What a week! Monday we went to the Bayer facility in Munich. It was really nice, we were wined and dined and toured the research facilites. There was a lot of time for chatting with representatives of the company, and it is kind flattering to be so actively recruited. The research cats are ridiculously friendly! As soon as they saw us, they ran to the front of the cage and started meowing for attention.
That evening we moved to Hannover and got to meet the host students we were working with. We spent a few days in Hannover trying to see everything we could, but there was no way. We did get to see the State Stud, which was really interesting. We got to have a few lectures at the vet school, and all of us were very impressed with how clearly the lecturer explained BVD, which completely confused all of the first years in lecture a month ago. We went to the Museum of Veterinary History, the only one in existence. I hadn't properly appreciated how recent a profession it was. The vet school was having a sport day, so we got to see some soccer.
That evening I wandered around the baergarden, which was surprisingly huge and full of beautiful flowering plants. I was amused by the greenhouse full of cacti. Later that evening I got a little bit of Texas as a street musician played Johny Cash. Thursday morning a group of us went to the Hannover Zoo. It was a very impressive zoo, I was amazed at how close we were able to get to the animals. We got to pet a pelican, see a day old gorilla baby and a 2 week old elephant baby, and got a tour by one of the host students who just happened to be a zoo tour guide! Thursday evening and afternoon were nonstop travelling until about 10, but when we got to Basel, we were surprised to find that we each had our own really nice room. I met a nice exchange student on the train, and we chatted for quite a while. I'm determined to look at train time as an opportunity instead of a waste of time. That night, though, I was extremely glad to get a chance to spread all my stuff out and repack before Switzerland.
Friday we took a marathon tour of Novartis, both the product testing labs in Basel and the animal research facilities in St. Aubin. I couldn't believe how close they let us get to the research animals, a little closer than I really wanted to get to to the biting flies ;-) We also got to see the sheep, cows, rabbits, gerbils, dogs, and cats. Last night we hopped a late bus to Interlaken, a touristy town at the foot of the Alps. Today I went up to the Jungfrau, which was incredibly gorgeous and amazing right up to the cloud line. Past that point it was white. There was a little museum of ice sculptures on the top, and some sled dogs that were VERY interested in the breakfast bars in my bag. I also got to walk around the towns in the foothills some. I have a new appreciation for their fitness, the houses were several hundred feet apart and on a rather steep slope. I got to see some cattle, sheep, and goats that I was only familiar with from the Breeds exam last year. The top third of the train ride was inside the mountain, but my nose was glued to the glass for the rest of it, the scenery was so spectacular!
Tomorrow is an all day train ride to Berlin. I have to admit I'm kind of looking forward to eight hours of not having to do anything. I'm also very much looking forward to being in one place for a while. I also have to admit that I'm missing Texas, and looking forward to seeing everyone, both two and four legged.
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