Busum part 2

Then it was the morning of the dissections! We were all so excited at breakfast in our coveralls. Before we went into the lab we had a lecture about the research projects they have going on in the area and on seals and porpoises. They are really concentrating on how noise pollution is affecting these animal species not only with breeding but with turning them toward dangerous areas and ultimately leading to their death- specifically whales. I never realized how big of an issue this was for all marine life. They have shown by catching wild porpoises and testing their hearing ability that they are actually losing their full ability to hear du to the noise pollution. Those that are monitored have also shown that they dive deeper in areas of higher noise. They also believe this pollution is the cause of whales moving into shallower waters and ultimately beaching themselves. Some other things they are looking at is the behavior of the grey seals which have now been seen a few times attacking and eating Harbour seals. More studies need to be done to determine if it is just a few aggresive seals or if this is a normal behavior for grey seals. Overall it was a great lecture and I learned a lot. Then we made our way into the dissection lab! My group dissected a less than 2 year old seal who was shot by the seal hunter because he was not eating and sick on the beach. When opening up the abdomen we found parasites in the stomach, and the small intestine. We pulled every worm we found out of the intestine and into a jar to be examined. The seal also had a severe Granulomatous pneumonia. No other complications were seen. The group with the porpoise found a fish in the larynx which was determined to be the cause of death and parasites were found in the ear. We had so much fun! Later that night we had a delicious dinner with the seal hunter at his restaurant. By far the best food on the trip and it was great getting to hear some of his hunting stories. 

Last day in busum was spent on the mud walk! It was such a fun and relaxing way to end the trip

Berlin and Busum

Berlin was beautiful and rich in history. I wish we had more time there because there just wasn't enough time to see everything while we were there. The city tour was one of the best and a great way to see and learn about the city. Also going to the top of the Reichstagskuppel gave us an amazing view of the city and the view of a beautiful building. While in Berlin we also traveled to a concentration camp which is something I have always wanted to see. It is one thing to learn about everything from a book or lectures but it is a whole other experience to see first hand. It was a very somber experience that I could never truly explain.

Busum is yet another unforgettable experience from this trip. The seal center is a great place and it was awesome to see they are helping these animals and releasing them back when they can. The mudwalk was fun, interesting and educational at the same time. There were several times I was sure I was going to fall on my face in the slippery mud but luckily I managed to stay on my feet. Walking through the soft mud was a very odd feeling and differed depending on how squishy the mud was. At times it was difficult to walk because there were so many shells just beneath the surface until I finally figured out the best way to walk across them. There were also times I didn't realize how soft the mud was and ended up sinking down to my midcalf. There was also a delicious dinner that we had in a local restaurant that not only had great food but also a great atmosphere. The fresh seafood and other meat was one of the best meals I had the entire trip. But by far the best experience of this entire week was the necropsies we had a chance to take part in. There was a yearling seal that ended up being sick from systemic pneumonia that a seal hunter found. During the necropsy I collected stomach worms that would later be studied to determine what exact type they are. Also I removed an earbone and cleaned it out in order to collect all of the parasites in it. This was one of those days we realized that we find very strange things exciting!

Copenhagen and Clinics

While Denmark may not have been my favorite stop of the trip, working in clinics was definitely one of the highlights of the whole experience. I was working in the Copenhagen Animal Hospital which is about a 19 doctor clinic that is mainly for secondary opinions and specialty work. I was very nervous going in on the first day and very happy that Brittney was there with me so at least we had each other. As soon as we go there all of the staff was very welcoming and made us feel very comfortable. They immediately let us observe whatever we wanted and even had us help with a lot of procedures. Some of the procedures we were able to see were an enucleation surgery on a small little dog who unfortunately came in contact with an angry barn cat and was scratched in the eye all the way down to the lens. After the surgery was removed they allowed us to dissect the eye in order to see the structures of an eye as it is unpreserved. We also saw many different dental procedures from one of the few dental specialist in Denmark. On dental surgery was a small dog with a cyst that had grown so big several teeth had to be extracted, including careful extraction of a lower canine that could have caused the lower jaw to break since the cyst had eaten away so much bone. The canine was successfully removed without causing any other damage. Also while we were there we had Dannish bread for lunch which was very heavy and had interesting flavor.
Tivoli was a blast. It was so much fun to run around and ride as many rides as possible. We were riding everything we could and I even faced my fear of a ride I have never been on but my friends got me on it and I'm pretty sure they got a good kick out of my screams. Our visit to Tivoli was by far one of my favorite days in Copenhagen.

Berlin/Busum part 1

Berlin- loved the city tour. Learned a lot of interesting history not only about World War II but about the Berlin Wall. Did not realize that only a day after Hitler got married  him and his wife killed themselves. Really interesting hearing all of the stories of people trying to climb over the Berlin wall( hot air balloon). A group of us ate at a great restaraunt with the girls and enjoyed some great German beer. Loved the lectures at the zoo research center in Berlin. If was so much fun learning about all of the projects they have going on and research on animals in the wild vs those in captivity. Malaysia rhino cannot breed in wild or captivity and almost extinct. Due to tumors so trying to conserve the population with artificial insemination and other methods. We got to look at some ct of lions and they have the ability to do 3 dimensional image of animals with movement!  Talked about how in captivity polar bear dies of equine herpes virus due to close contact to hooved animals. Visited the sachsenhausen concentratoin camp. Getting to walk through and read about all the torture and hardships those prisoners had to go trough to just survive another day was very emotional for me. Overall a great stay in Berlin 

On our way to busum! We were all so excited about the seal projects we were going to get to see and get to participate in. Started out at the sanctuary where we were introduced to some grey seals and some Harbour seals. Never realized how different they really were from each other. Not only are they different sizes but their teeth are different, the grey seals have cone shaped teeth while the Harbour seals have sharper teeth.  We ended the day with a tour and lecture about the wildlife in the area. I really enjoyed everything we saw and learned because I do not have a lot of experience with fish and marine mammals. Finished the first day with a delicious dinner of flounder!

Week 4

After arriving in Bonn on Monday, Nils took our group on a tour of his
hometown and bought us all ice cream!! This was no ordinary ice cream; it was
the best chocolate ice cream I have ever tasted. It was a very nice surprise,
especially considering that the weather was pretty warm (upper 70s). I really
enjoyed the tour, especially since Nils knew our group pretty well by this time
and could show us parts of the town that he knew would be particularly
interesting to all of us. I really enjoyed seeing the remains of an ancient Roman
house that showed how such houses were heated under ground and insulated by
building two walls with a small space between. After our tour of Bonn, the group
walked to an outdoor restaurant on the river, called Alter Zoll. We had fun sitting
in picnic tables and chatting while drinking some nice cold drinks and eating some
good food. That night, we ventured home to Hotel Bonnox where Stormie,
Brenna, Bianca, and I shared a room. Since it had been so hot during the day, we
were a little concerned about sleeping with no air conditioning. Luckily, a storm
rolled in and cooled us off just in the nick of time before bed.

Tuesday was one of my favorite days of this entire trip - our visit to the Cologne
Zoo where we were able to feed a baby elephant!!! I have always loved
elephants. I find them fascinating, and I would actually love to work with them.
The only reason I have chosen to track equine veterinary medicine is because I
have grown up with horses and am most comfortable with that species. If I had
grown up with more exotic/zoo exposure, I am sure that I would be leaning really
hard toward becoming a zoo veterinarian. Anyway, this visit to the zoo was like a
dream come true for me just to be so near to an elephant. When they said we
could FEED one, I was so incredibly excited!! I really enjoyed watching the
trainer work with the elephants, and I found the filing of the feet and toe nails to
be very interesting. The soles of the feet and the toe nails looked very similar to
the soles and nail (hoof wall) of a horse's hoof. I even saw the caretaker use a
hoof knife just like the one my dad uses when he cuts away the old sole on our
horses' feet. I wanted to ask to touch the foot to see if it really was that similar
to a horse's, but I didn't want to overstep any boundaries - especially since the
zoo was kind enough to let us see behind the scenes. After the elephants, we
toured the rest of the zoo. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to go behind the scenes
to see how the zoo operates and how the animals are cared for. I wish we had
been able to have this experience at the Leipzig Zoo as well. After spending a
few more hours at the zoo, it was time for our Cologne city tour. I was
exhausted by the time we made it to the city, but our guide was hysterical and
really did a great job keeping our interest despite the fact that we were all
exhausted. We learned about Agrippa and his granddaughter Agrippina, who built
the city of Cologne and was the mother of the Emperor Nero. Apparently,
Agrippina had a couple of her husbands killed because they were interfering with
her agenda, and when her son Nero became Emperor, she "ruled" through him.
Nero grew tired of his mother and tried to kill her twice, failing both times.
Finally, he hired an assassin who got the job done. He only lived for a short time
after his mother's murder. We later saw a building with statues of important
individuals from Cologne's history. The figures were commissioned by a masonry
worker, and therefore had to be sculpted according to a specific design... but the
bottom of the figures were not commissioned, and this is where the masonry
workers let their creativity flow. On the bottom of Agrippina's figure was a
spider, which I associated with a Black Widow (since she used her husbands and
then had them killed to further her own agenda). The bottoms of other figures
were even more creative, and quite comical. After our tour, we were given free
time. Stormie, Brenna, and I traveled back to Bonn to visit the Haribo shop. I am
completely obsessed with gummy candies, so I bought a ludicrous amount of
them to bring back to the U.S. Before heading back to the hotel, we ate supper
at Casa del Gatto and got some ice cream at the same place Nils had
recommended the day before.

Wednesday's activities were lots of fun. Animal shelters in the U.S. make me
really depressed because I feel so bad for the animals who might not ever have
the chance to be loved by a human. I usually can't even walk through a shelter
without tearing up. The Animalshelter Bonn was different, though, because it is a
no-kill shelter with tons of room for lots of dogs, cats, rodents, birds, and reptiles.
The facilities were fantastic, especially for a shelter. The dogs in the kennels had
plenty of room inside, plus runs that went outside but were still covered. There
were outside play areas where lots of dogs could be turned out all together. The
tour guide told me that they have room at the shelter for over 100 dogs, but that
they only have about 50 right now. The cat rooms were perfectly arranged so
that the cats could socialize, play, exercise, or have some seclusion. I thought it
was really cool that the cats had a room inside and an outdoor patio-style area.
One room even had awesome play and lounge areas all over that had been
donated by the designer, but would have cost around 20,000 euro if they had
been purchased. I don't know much about birds or rodents, but the areas for
those species seemed really great, as well. I didn't leave this shelter feeling sad
and depressed because it was obvious that the staff members really cared about
the animals. Each animal had a card on its enclosure that contained thorough
history about the animal and the types of people with whom the animal would be
most compatible. The tour guide said that volunteers come every day to walk
the dogs and play with the other animals and that they sometimes even have
more volunteers than animals! A dog trainer even comes to work with the
shelter dogs and volunteers in a play area. This place was really awesome, and I
wish the U.S. could get more of a handle on the unwanted pet situation so that
we could have shelters like this for the few animals who lose an owner or
somehow fall between the cracks of finding a home and people who love them.
It really breaks my heart that so many innocent animals in the U.S. are mistreated,
left to fend for themselves, and eventually euthanized in kill shelters. I understand
that the euthanasia is necessary because of our surplus of unwanted pets, but
understanding the situation doesn't make it any less heart-breaking. After the
visit to the animal shelter, we toured Gut Ostlar, an organic farm that used to
host lots of educational outings for children in the area. The farm has been at this
location for a very long time. In fact, it was originally a farm amongst other farms;
now it is a farm within a city because the city has been built up to completely
surround it. The Gut Ostlar tour guide was a very interesting person. She had
gone to school in Frankfurt and was a sculptor and painter, but she came to work
at Gut Ostlar because she loved working with children and teaching them about
agriculture. She was very knowledgeable about the farm, and taught us lots of
interesting things about edible plants that you wouldn't even know were edible,
raising organic chickens for their eggs, bees - you name it, she knew it. I found
this visit very enjoyable. I was saddened to hear that the town tried to put the
farm out of business and in the process greatly reduced their ability to host as
many children's educational visits. Young people need to know about and
appreciate agriculture and agricultural products, and I believe that Gut Ostlar
would do a great job if supported by the city. I hope they are able to pull through
these hard times and continue the legacy of the old farm while continuing to
educate children who I'm sure are very grateful for the knowledge they would
gain from such a unique place.

Thursday was the start to our visit of Utrecht! When we arrived at Utrecht
University, we had a lecture on the history of veterinary medicine. I found the
lecture very interesting, especially since we have never had such a lecture or class
at TAMU-CVM. I think it's cool how Europeans are so interested in the history
and culture of everything, and I find it interesting to know how things like
veterinary medicine began and have evolved over the years. After this lecture, we
took a look at the school museum and then headed to the Small Animal Hospital
for a quick introductory lecture and tour. We weren't able to see as much of the
behind-the-scenes aspect of the hospital as I would have liked, but it was still a
nice tour. The hospital was very nice and welcoming for clients, and it had a very
cozy atmosphere. After the tour was our welcome BBQ at the Utrecht
University D.S.K. courtyard/bar/lounge area. The host students cooked us
hamburgers, chicken, and pork, and we all hung out and got to know each other
with beer, wine, and dancing until the early morning hours. During this party, I
met my host, Marjo. She was a little younger than me and has about 3 years of
school left. I was so excited that she lived outside of town on a dairy farm and
that Bianca and I would get to stay there!! It was such a cool place!! The
farmland was beautiful, and her apartment was so cute. There were cows, of
course, a Yellow Labrador named Kim, cats with kittens, and pigs. We even got to
witness the birth of a calf one morning!! Marjo was SO nice and super willing to
do everything she could to help us and to make us feel welcome.

Friday was a day full of lectures, which aren't my absolute favorite, but they were
interesting. We mostly discussed and tried to understand the differences
between European and American vet schools. After our first lecture, we learned
about the lab animal class that is taught at Utrecht University. We were able to
hold and learn how to restrain mice and rats, as well as "draw blood" from a
simulated rat tail. I enjoyed that part of the lectures the most. We grabbed a
quick lunch and then headed back to the university for our final lecture on public
health. The lecturer was quite passionate about this subject, and I learned a great
deal about public health issues in Europe, such as trichinellosis in French people
due to eating raw horse meat, vertical farming (housing pigs in buildings on
different levels), and he talked about animal rights activists and those who believe
we should stop vaccinating food animals because they believe the vaccines make
the meat unsuitable for human consumption. It was a long talk on a wide variety
of subjects that was very interesting. Later that night, we met back at the D.S.K.
for Sportsfest, which was a soccer game between Holland and Spain that the
Dutch take VERY seriously. Marjo bought lots of orange items for us to wear to
support Holland, and we even painted the flag of the Netherlands on our faces.
I'm not a huge fan of sports, but I enjoyed watching the game and experiencing it
with the students who were so passionate about it - and they WON!!! Needless
to say, there was lots of partying that occurred after the game finished.

Saturday was our last day of the trip. We took a city tour by canoe through the
canal system in Utrecht, and Stormie, Brenna, and I were able to share a canoe.
Although my muscles were tired and sore after canoeing for a couple of hours, I
thought it was really fun. I'm not sure that we got the best impression of the
city's history or sites to see from the canoe, but it was definitely cool. Afterward,
we went shopping until supper time, when we met back with the rest of the
group for our final meal together at Florin in Utrecht. Nils thanked us for a great
trip, we discussed our likes and dislikes of the organization and experiences on
the trip, and we completed our program evaluations during a very nice meal. Nils
then treated us to a final ice cream (which was so creamy and delicious), and we
all then ventured to a bar for a final drink together. Marjo joined us, and we just
sat and talked for a couple of hours until people slowly began to say their
goodbyes. It was quite sad, actually. We all had a great time and learned so much
not only about Europe, but also about ourselves and our classmates. I am so
thankful to the people who made it possible for us to be a part of such a unique
program. I will never forget it!

Week 3

Monday's tour of Berlin was awesome! I thought the tour guide was by far the
best that we have had this entire trip. He was very knowledgeable, funny, and had
some very interesting stories to keep our attention. I am not a huge fan of cities
just because I tend to prefer the country life, but I was definitely a fan of Berlin.
It's past is very interesting to me, as I love learning about World War II and the
components involved in it. I really respect that the city embraces its past and has
taken certain measures to prevent problems with Neo-Nazis and still allow the
appropriate commemoration of those who were lost during the conflict. The
New Holocaust Memorial was very touching. I must say that I was disappointed
to see high school aged children running and playing through the memorial. I
found it very disrespectful; they were old enough to know better. Anyhow, I
learned a lot on this tour, and I would definitely recommend it to next year's
group.

Tuesday morning was our tour of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife
Research with Steven Seet, who lectured about some of the projects with which
the institute is involved, such as an effort to improve the reproduction of
endangered rhinoceros species. I have a M.S. degree in reproductive physiology,
so I found that discussion particularly interesting. We also discussed the backlash
that zoos received after the giraffe in the Copenhagen Zoo was necropsied and
fed to lions. I must admit that I do have difficulty with killing a young giraffe just
because there is not enough room at the zoo. I do not fully understand the zoo
situation in Europe, but I believe that the giraffe could have been relocated to
another zoo in the U.S. that would have been happy to have him. With that said, I
am glad that Marius was able to serve many educational purposes, and I do not
think that sacrificing an animal for the advancement of science is barbaric. The
final part of our tour of the Leibniz Institute involved learning about and seeing a
demonstration of an amazing CT scanner. A gorilla skull was scanned, and the
machine was able to portray the entire skull in a 3-D image that could be rotated
and moved up and down perfectly on the computer screen. It was amazing! I was
surprised to hear that the institute is planning to get a new and even better CT
scanner! Tuesday afternoon was spent at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp,
which was pretty surreal. I have learned about the Holocaust and concentration
camps since I was a child, but it has never been more real to me than when I was
walking through the place where so many undeserving people lost their lives. The
design of the camp was interesting, but sick at the same time. I do not
understand how someone could design a place that was to contain so many
horrors. Then again, I do not understand how so many people were convinced
that the "Final Solution" was a good idea. Thank goodness places like
Sachsenhausen still exist as proof and as a reminder to today's people never to
let that kind of thing happen again. Nils did a great job showing us around the
camp. This is was a tour that I will never forget, and I am really glad that we took
the time to visit this important historical site. To finish a busy Tuesday, we went
to the Reichstagskuppel. From high atop the huge government building, we could
see almost all of Berlin. We walked to the top of the dome and admired the view
for a while before heading down and finding a place to eat supper and relax after
a great but exhausting day.

Wednesday was marine animal day! We visited Friedrichskoog Seal Center and
had a guided tour that was very educational. I know very little about marine life,
but I absolutely LOVE to learn about it. Our tour guide was very easy to
understand, and she taught us a lot about the differences between Grey and
Harbor Seals. She explained the lives of the resident seals, the rehabilitation
process of seals brought in by Seal Hunters, and the important and necessary role
of the Seal Hunters. After the tour, it was feeding time for the resident seals!
The trainers had the seals perform for the public to get their suppers. It was so
cool! I took probably hundreds of pictures and maybe 20 videos. I cannot wait
to show my family what I got to see! Wednesday afternoon was spent at
Multimar Wattforum, where we learned about birds, crustaceans, fish, whales... I
might be leaving something out - it was a lot of great information! The tour guide
was extremely knowledgeable, and I loved how the museum guided the visitors in
to the habitat of the particular animals it was explaining. For example, the cool,
dark downstairs entrance to the whale exhibit was to signify the cold depths of
the ocean in which they live. The museum was very educational, and the exhibits
were all fantastic. After the guided tour of the museum, we took a bus to Busum,
where we arrived at Hotel Siegfried. Stormie, Brenna, and I were put in the same
room, which appeared to be an attic that had been converted to a suite. We liked
it, except that the ceilings were too low in one of the bedrooms and in be
bathroom. I can't count how many times I hit my head on the ceiling in the
bathroom. Poor Brenna had to sleep in the tiny room with the low ceiling on the
first night. However, after a door opening inexplicably, a light turning off
randomly in the middle of the night, and a terrible nightmare of mine on the first
night, Brenna decided to move to the middle of the king sized bed where Stormie
and I had slept for the remainder of our time there.

Thursday was our visit to the Aquatic Wildlife Center in Busum. Professor
Siebert began with a presentation about the aquatic wildlife in the North Sea. As
I said before, I know very little about marine animals and aquatic wildlife, so the
lecture was very interesting to me. The dissection of the harbor seal and
porpoise was even more interesting! I stayed on the harbor seal case for the
majority of the dissection time. The seal was around one year old and had died
by a Seal Hunter's gunshot wound to the head. The hunter had found the young
female seal struggling to breathe with blood tricking from her nostrils. She also
had diarrhea and was very lethargic. He put an end to her misery and brought
her to the Aquatic Wildlife Center to determine the etiologic agent behind her
respiratory disease. During the necropsy, we discovered that she had
pyogranulomatous lesions in her lungs that were probably due to a bacterial
infection of some sort. The porpoise had been found dead, and the other team
worked to find out the cause of death. A fish was found lodged in the porpoise's
oropharynx, which had caused suffocation. Further evidence of suffocation was
discovered in the bronchi of the lungs, which were filled with foamy fluid. These
necropsy cases were SO awesome!! I really enjoyed learning about marine
animals and the necropsies were especially cool because we were actually trying
to determine the causes of death of the animals instead of simply dissecting them
to learn their anatomy. I thought it was a fantastic learning experience. The fun
continued Thursday night at a restaurant called Kolles Alter Muschelsaal with a
buffet prepared specially for us by the owner, Karl-Heinz Kolle, who is also a Seal
Hunter. The food was amazing, and the atmosphere was incredibly unique.
Seashells covered the walls completely, depicting scenes of ships at sea and
flowers, among other ornate designs. A mermaid figure head stood at the center
of the room, which had originally stood outside to bring customers in to the
restaurant. It was now fully restored and preserved within this room as an
historical relic. After the meal, the Seal Hunter presented a short powerpoint to
explain his duties as a Seal Hunter and to answer questions. Of course, we had
many questions about this very unique job title, but I have to say that my favorite
part of the question and answer was when Johanna asked if he was bothered by
having to end the lives of the seals when they are ill or injured. Mr. Kolle
responded that he was especially bothered the first time he had to end a seal's
suffering because they "look at you with their cute little eyes..." but the job is
necessary. I have great respect for Mr. Kolle and the other Seal Hunters as well
as those who work so hard to maintain the seal and marine animal population in
Busum..

Friday was our much-awaited Mudflat and beach day!! We started our tour of
the Mudflat by searching for and learning about many of the sea creatures that
can be found in the North Sea shore. We learned about mussels, oysters, jellyfish,
snails, kelp, birds, and even worms! We walked all the way to the tidal creek,
where we found some tiny shrimp that are very common in that area. Our tour
guide explained that the tide comes in very quickly, so we had to start walking
toward the shore. During this return trip, our guide took us through the really
muddy areas where you can actually find quicksand! I sank in to the mud up to
my mid-shin once, but it wasn't too scary. When we made it back to shore, we
were able to sit out on the grass in the sun. It was awesome. This was definitely
a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will always remember. During our free
time, Brenna and I even returned to the beach to relax in the sun.

Stormie, Brenna, and I traveled to Frankfurt on Saturday for our final free
weekend. We stayed at Hotel Amadeus, which was a really nice hotel in a town
on the outskirts of the big city. The first night, we walked to a restaurant that is
known for food that is very specific to Frankfurt. I cannot remember the name
of the restaurant or the name of the food that I ate, but it was delicious. We
were very thankful that a fellow customer offered to explain the menu to us in
English so that we knew what we were ordering! On Sunday, we went on a tour
of Heidelberg Castle. The tour guide was a very nice man who was very
knowledgeable about the history of Heidelberg and Frankfurt. The town was
beautiful, and the ruins of the castle were very interesting. After the tour, we ate
at Restaurant Mediterran, which was fantastic. Frankfurt definitely had great food,
and we really enjoyed our relaxing weekend before heading to Bonn for tje final
week of the program.

Week 2

Stormie, Brenna, and I arrived at the Hotel Transit Loft in Berlin on Monday at
1:30 a.m. and awoke the same morning at 4:00 to pack up to head to
Copenhagen. After arriving in Copenhagen, we were able to have some time for
shopping and napping for a few hours before commencing our tour of the
Taastrup Campus and the University Hospital for Large Animals and the tour of
the Frederiksberg Campus and the University Hospital for Companion Animals.
Both facilities were amazing - especially the small animal hospital. I have not had
much personal experience in small animal practices or hospitals, but this one
seemed to be state-of-the-art. I was highly impressed. The joint dinner that night
at Cafe Vaeksthuset (the old greenhouse) was fun. I enjoyed meeting all of the
hosts and the atmosphere of the greenhouse was great, but I was not a huge fan
of the food. This was no fault of the chefs, I just do not like fish or veal; therefore,
I opted for the vegetarian option which I thought would be a salad. Instead, the
chef brought out half of an eggplant, to which I recently discovered I am allergic. I
did not want to cause any more trouble, so I just ate the carrots, potatoes, and
mushrooms that had come with my eggplant. The vegetables and the chocolate
cake (similar to a brownie) were quite delicious. Stormie and I had the same
hosts, Pipaluk and Thorkil, who were so much fun to get to know. After dinner,
they took us on a short driving tour of Copenhagen in their Fiat. When we
arrived at their apartment, we met their two Chihuahuas, Phoebe and Kaylee,
who were definitely the sweetest and most adorable Chihuahuas I have ever met.
I went on a walk with Pipaluk and the dogs around the block that night before
going to bed. We talked about school, her dogs, where she comes from in
Greenland, and even religion; she is a great girl and is very easy to talk to. She
even let Stormie and me try some salted licorice before we went to bed. It was
not too bad!

On Tuesday, Stormie and I caught a ride to Faxe Dyrehospital with a veterinarian
who recently started working there named Malene. We were both exhausted
from the lack of sleep on Sunday and Monday nights, and we both fell asleep on
the one hour and fifteen minute ride to the hospital. It was embarrassing.
Anyhow, once we arrived at the hospital, we were refreshed from our little naps
and went straight to work. This hospital was quite large. It had both small and
large animal facilities that were state-of-the-art, along with an administration
building in which there was an area for all employees to prepare their lunches
and keep their belongings locked in locker rooms. The practice was owned by
three veterinarians, and it employed around 18 veterinarians and 20 nurses total.
The most unique aspect of the practice was that almost all of the veterinarians
working there had a specialty of some kind. In the small animal hospital, we met
three orthopedic specialists, one dental specialist, one imaging specialist, one
internal medicine specialist, and one chiropractor. Stormie and I only spent one
morning in the large animal medicine hospital, but we were able to meet a equine
lameness specialist and an equine internal medicine specialist as well. A bovine
veterinarian had already left for her farm calls by the time we arrived at the
equine hospital, so we were unfortunately not able to experience bovine
medicine there. Stormie and I are both more interested in large animals than
small, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time spent at the small animal hospital in
Faxe. Stormie was able to scrub in on an arthroscopy and a patellar luxation
while I assisted with various other cases. I helped clean the surgical equipment,
sat in on a couple of consultations, helped with a CT scan, and restrained dogs
for radiographs. In the equine hospital, I worked with the lameness specialist
discussing one horse's lameness and limb radiographs. Stormie and I also assisted
the equine internal medicine specialist with a horse that had been coughing. He
let me give the sedation and assist with endoscopy, a trach wash, and a
bronchoalveolar lavage. All of the veterinarians and nurses worked great with the
animals and were more than happy to explain things to us and make us feel
welcome. One of the orthopedists even had Stormie and me over to his house
for a barbecue on Wednesday night. We truly enjoyed our experience at Faxe
Dyrehospital, and we wish we could have spent more time there.

Thursday was our tour of Copenhagen and trip to Tivoli!! Tivoli was definitely
the highlight of the day. We had SO much fun; I just wish we had more time to
ride all of the rides! The tour of Copenhagen was fine, but I wish we had made it
to the harbor where the Little Mermaid sits and the royal family lives. Thankfully,
Pipaluk was nice enough to take Stormie and me on our own personal tour of
Copenhagen. It was awesome! She called herself a "Royalist" and knew lots
about the royal family and about the history of Copenhagen. The dinner at
Madklubben that night tasted great, and we had a wonderful time talking with
both our hosts and our classmates' hosts. Altogether, our stay in Denmark was
fantastic. We learned a great deal and had lots of fun in Faxe Dyrehospital, and
we had a great time with our classmates and our hosts at the social gatherings.

Stormie, Brenna, and I spent our second free weekend in Vienna, Austria. We
stayed in the Art Hotel, which was really nice! We had only booked a room with
a king sized bed, but they gave us a loft that was almost like a condominium. It
had two separate bedrooms (one with a king sized bed and one with a queen), a
living area, a refrigerator, a large bathroom, and a private 7th floor balcony! We
were so happy with the accommodations, we almost did not want to leave the
room! On Saturday, we had booked a tour of the Danube River Valley and a river
cruise. Although it rained on and off, the cruise was nice and relaxing. The river
valley was absolutely gorgeous. After the cruise portion of the tour, we ate lunch
in Melk, where we sat with a couple from Ireland. We told them about our
program, and they thought it sounded great... but they suggested that next year's
group should visit Ireland. After talking to them about the beautiful countryside
and the wonderful opportunities for veterinarians, a trip to Ireland is definitely on
my bucket list. After lunch we toured the Abbey of Melk, the library, the church,
and the gardens. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. Sunday was spent leisurely
wandering around Vienna. We found Cafe Denel, suggested by Dr. Wasser, and
had a nice lunch followed by some souvenir shopping and some relaxing in our
hotel lobby before hopping the night train back to Berlin.

Week 1

The first week of our program has come and gone in the blink of an eye! After
spending two days in London and walking for what seemed like 20 miles, Brenna,
Stormie, and I were all exhausted already! We were able to see Big Ben, the
British Parliament, the London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, and we even rode the
London Eye. The only down side was that everything was really expensive.
When we arrived in Basel, Switzerland on Monday, I was astounded by the
beautiful countryside. This was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen!
Our first stop in this country was to Novartis, which was awesome! The
veterinarians and researchers there were extremely hospitable and did the
utmost to make us feel welcome and to inform us about the inner workings of
their company. The tours of the different labs were my personal favorites of the
trip - especially the pill press. The staff answered all of our questions thoroughly
and were more than happy to host our group. I know I can speak for the whole
group when I say that we all really enjoyed the trip. The second big part of the
trip was a tour of Basel - which was fantastic! The tour guide was personable
and very knowledgeable about the city's history.

After Switzerland came Leipzig, Germany... hosts (the thought of whom terrified
me), the Leipzig Veterinary School, the Leipzig Zoo, and Bergfest. I was assigned
to be hosted by two girls, Sophia and Johanna, who were not as scary as I had
imagined. They were very hospitable and did everything they could to make me
feel welcome and comfortable. Although I was admittedly nervous initially to live
in a stranger's home for three days, I am honestly happy that I did. I thoroughly
enjoyed talking to my hosts and learning more about their culture, upbringings,
and veterinary school experiences. I might have even talked one of them in to
doing an internship in Bryan, once she is finished! My hosts were genuinely great
girls, and I am very appreciative of their hospitality. We have all exchanged
information and plan to keep in touch. As for Bergfest - mere words cannot
describe the enormity of this party. I have never seen anything like it. It was not
just beer and drunken celebratory dancing, it was traditions and camaraderie to
commemorate the achievement of an important milestone. I LOVED it. Texas
A&M University has many great traditions of which we can all be proud, but the
College of Veterinary Medicine needs a new one...Bergfest! Toward the end of
the week, we were able to experience more of the academic side of the Leipzig
Veterinary School. We were able to brush up on dog and equine limb anatomy
and learn about the extensive anatomy program that the Germans must
complete. Although I am glad to be done with anatomy, I wish we had more
semesters of it as they do. I know I would benefit greatly from another course to
more firmly impress it within my mind. I really liked the beautiful and homey
atmosphere of the vet school campus. The facilities were very nice, and I
especially enjoyed the tour of the equine internal medicine ward where we were
able to see and discuss the hospital's current cases.

Thursday was our visit to the Historical Collection at Leipzig Instituaion for
Veterinary Medicine and the Leipzig Zoo! The historical collection was very
interesting; and I thought it was so cool that the tour guide himself had been
there long enough to know some of the most influential people involved in the
development of the university. I was amazed at how similar some of the old
veterinary instruments were to those used today. This part of the trip was
definitely very interesting. The Leipzig Zoo was one of the most unique zoos I
have ever visited. I really enjoyed the simulated rainforest and the boat ride
through it. The wide variety of animals was awesome, and I loved how the zoo
created each animal's natural habitat so closely. The veterinarian who toured us
through the zoo was very knowledgeable and was more than happy to tell us
anything we might want to know about each animal.

For our first free weekend, Brenna, Stormie, and I traveled to Prague in the Czech
Republic. We stayed in our first hostel ever, Sir Toby's Hostel, and I thought the
accommodations were better than any hotel. We had a three-person private
room with a private bathroom and a little kitchenette area. The only bad part
was that people were literally screaming and singing at all hours of the night and
into the morning. Luckily, I am a heavy sleeper, but my friends did not fare as well
in that regard. On Saturday, we toured the Terezin Concentration Camp, which
was very interesting. In this camp, prisoners were allowed to make drawings,
paintings, music, and plays, which was very unique. We were able to see some of
the works of art of some of those who perished during Hitler's "Final Resolution"
and some who managed to survive. We also walked within the walls of the camp
and saw the small rooms that housed up to 700 people with only one bathroom
(that was out of order), the showers that were too few to bathe the many people
properly, the hill where people executed, the railroad that transported people to
Auschwitz, and the cemetery where many of those who perished at Terezin were
buried. The tour was not a happy one, but it was an important and interesting
one that was very informational. Our excursion for Sunday was much more
cheery. We took a one-day tour of Prague that started on a bus, then
commenced to walking, then took a stop at a very nice restaurant overlooking
the city where we were served a three-course meal, then continued to a boattour
including a beverage and ice cream! We were very impressed with this tour,
as it was the perfect combination of all aspects of tourism all in one. I am looking
forward to the next week of our trip, and hope that it will be as fun and
interesting as the last!

Bonn, Cologne, Utrecht - Week 4

Monday was a holiday so all the shops were closed.  We got on a train that morning to head to Bonn.  When we arrived it was raining and hailing.  When it stopped it left the city hot and humid.  I thought I might have a heat stroke lugging my stuff to our hotel.  Nils met us there and took us on a tour.  It was nice getting a tour from someone I knew and who was so excited to show us around.  We started the tour with ice cream, which is always a great place to start.  We then got to see the cathedral, remnants of a Roman house and AIB.  The next day we traveled to the Cologne zoo where I got to feed a baby elephant!  It made my day!  We were able to go behind the scenes and watch them train the elephants and trim their feet.  I respected the zoo for always using protective contact and not open contact to protect the workers.  The elephants were well behaved and with the poke of a stick they would press their head against the bars or lift their foot.  I wish we had been able to go behind the scenes at the other zoos we visited.  It made it seem more personal and we were not just a typical visitor seeing the animals.  I would highly suggest being able to do that for future classes.  We then got a tour of the Cologne Cathedral, which is the third largest cathedral in the world and where the remains of the three wise men are kept in a gold shrine.  It was amazing seeing that!  We then got a tour of the city by an entertaining guide.  She kept the atmosphere light and showed us some of the unique aspects of the city, including city hall that has a statue of the ruler Aggrippina on the side and a spider underneath her.  She explained to us that she continued to rule even after her reign through her son Nero.  He even had to try 3 times to kill her since the first 2 failed.  I learned about the laidback Cologne way of life with the motto “if not today, then tomorrow.” 

The next day we stayed in Bonn and went to the animal shelter.  All the shelters in Germany are “no kill” so there are animals there that have not been able to find a home for years.  Seeing them made me miss my own dogs.  I cannot wait to get home and play with them and let them know I did not abandon them, although I am sure that is what they think happened.  The shelter tries to be understanding and open to drop offs to minimize the number of animals dumped over the fence with no history.  The cat ward was neat to see.  One of the rooms was very elaborately decorated with hiding places and bridges all over the room.  It is a cat’s paradise.  They shelter kept dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, turtles, and guinea pigs.  There were animals everywhere and the staff worked hard to ensure they got the best treatment during their stay.  That afternoon we visited an organic farm.  It was nice to be able to just pick strawberries off the plants and eat them.  I was shocked to see how many weeds the farm had and how unkept it looked until the lady explained that due to waning support over the years they were not able to have the number of workers they previously had and that aspects of the farm could not continue.  Neighbors complained and, of course, won.  In the past students would come out during the summer to work and learn how much work goes into a farm.  It also allowed these generations to get back to the basics of agriculture.  She said they would come to the farm not knowing that chips came from potatoes or milk from a cow.  I wish that more programs like this existed.  Coming from a farm I cannot imagine people not understanding where their food comes from.  It is also because of these people that we get so much grief for our practices.  I hope that the farm is able to continue its work and get back to educating the public about their roots. 

We had to say goodbye to Germany and head to Utrecht the next morning.  Kellen and I were able to drop off our bags at our host’s house before going to the university for lectures.  During our time at the university we received a total of 5 lectures.  It seemed like 3 of them were the same lecture over again:  the history of veterinary medicine and the university.  I wish we could have taken this time and toured the large animal hospital and talked over cases like we did in Leipzig.  That was my favorite part of being at the universities and we were not able to do much of that after Leipzig.  We were able to tour the small animal hospital and see their setup.  It was like most university hospitals, although they have primary care, medium care, and ICU.  Cameras are also in every ICU cage so owners can keep an eye on their pets without bothering the clinicians.  It has gotten good feedback from clients and clinicians alike.  That night the hosts had a BBQ at the DSK student bar to welcome us to their university.  I really enjoyed the food and being able to get to know the students better.  The next day included more lectures and a lab animal hands-on experience.  I personally hate rodents so I did not hold an animal but enjoyed hearing them talk about handling and medicine.  Students have a practical on restraint, which I think would be really good for those interested in lab animal medicine.  That night we grabbed supper with some of our hosts before heading to DSK to watch the world cup game against Spain.  The Netherlands killed them 5-1 and it was fun to cheer them to victory.  I even got a souvenir jersey and foam finger.  The next morning we were able to take a tour of the city via canoe.  I have never been canoeing and I cannot swim so it was definitely an experience.  I had a great time and it was a unique way to get to see the city, despite my arms being on fire afterward!  One boat of girls lost their balance and turned over in the water.  Nobody drowned and being cold was the worst problems they had to endure.  It was a success.  I do wish we had learned more about the city as we canoed but I still had a blast and would suggest it to anyone going in the future.  Our hosts then took us into the city center for some shopping and we tried a Dutch favorite, a croket.  It is hard to describe but I enjoyed the fried food.  We then met for our farewell supper.  Nils also treated us to our last ice cream feast.

I cannot believe the program is over and I am heading back to the United States in the morning.  This has been the best experience and I am sad to see it end.  I made some wonderful friends in the classmates I did not really know as well as the Auburn girls and my hosts.  Nils has been the best coordinator, and I hope that having to deal with 13 girls did not wear on him too badly.  Thanks to Dr. Wasser, Dr. Pine and the AIB staff for putting together such an amazing program.  I would not have been able to come if it had not been for the study abroad program.  But now I would like to come back to Europe in the future.   There is so much to see and do and we barely scratched the surface.  This experience has also made me thankful for everything I have.  Although the places we visited were amazing I could never live here.  I miss the luxury of getting in my truck and going where I need to, when I need to.  Checking train and bus schedules seems like a hassle and I would hate to have to do that on a daily basis.  I look forward to seeing my family, friends, and animals when I return.  Until next time Europe!

Berlin, Hamburg, Busum - Week 3

We arrive in Berlin and immediately have a tour of the city.  Our guide did a fantastic job and really explained the history of the city.  I loved the tour!  The four hours just flew by.  WWII has always interested me and to see it in person was amazing.  I loved seeing the Memorial of the Murdered Jews, where Hitler committed suicide, the house of the man who singlehandedly brought down the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg Gate.   There is so much history here I wish I was able to see more.  Our guide took us by a chocolate shop that I would have liked to go inside but we did not have time.  It had replicas of historic buildings, including a church that had its roof destroyed in the war.  We ended the tour outside Reichstag.  We did not go in because that is on the agenda for tomorrow.  The next morning we were given a lecture by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and were able to watch a CT  being taken of a skull.  Afterwards we had dinner and got to see the result of a 3D printer.  It was so cool! 

We left the institute and ran to the train headed for Sachsenhausen.  I was so thankful to Nils for taking us out there as a group.  He has been there numerous times and was able to show us around and explain the buildings to us.  It was a humbling experience being there.  Because we had gone to Terezin before, I was able to see the differences in a transit camp and a labor camp.  The entrance read “Arbeit Macht Frei” meaning labor shall set you free, a lie Hitler had told its prisoners.  Seeing the “death trenches” and remnants of the gas chambers and furnaces was indescribable.  Knowing that thousands of people died here.  It makes me thankful for everything I have, especially my family, and I know that it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.  It was also horrifying to learn of the medical experiments they performed on the occupants.  I am glad that I was able to see in person everything I have read about.  I hope that the world never has to endure such evil again.

After leaving the concentration camp, we had an appointment at Reichstag.  My father had told me about it before I left so I was excited to see it.  We took an overly crowded elevator to the roof where Nils pointed out the buildings we had seen the day before during our tour.  He then explained that the four tours on each corner represented the four political parties:  the Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Left Party and the Greens.  I really like how they conduct business in public.  After the tour of the Reichstag we did not have much time for free time.  We were leaving the next morning to go to Hamburg.  I wish that we were able to spend more time in Berlin:  I would have much rather gone here during a free weekend than Prague.

In Hamburg we toured a Seal Station and learned that they are rehabilitation center and that any seals born in captivity cannot be released into the wild so they try to prevent breeding.  We got a tour of the facilities and were able to watch the feeding at 2.  It was neat to see how well behaved the seals are and expertly trained.  We left the station to go to Multimar Wattforum and learn about the different ecosystems.  We learned everything from the creatures in the mud to the aquatic wildlife and birds. 

We then took a bus to the Hotel Seigfreid in Busum.  After checking in we went to a local seafood restaurant.  It was great being able to eat such fresh seafood.  The next morning I was so excited to go to the Aquatic Wildlife Center and learn about their research and then dissect a porpoise and a seal!  We initially thought our porpoise had died in a net due to the hemorrhage around the nose and his belly full of fresh fish, but it was concluded that he had strangulated.  One of the fish he was eating had barbs on that got caught in his larynx.  It was interesting to learn that lung worms and intestinal worms are normal for these animals.  It sure seemed like there was a lot!  Our porpoise did not have any GI worms, which was surprising but his lungs were full.  My colleagues’ seal had been euthanized by a seal hunter because he was suffering from respiratory distress and the hunter felt it was in the best interest of the animal to put it out of its misery.  I have a high respect for seal hunters and what they do.  They take time out of their day to save these creatures.  The only compensation they get is for gas money, which is not enough.  We were able to meet a seal hunter that night at supper.  He owns a restaurant and is a chef.  They prepared a seafood buffet for us that was delicious!  I ate way too much, but it was so good!  He gave a presentation after supper that explained what he does and why he decided to take on this responsibility.  It is hard for him to run a business in addition to going on calls, but he makes it work.  As someone who likes wildlife I really enjoyed hearing his stories and the similarities and differences in getting licensed.  The next day we met with the seal biologist from the day before and toured the mudflats.  It was weird at first stepping on all the shells, and I was terrified on getting stuck by a jellyfish.  But I had a great time.  As I was trying to avoid all the jellyfish that had gotten stuck in the mud, I fell up to my knees in mud.  Jeannette then did the same thing and we could not stop laughing.  Our guide told us how dangerous it is to be out on the flats unsupervised and if a fog comes in you have no way to get back to the shore.  We then closed our eyes and tried to go in a straight line toward some trees he had pointed out.  It was hilarious to see where everybody ended up.  It also made me laugh to hear that we had to pay a “cure tax” just for being in the town:  the air is good for you and the mud is spa quality.  Who would have thought! 

We left the next morning on a train bound for Frankfurt.  Frankfurt is where my father was born so I could not wait to see it.  We settled into our hotel and went to a typical Frankfurt restaurant.  The food was amazing!  It was definitely the best I have had in Europe.  The next day we went to Heidelberg and had a tour of the castle.  It was huge!  Each ruler did not want to live in the same castle as the man before him so he built his own castle and the buildings were later joined together to form the castle we see today.  Later we went souvenir shopping and sat on the Main River and watched the boats go by.  My favorite was a paddleboat that had only one person paddling so they kept going in circles.  

Copenhagen - Week 2

After we landed in Copenhagen we were able to enjoy refreshments before touring the large animal hospital.  I could not believe that they treat cattle for free, but after they explained why it made perfect sense.  If they did not treat them for free, producers would not bring them in and students would not have anything to practice on.  This is quite different from my upbringing as my family would bring a cow in long before they would bring a pet in.  The small animal hospital is quite nice as they recently redid it.  I also found it interesting that students focus on only one subject at a time.  For example, they would only have introductory radiology for a day or two before receiving cases.  They then worked on these cases for two or three weeks and did not have any other subjects to study.  It was also mindboggling that they do not have the diseases that we do, such as Rabies.  While we suspect rabies with every neurologic case, veterinarians do not even receive vaccinations against the virus.  They have also banned several canine breeds.  It is illegal to breed two animals if you can prove that their offspring will have health problems, although I do not know how one can prove that.  That night we met our hosts for a supper at a student-run restaurant.  It was my first experience with veal and I enjoyed it.  I was unsure about how good the quality would be as the animal has not been fed out to a market weight and marbling is nonexistent.  I am staying with Jeannette and our host is Pipaluk and her boyfriend, Thorkil.  They are extremely nice and even own a car, which is a nice change of pace.  They drive us around the town before taking us home.  Their apartment is cozy, but I found it strange that they have to squeegee the bathroom after taking a shower, because it is so small the shower is the bathroom.  It makes me thankful to have a bathtub and not have to worry about mold buildup after each shower. 

The next morning we meet a doctor of Faxe Dyrehospital who drives us to the clinic.  The clinic is a referral clinic so they see primary cases along with cases other veterinarians cannot solve.  There are eighteen veterinarians and around 40 employees.  They told me it was small compared to the U.S. but I could was shocked at the size.  I do not know of any private clinics in the U.S. that are so big.  Each doctor has a specialty, so if the primary doctor does not know what to do they are able to call in a colleague.  The working environment is positive and they are so willing to teach.  The first morning I was able to scrub in and assist with an arthroscopic procedure on a lab’s elbows.  I was so excited!  I had never seen arthroscopy before, much less held the camera!  Next I was able to scrub in for a luxating patella surgery on a Yorkie.  I was going to suture him closed, but another surgery was scheduled after this and there was not enough time.  The doctors were constantly quizzing me and making me recall information I learned a while back and was forgetting.  I was intrigued to find out that it is illegal to mark up pharmaceuticals and that they are only able to make a profit on exams and procedures.  I also found it interesting that students do not have to pay for their education, unlike we who will graduate thousands in debt.  I quickly realize that it is not as great as it seems when they tell me their income tax is around 50%.  I feel that the education system back home needs a makeover but I am definitely not ready to be parting with half my money.  After dinner I was able to help with radiographs on a dog.  When he needed to go potty, I found worms in his stool.  I told his doctor that he was round worms and she then informed me that he suffered from chronic diarrhea.  I am hoping that after a couple doses of dewormer his diarrhea will cease.  I also learned a Danish word in the process, which sounded like “dirty” and means good.  That night Jeannette and I stay at a local hostel and are on call in case emergencies come in.  We did not get called in, however, and were able to enjoy a good night’s sleep.  We proceed to walk to the clinic the next morning after breakfast.  The owner who dropped us off the night before told us to turn left when the road turned.  We went too far however and had to go down the main highway back to the clinic.  The owner saw us walking and picked us up in her car and drove us the rest of the way.  I am sure she got a good laugh out of our situation.  We followed her into rounds.  They spoke in English just so that we could follow along.  The night before a dog died during CT, so they discussed how this could be prevented in the future.  After that we met the chiropractor, who enjoyed quizzes up over anatomy.  He also taught us the basics of chiropractics and why he believes it works.  I enjoyed hearing how he was unable to take us out for cases because he lost his driver’s license for speeding and his mother was having to drive him around.  He then took Jeannette and I over to the large animal hospital.  I was assigned the case of a horse with an upper respiratory problem.  The horse was fat and exercise intolerant.  The doctor eliminated roaring by lunging the mare for 20 minutes and scoping her airway.  He then took a bronchial wash to eliminate infection.  After that case we ate dinner and returned to the small animal clinic.  I was able to see chiropractics in action on a lab and pony.  Our last night in Faxe one of the doctors and owners of the clinic had a BBQ.  He grilled pigeon and deer that he had personally hunted.  There was so much food that night!  I thought I was going to explode.  The employees of Faxe were extremely hospitable and I hope they continue accepting students to their practice.  In the future more than two students could be sent there with plenty to do.  Two could go to the large animal hospital and two could go to the small animal hospital.  I am so thankful for this experience.  I learned so much and had a blast! 

The next morning we had a tour of the town of Copenhagen.  The guide was nice but I was disappointed with the tour itself.  I would have rather gone to see the Little Mermaid and where the Queen lives rather than learn about the different types of bricks and never-ending fires.  The afternoon in Tivoli, however, was so much fun!  I have never been to a huge theme park like Six Flags and I cannot remember the last time I went to the local amusement park.  I wish that we had more time there and that we had not gone on a holiday.  The lines were extremely long and we were only able to ride 5 rides in 4 hours.  My favorite ride was “The Tower.”  It takes you straight up and then drops you.  I was terrified on the way up but the drop was not as bad as I had anticipated.  It was so fun!  We then had a farewell supper with our hosts at a restaurant on the Tivoli grounds.  Despite the confusion with our reservations my meal was good and I enjoyed spending time with my host.  I had not been able to much that week because we were in Faxe most of the time.  After supper, Pipaluk was appalled to hear how much of the city we did not see that morning so she walked us to the Little Mermaid statue and the palace where the royal family lives.  Jeannette and I even took a picture with a guard.  It is hilarious because we had to stand so far away from him that we are on one side of the picture and he is the feet away on the other side.  I was extremely thankful for Pipaluk taking us even though I know her feet were killing her in her shoes. 

The next morning we are caught a flight back to Berlin where we are catching a train to Vienna.  It is an eleven hour ride but I cannot wait to see what it has in store for us.  We took a Danube River Valley tour and I fell in love with the country.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.  I loved it much more than I did Prague.  We took a boat ride and then toured the Abbey.  The next day our train departed at midnight so we toured the city and ate at the Café Demel.  It was my first experience eating sweet breads.  I did not think it tasted weird at all, and I would be willing to eat it again.  We then catch our train to Berlin to start another adventure.  

Basel, Leipzig - Week 1

What an amazing week this has been!  If this is any indication of the rest of our time in Europe, it is going to be a blast.  On Sunday, we met with the rest of the group at Hotel Alfa in Basel, Switzerland at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.  Most of the participants are in my class, but I am just getting to meet the 2 Auburn girls for the first time.  After our initial meeting we head to a local restaurant for food and conversation.  It is apparent that the group gets along well by the volume and length of the conversation.  The waitress and fellow diners quickly realized we were Americans and enjoyed getting a glance in.  The next day we headed to Novartis.  After taking two semesters with Dr. Fajt, it was great to be able to see pharmacology in action.  My favorite part came when we were able to go and talk with the employees and see what they do every day.  I have opened hundreds of blister packages but never known how they are made.  It was also really cool to see how a pill is made.  An extremely simple concept:  smash powder between two levers.  It was disappointing to hear that they were selling their animal production line of the company, but nonetheless the team was excited to have us there and could not be more willing to answer our questions.  We continued the day with a city tour of Basel.  I loved the tour and the guide was extremely knowledgeable and fun.  I was able to take plenty of pictures.  I just hope I remember what they are of!  We ended our stay with a tour of a pharmacy museum.  It was neat to see how medicine has evolved over the years.

We then traveled to Leipzig, Germany, and it was my first experience on a train.  Nils reserved our seats, which allowed us to get to know each other better during the 6 hour ride.  Once we arrived, we met with our hosts.  My host, Katharina, was amazing!  She really went out of her way to make me feel comfortable in her home.  I had to ride a bike to get around and I have not ridden since I was a child.  This could be scary!  That night we attended the opening night of “Bergfest.”  I only crashed my bike once on our way there.  I am sure Katharina was laughing at the sight.   Bergfest was a huge party where the entire school comes together to celebrate the class who has reached their halfway point in school.  This year’s mascot was the deer.  Lots of food, drinks, and dancing was to be had that night.  The next day we joined a class for an anatomy lesson.  It was fun to see the differences in how they teach the subject.  They are able to study each body system on the different species at the same time, versus learning a complete species at a time and then comparing.  The lesson definitely made me realize I have forgotten quite a bit since first year.  We then went to the marmoset research facility, which allowed me to see veterinary medicine in a species I am not familiar with.  The next day we visited a veterinary collection and got to see tools from the past and present.  The guides really enjoyed showing us around.  The Leipzig zoo was my first zoo experience in my life so I could not wait to see what they had.  It was great getting to see the different kinds of animals, many of which I didn’t even know existed.  In the rainforest part, we were able to ride a boat that explained how the Earth began and how the animals got to where they are today.  I had a great time at the zoo, but at the end of the tour I was worn out.  My body is not used to standing and walking for so long.  My favorite tour of Leipzig was the internal medicine department.  They talked us through each case in the hospital:  why they came in and how they were treating them.  I hope that we are able to do this at the other schools we visit.  It is so interesting to compare how they handle cases and how we are taught, although they are quite similar.  Before we caught our train to Prague we watched the Bergfest games, where faculty dress up and compete in games for the ultimate victory.  My week in Leipzig has been great!  I loved it here and could not have asked for a better host.  I lived in her attic:  it was interesting getting my suitcase up the tiny ladder to my room.  I am just glad it is the first week and it is not too heavy with souvenirs yet.  Katharina has told me she wants to visit TAMU sometime, and I hope she does. 

During our weekend trip to Prgaue, Jeannette, Brenna and I toured the concentration camp Terezin.  We were able to see the housing conditions and the paintings the children created, which is unique to this camp.  It was a transit camp and was used as a model camp for the Red Cross to convince them that the conditions were acceptable.  It makes me sad for the people who came through this camp and angry at the people who did that to them.  If you have to cover up what really goes on, then you clearly know what you are doing is wrong.  We also toured the city of Prague, and our guide was really enthusiastic.  She enjoyed her job and wanted everybody to get the best experience while in Prague.  Now we are headed to Berlin to fly to Copenhagen in the morning.  

Week 4

When we arrived in Bonn we figured out our way to get to the hotel, and then met Nils for a tour of Bonn.We got to see the cathedral and lots of other parts of the town.We walked by the gardens near the university and also got to see the seminary. Under the seminary there was remnants of the Roman sewers and that was really neat to see. It makes me wonder what is underneath the rest of the city and countries of Europe! Once this was over, we ate at an outdoor restaurant, and I had a salad.Then we headed back to the hotel.
The next day we got up early to head to the train station to go to the zoo in Cologne.This was a really neat time because we got to go behind the scenes at the zoo! We first got to see the elephant facility and got to see the trainers work the with elephants and even trim their feet.We then got to feed a baby elephant! After that, we saw the bird exhibit, and walked around the rest of the zoo.We got to see an anteater and her baby, and that was really cute! When that was over, we then got a tour of the city of Cologne.The tour guide was excellent, and I really enjoyed the tour. She told us about Agrippa,Agrippina, and her son, Nero.That was really interesting to hear about. She also explained to us how one of the subway stops was useless, because no one used it, and they had built it under one of the buildings that held archives of the city.At one time, the subway collapsed, and the building on top of it went down with it, and alot of the notes and diaries from people were lost with it.When the tour was over, we went back to our hotel, and got ready for another day.
Wednesday we went to the animal shelter in the first part of the day.The visit was enlightening to me, as it was a completely different setup from the shelters I have seen in the US. It was a no kill shelter, and the yards and kennels were very nice for the dogs. I think the US could learn alot about the setup of shelters from this shelter.The shelter director explained to us that sometimes they get dogs from Spain, and that they can adopt them out since Spain doesn't want the dogs. The cats have a very nice room that they could play and exercise in, which the man said cost about 20,000 euros.That is crazy to me! They also had rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, and turtles. Some of the rabbits were infected with Pasteurella, and so we could not touch them.They also have quite a few cats with FIV or the herpes virus, and so they keep them separate from the other cats and will adopt them out to homes with only cats or other cats who are sick as well.They have a very nice intake procedure, with a quarantine regimen to ensure that no diseases are brought in and spread around. Once the tour was over, we went to visit the Gut

Ostlar, which was a unique place. It is equivalent to such a thing as an organic farm in the US.The lady running it explained that the authorities were involved, and that they had to do away with alot of what they were doing at the farm. She stated that they had first had programs for special needs people to come and work on the farm, and that this was very good for these people because it allowed them to feel like they were able to contribute and have a great life.Then when the authorities came and investigated they were no longer able to offer this aspect of the farm and that's really too bad.The lady showed us around the place, and we got to see her ducklings and goslings, as well as pick and eat fresh strawberries! Then we got to see the chickens, sheep, and donkeys. After the tour was over, she offered us some fresh water and that was really good. I enjoyed learning about how they do organic stuff in Europe. She did mention that the ducklings that she got had something wrong with them, because they had chewed their wings off.We were thinking that it could be due to stress of the transport. Since it is an organic farm, they were not really allowed to treat as aggressively as a non organic farm. I think they could have treated the ducklings since it was a medical cause, but hopefully with some water and stress free environment, the ducklings can pull back. Once this tour was over, we went ahead and went to bed, since we had to go to Utrecht the next morning.
On Thursday we arrived in Utrecht about 11:30-12ish.The hosts met us at the train station, and we went to the university and got a lecture of the history of veterinary medicine in the Netherlands, and then got a tour of the small animal clinic. It was interesting to learn about the history of vet med, because it's always intriguing to hear about what other countries and schools do to develop vet med and education. After this, we went to the DSK student hangout and had a wonderfully cooked bbq dinner. I met my host, and after a little bit, we decided to go back to her house so we could sleep.The next day we got 4 total lectures about the development and teaching at the vet school, admissions and demographics, and then about the public health industry in the vet school and around in the Netherlands.We also got to hear a lecture about handling lab animals, and how they teach about animal welfare and things like that. I enjoyed the lectures, but I felt like some of the were repetitive. It would have been nicer had we had some actual classes on what they got taught, kind of similar to what we did at Leipzig with the anatomy groups. Once this was over, we had a bit of time to go into the city and we got some dinner before we headed back to the school to watch the game with DSK.The Netherlands won the soccer match, 5-1, so most of the students were happy.
The next day, Saturday, was our last day in the Program.We did a canoe tour of the city, which was really neat because it was nice to canoe. It was tiring after a

while, but I canoed when I was younger, so it was refreshing to try it again.We went into the city again, this time to shop. It was a pretty bustling city, with lots of shops and people and little carts selling flowers.We didn't have all that much time to shop, as we had to meet Nils for the farewell dinner at 545.We met for the dinner, and had a nice meal, and discussed the program and filled out evaluations. It was a bittersweet meal, because everyone knew that we were all leaving the next day, yet we were so ready to go home.After the dinner was over, we went and all got ice cream together.Then we went to the grocery store to get some goodies for the ride home. Once I got back to my host house, I packed up my stuff and went to bed.We got up at 615 to have a host bring us to the train station, so that we could get to the airport to go home! We took one flight from Amsterdam to London, and now we are on the London to Houston flight home, and I can't wait to see my family. Europe was definitely a life changing experience, and I hope to go again sometime. I used to tell myself that I hated traveling and going places away from home, but this has been a positive experience.Tschuss! 

week 3

Our weekend in Vienna was fabulous! We got there late friday evening so we just checked into our hotel and then got some dinner. The next day we went on a tour of Vienna and a cruise of the Danube river. That was quite nice. It was interesting to hear about all of the things the guide had to say.We learned about the ester trees upon which a man was hung because he was a radical thinker. When he was hung, his body did not decompose and the tree came back to life since the tree that he was hung on was dead.The next day we had to check out of the hotel at noon, and our train didnt leave til midnight, so we spent our day wandering around in the city centre of Vienna and just relaxing and enjoying life. We came back to Berlin on Monday, and got a tour of Berlin.This was my favorite tour so far of the cities we have been to.The tour guide was quite witty, and the city itself was very interesting to learn about since it has such a unique history. The next day we went to the Leibniz institute for zoo and wildlife research, and heard a lecture about what they do. It was neat to hear about how they fund and carry out the various projects they have for animal conservation.After that, we got to see a CT scanner in action! That was very neat, and it made me realize that Europe is right along side the US terms of technological advancement. Later that afternoon we went and saw Sachsenhausen. that was a great experience that always helps me to put my life in perspective. It kind of makes me depressed for the day, but it definitely helps me to not take my life for Granted. I cannot imagine what all those prisoners had to go through.That evening, we got to visit the "Reichstagskuppel" which was neat as well. I liked the whole concept of the glass so that the people could see in on parliament. Maybe the US could take a hint from Germany as well about that. ;)
The next day we went to Hamburg to visit the seal center.This was a very nice visit and the tour guide was quite helpful in telling us all about the seals and their habitat. I learned that they could not breed any seals in the center because they were not allowed to release them into the wild.They way the prevented breeding was by adding hormones to the male's diets, which was different because in the US there seems to be more of the contraception is on the female part. Once that was done, we got a tour of the Multimar Wattforum, which was really neat. I feel like it was a prep of the mudflat walk that we were going to do in a few days. I

especially enjoyed the room of the sperm whale replica, it was really neat to see the skeleton on one side and then the musculature and remainder of it on the other side.We got to learn all about the ecosystem in this tour, and I think that's very important, because we could not live the way we do today without the ecosystem, and I think more people need to appreciate and respect the ecosystem. After that, we arrived at the quaint little Hotel Siegfried, which was very friendly and hospitable to us students.The owners were an adorable couple who were very kind to us.The next day we got to visit the Aquatic Wildlife Center, where we got to do some dissections! First we were given an introductory lecture about the center by Dr. Siebert, which was very neat to learn about what they did. She explained that the seal hunters were a volunteer job, and that they called whenever the center needed to come pick up some seals from them.While she was giving the lecture, they had the most delicious cookies I have ever eaten, and some quite wonderful tea. I thoroughly enjoyed that.When she was finished, we made our way out the the "lab" area, and got all dressed up to do the dissection.We got to choose if we wanted to help with either a seal dissection, or a porpoise dissection. I started out with the seal dissection.The biologist who was performing the dissection explained the whole procedure. He stated that they first measured the seal to see how big it was, and to look all over the exterior of the seal to make sure there was nothing to note.Then he told us that the seal hunter report stated that the seal was shot (by the seal hunter) because she was apathetic, was coughing up blood, and had diarrhea.We felt the skull of the seal, and it was soft and shattered because of the bullet wound. On her left side, there was a small hole, and that was where we found the bullet. So the bullet had exited her skull and came out by her left arm.Then the biologist started the dissection. First he made an incision to measure her blubber content, in order to evaluate her nutrition status.Then he started by removing the majority of her internal organs. He started by taking out the cecum and large intestine, and letting a PhD student take that so she could study the parasite load project that she was working on.Then he removed the small intestine, kidney, uterus, ovaries, stomach, liver, spleen, and adrenal glands. He had one of us open the small intestine and take out any parasites that we saw so that they could identify them and see if that had any bearing on her death.We also opened the stomach, and saw some parasites in there as well.When the abdominal cavity had been emptied, he started on the thoracic cavity. He removed the heart, lungs, esophagus, trachea, larynx, and tongue. He examined all the organs, and was quite surprised to learn that there was no lungworms in the lungs. He thought since the seal hunter had seen the seal coughing up blood, that lungworms would be a good diagonosis, but this was not the case. Dr. Seibert came over and concluded

that she thinks it was death due to succumbing to a bacterial infection.The biologist then wanted to take a look into the joints, and I got to dissect one out, and it was healthy he said. I did not get to hear much about the porpoise as I was involved with the seal, but I think they said the cause of death was getting caught in a net or choking on a fish.When this was all done, we had some free time before we ate a seafood buffet! I had no idea that the chef was the seal hunter! So not only did we enjoy a very delicious prepared meal, where I learned that I love smoked salmon, but then we got to hear the chef himself talk about his other job as a seal hunter! I had no idea that life could be so interesting for someone. He told us about his experience, and how he got his license. It was very neat to look at his licence because it was valid for birds and fish and sea mammals. It was a very difficult course to take to get the license, yet they don't have to "retest" to stay licensed.They have to do something every few years to make sure that they can stay licensed.The next day we got to do the Mudflat tour! Aside from being ridiculously cold, it was really fun.We got to see alot of the ecosystem and creatures that we learned about with the Multimar Wattforum.We walked about all over the mudflats, and got to see the tidal flats. The only thing I didn't like about the mudflats were the jellyfish. I am terrified of them, and there were dead ones all over the place. I successfully navigated around them, so that was a plus.When we were finally done with the mudflat, a friend and I decided to go back to the beach and just relax.The sheep decided to come visit us too, and I got some very good pictures of them.The next day we left Busum to take the train to Frankfurt.When we got to Frankfurt, it was so hot! It took almost all day to get to Frankfurt, so when we got to our hotel, we asked where the best place was for food.The man at the hotel was very nice and gave us two good recommendations.That night I tried what appeared to be pork steak slow cooked in an onion-gravy broth, with apples. It came with some potatoes, and I tried the apple wine that they recommended.That was quite a different taste! The first sip I took tasted like olives, but as I drank more, it tasted better. I did not really taste like apples to me though. But, I got to say I tried a different culture's food and drink! The next day we went on a tour of the Heidelburg Castle. I was surprised how much if it was destroyed, and it was interesting to learn that they do not renovate or repair it, just enough to make it safe.The tour guide explained that each new royalty that lived there would not want to live where a previous one lived, and so that they built a new part to it. So that's how it got to be so big and why the other buildings would just go into ruin.We got to see the world's largest wine barrel, which held 227,000 liters of wine I believe. When that tour was over, we spent sometime in the city of Frankfurt itself,and then tried out our appetite at the mediterran restaurant that the hotel also

offered. I got some pork cutlets with ham and feta cheese in the middle and it came with fried potatoes and a salad.That was a delicious meal too.The next day we are now on our train ride to Bonn.

Week 2

Week 2
The day tour of Prague completely changed my mind about the city. Until this point, I was not a very big fan of the city.We had a full day tour that entailed a coach tour, then a walking tour throughout the very nice part of Prague up on the hill, and then got lunch at a quite nice restaurant, and then took a boat tour back to the main Old Town Square. It was very enjoyable, and so beautiful. I
would definitely make time to go back to Prague.Then we went on the train ride back to Berlin, and finally made it back to the hostel at 130 in the morning! It was a very short night, as we had to get up at 430 the next morning to catch our flight to Copenhagen.
The day that we landed in Copenhagen was extremely busy.We started out with getting a tour of Copenhagen University of both the large and small animal clinics. In the small animal clinic, I learned alot of stuff that we do in the US is different from what they do in Denmark. I learned that there are several breeds of dogs that are banned in Denmark, which is quite interesting.We also learned that Brachycephalic breeds have to be proven to have a problem, and you can't breed them if they can proven that they are going to have typical brachycephalic problems. After this, we had a nice dinner at the restaurant in the greenhouse and got to meet our hosts! My host was extremely kind, and offered to drive us places when we needed to go somewhere! Stacie and I were going to have to ride the bus over 2 hours to the clinic we needed to be, but she drove us there! The first day at the clinic, we got to see so many things! We started out watching a laproscopic ovariohysterectomy on two dogs, and they only remove the ovaries in Denmark. After that, we watched another vet remove some masses from some dogs.Then, she performed a splenectomy on a dog who had a splenic mass. It was so interesting to see, because it was her first time to actually perform a splenectomy. She was so calm and confident, and made sure to ligate all the vessels so that there would be no internal bleeding. In the afternoon, we got to see a new puppy check-up for 5 German Shepherd puppies. Everything was going well, until the vet heard a quite loud murmur on one of the puppies.The vet let us listen to the heart as well, and I heard quite a loud murmur. I could even feel the heart murmur when I would put my hands on his chest.That puppy ended up staying the night so that another vet in the morning could look at it and do an echocardiogram.We went home that night with a staff member of the hospital, and ate aVERY good homecooked meal for dinner.They then took us to the beach and got us ice cream. Even though it was quite cold, it was very nice to see the beautiful seawater of Denmark.The next morning we went back to the clinic, and started another interesting day.We got to see a root canal on a German Shepherd, a few dental cleanings with tooth extractions, an entropion surgery, and

then we got to see and help with the vet who was doing the echo on the puppy. When he saw the echo, he wasn't quite sure what was happening with the heart. There was lots of areas with turbulence, indicating that the flow was not going quite the way it should. He found some pulmonic stenosis, and a possible ventricular septal defect, and was thinking it could be Tetralogy of Fallot, but he could not find the overriding aorta, which he said was classic for Tetralogy of Fallot. It's also a quite rare disease.The owners, who were breeders, opted for euthanasia, since the puppy was not expected to live very long anyway.The best learning experience for me on this trip was getting to do a necropsy on this puppy! It was the first time I had done anything like this, and I got to help with it! I was able to cut open the skin over the chest wall, as well as remove the heart from the thoracic cavity.When we first opened the ribcage, we looked at the heart in the body, saw that it was enlarged, and there was alot of pericardial effusion.We then removed the heart from the body, and opened it up to look at the interior of it. Upon examination, we found that there was indeed pulmonic stenosis, resulting in a large amount of right ventricular hypertrophy with hardly any lumen of the right ventricle.The aortic arch was also quite dilated, and the pulmonic trunk seemed to be attached to the aortic arch.There was also a patent foramen ovale, which could have contributed to the turbulence, as well as tricuspid valve insufficiency. So, in conclusion, it seems that there was multiple things wrong with the puppy's heart, which would have made it unable to live a good long life.After this day was over, the staff member drove us back to our host house in Copenhagen, since the clinic where we were was in Naevstad.We got back and had a nice evening seeing the Little Mermaid on the water.The next morning we had a quite nice tour of Copenhagen. I got to ride the public transport for the first time, and that was interesting, because I didn't know you had to get on the bus in the front, and the driver said something to us in Danish, and finally a nice girl told us in English that we couldn't board the bus from the back, and had to get on at the front to validate the ticket and show the bus driver. The tour was wonderful, and I really enjoyed it. I always like getting tours of the cities we are staying in, because it helps me to appreciate the city and buildings and people more.We got lunch at a buffet place in the city, and then met up with the rest of the group to go to Tivoli! I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Tivoli.The very first ride I rode was the demon roller coaster, which was quite enjoyable. Then we rode the Golden Tower, which was the drop from so very up on the tower. It was beautiful to see the city from so high above, but it was also frightening to go down so fast! We then rode the Velocity, which was the scariest ride I think.We went upside down so fast, and it just kept going upside down and faster! After that, we rode the swings, and then we had to go get dinner. Dinner

was quite nice, as we got to eat it with our hosts, and then after we got to ride some more rides in Tivoli. After wearing myself out at Tivoli, I went home, showered, and went to bed to get up in time for our flight back to Berlin. Once we got to Berlin, we found a train station to get on to our train for our weekend inVienna! I'm looking forward to adding another country to list of places I've visited, and I hope that the weather is great for us in Vienna.Til next time!