we had in all of Paris and the owners were so helpful and happy to have us, which didn’t always happen in the other restaurants we visited. We decided to finish the trip back at the Eiffel tower for one last sunset and brought cards to play games and drink more champagne. Finally, at around 2 or 3am the tower lights turned off for the night and we headed back to the Generator for a short nap before our 5:30am train trip back to Bonn. The lack of sleep was definitely worth the extra night in Paris, and the whole trip was something I’ll remember for my entire life. And just in case I forget I’ll always have the 388745928357 pictures we took.

Hannover and Norderney

            This week was hands down the best week so far. Here’s what happened:

Monday we met bright and early to make our way to Hannover. When we arrived we stopped for a quick bite to eat and then headed to the Axolotl Research Center. One of the researchers there sat us down and gave us a lecture about the axolotl, what they were doing, and why the research was important. I learned that axolotls have a special property that allows them to regenerate pretty much any part of their body with no scarring. As they age it takes longer for the process to complete, but the fact that this is still possible is astonishing to me. After the lecture we headed into the room with all of the axolotls. There were multiple kinds and colors, including one that was pretty close to transparent. The best part about seeing them is that they can recognize visitors and perk up to receive treats. Plus, they always look like they have a little smile on their face, so it’s impossible to be in a bad mood when you’re looking at them. One axolotl had eggs in her tank that were completely transparent to where you could see the little embryos clearly forming within the egg. Needless to say, I learned a lot and loved getting to spend time looking at all of them.

            Next we headed to visit the Hannover Medical School, where we sat down with one of the lead heart surgeons to here how heart surgery and artificial heart valve pieces have evolved through the years. I was surprised at how young he was for being a heart surgeon—probably in his early thirties. He passed around some of the first artificial heart pieces and I couldn’t believe how big they were. Nowadays they are much more discreet but, especially the first piece he passed around looked similar to a slightly smaller waffle maker. After hearing some background he was nice enough to take us to one of the patients that had a heart pump and let us speak to him and hear about his experience. The man didn’t speak English, so Dr. Wasser and the other doctor had to translate for him but his energy was infectious. He was incredibly upbeat and told us all about how he had traveled all around the world—including the US—as a journalist when he was younger. Now he is pretty much confined to his hospital bed, but he showed us his pump and the little case the controls stay in. It’s about the size of a purse and has compartments for each part. He made it seem like it was pretty easy to manage and not a hassle to live with. One of my favorite parts about medicine is getting to sit down and hear about the patients, so these few minutes with that man was my favorite part of the day. That night we ate dinner at a biergarten and got some amazing Greek food.

            The next morning we hopped on another train headed to Norderney. Since it’s an island, we arrived at Norddeich Mole and had to get on an hour-long ferry to get there. The ferry had an observation deck on the top that swayed a lot in the wind, so it was fun trying to balance and getting a first look at the North Sea. When we got to land we took all our bags to the bike rental building and hopped on bikes for our first adventure. Over the course of this trip we had probably ten different bike accidents that were all incredibly hilarious. No one got injured, but it seemed like every time we had to stop another person went down. Our hostel appeared to be a children’s school with bunk beds. It was fun getting to stay in rooms with six people since we’re used to only having groups of two on excursions. Our next task was a proper bike tour of the island, led by Dr. Wasser. It turns out the island is actually pretty small, but the weather was fantastic and we learned about birds on the island, and about some of the history behind how it became inhabited. The majority of the people that visit are other Germans, so it felt special getting to go to a beautiful destination that wasn’t filled with other American tourists. That night we had a group barbeque cooked by Henning. We had it in the back yard play area that also had a zip line so, naturally, we all turned back into five year olds and tried to see how fast and how high we could swing up on the zip line when it would stop. I want to say it was either Catherine or Hannah that won by going up higher than the actual zip line, doing basically a flip, and then slamming back down. Mission accomplished. We also just hung out altogether and played different games like volleyball and soccer. Because we were only a couple minutes away from the ocean a few people had the idea to change into swimsuits and jump in the North Sea. I was not one of them, but I loved watching them all freeze their butts off and enjoyed seeing the beautiful sunset. I used to think Texas sunsets were the best around but Norderney definitely brought the competition.

            On Wednesday we all woke up excited because it was the day we had been waiting for—the spa day! First we had a lecture by Dr. Friedhart Raschke at the Badehaus and learned a little more about the history of the Badehaus Norderney and about the Thalasso practice of harnessing the healing powers of the seawater, algae, sand, and mud of the North Sea. Finally we were cut loose and were free to roam the sauna and spa as we pleased. We tried a bunch of different saunas, a steam room, and multiple pools with various heat levels. My favorite pool was the one with a very high salt concentration. It was very dark in that area so you could almost fall asleep from the ease of floating and relaxing in it. We also found this amazing lounge room upstairs that had swinging lounge chairs and—my favorite—large slabs of heated marble that you could nap and relax on. I definitely took advantage of this room multiple times throughout the day. Our scheduled mud peel was interesting and new to me. Basically, you get naked and coat your face and body with a mixture of mud and salt and then sit in a steamy room until the hot showers come on and wash off all of the mud. After that peel my skin was so soft and I somehow felt both energized and calm at the same time. Unfortunately, our time at the Badehaus couldn’t last forever, so we got back into street clothes and went out for pizza. That evening we had a mudflat hiking tour with a very nice and informative tour guide that lived on the island. She expressed her concern for the amount of tourists that visited the island annually because of the habitat destruction that occurs from so much foot traffic and housing. We would periodically stop on the mud and she would dig up some very tiny worm or shell that was significant to the area. I loved getting to sink down into the mud and it was very interesting to see where the mud we bathed in earlier that day came from. Later that night some of the girls made a bonfire and we all went down on the beach—including Henning! Everyone pulled up beach chairs and sat around listening to music and telling stories. The sky was so interesting because, although it was maybe 1am, it already looked like the sun was beginning to rise.

            The next morning—our last morning on Norderney—we packed up and headed to the Inselmuseum. This museum shows more of the history of the island. I kind of wish we would’ve been able to visit this museum when we first arrived because it had a lot of models of the original infrastructure on the island and what some of the visitors would wear. Either way it was still an interesting museum and I’m glad we were able to visit it before we left.

            I honestly had no clue what to expect from this visit to Norderney but it absolutely exceeded my expectations. At this point in the trip it was nice to have a more relaxed excursion without the pressure to figure out a lot of public transportation. I’m not sure that I’ll ever make it back to Norderney but I’m so glad I got to experience it and that my first spa experience was at the Badehaus. Next stop: Paris!