This has been one of the busiest, most trying, mind-boggling week of my life. My feet hurt, and I feel as if I haven't gotten a full night's sleep since I left Texas. And I've absolutely loved every minute of it. This is what a Europe trip should be- so full that when you get home, you need to relax after your "vacation".
I left off after our first full day- the Maria Laach monastery and the two castles. Since then, we have seen all aspects of Bonn and much of the region around it, and have since traveled to Berlin. Some highlights:
The organic farm in the middle of the city- didn't get to see as much of the animal production side as I would have liked, but got to play with donkeys and goslings, so that's a plus. And we got to make our own apple juice, which was pretty amazing. I'm don't have a green thumb in any way, so I don't feel as if I got as much out of it as I could have, but the idea of basically recycling everything and using all-natural organic materials has always intrigued me. Oh, and they had a solar cooker- basically looked like a large metal satellite dish that you aimed at the sun and used to cook whatever was in the pot. Very cool. And would probably work fabulously in Texas during the summer (or spring or fall, really).
Cologne- this may end up being my favorite city of the entire trip. I'm so disappointed that we couldn't have spent more time here just enjoying the city. The zoo was pretty cool- they put their zoos together differently here than they do in the US, I think because of the more stringent animal welfare laws, so it was neat to compare. It was so cool to see so many of the animals up and active because of the cooler weather. Every time I visit the zoos in Texas (or Atlanta), they're sleeping or panting or just standing listlessly somewhere in the shade because of the heat. But so many of these animals were actually up and moving. They also had a BodyWorlds-style exhibit, but which animals, which was fascinating. I'm so glad we take anatomy first year- comparing everything on the large animals (especially the elephant!) to the dogs we had studied first semester was quite interesting. The rooftop tour of the Cologne Cathedral was amazing (for me- for those scared of heights, it was a little much, poor Katy!). I've always wanted to do one of these, every since my mother talked about the one she took on Notre Dame in Paris. I think my favorite tidbit of that day was that during WWII, incoming air raids would use it as a visual compass- since it was a Catholic church, it was lined up east-west. Because of this, the cathedral was one of the only structures in Cologne left standing at the end of the war. And the bridge has the coolest story about lovers putting a padlock on the bridge and how their love will only end when the padlock falls off into the river below. But I'm a total sap, so I like that kind of thing.
Berlin- we only spent a day and a half in Berlin, and it was packed. We started at the Zoological Research Institute which does, well, exactly what it sounds like it does. They have this amazing technology- basically they take a CT scan (in 3D) and use a software and a special "printer" to create these 3D models of whatever animal they've scanned. The best part is, because a CT scan includes everything on the inside, if you physically cut into these "models," everything within would be anatomically correct. It kind of blows your mind what technology can do these days. We also got a tour from one of the zoo vets at the Berlin Zoo, which just gave it that extra level of interesting, because he kept throwing in little bits of veterinary handling at the zoo and we could ask him technical questions and get real answers- like when he talked about how they got hit with the Elephant Herpes Virus and lost a few of their elephants. The Berlin Zoo is probably the most amazing zoo I have ever seen. We saw maybe a tenth of the zoo, which was incredibly disappointing. I definitely want to go back if I can make the time. Next was a bike tour, which our very own Dr. Wasser led himself. I'm not a total history buff (especially with dates- terrible with those), but as far as actual events I can usually hold my own because my fiance is a HUGE history buff. I actually found a lot of it very interesting- if a little rushed and a little wet, haha. My favorite memorial, though, was the window into the empty bookshelves in the courtyard in front of the University where they held the book burning. But I'm attached to my books like that. All of that was in the first day. I know, slightly insane, right? The next morning was spent at the Berlin Free Veterinary school. Yes, free, as in free tuition for 5 1/2 years of vet school. Only slightly jealous here. I will say that their facilities weren't quite up to what we're used to in the US, however, especially the large animal clinic. But we got to see some interesting things and go through a few of their current cases. (Side note- the vet schools here usually have a farrier school attached, which I think is amazing since they're basically trained with veterinarians, rather than "apprentice" style). I also thought it was interesting that they actually prefer the owners do their own handling- I guess they don't have problems with owners suing them like they do in the US.
We leave for Prague tonight! We're catching an evening train and won't get in until 11 local time, but we'll have the full weekend there! So pumped!
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