1st Week in Germany

The first week in Germany was a world wind. We finally got all of the train situations figured out and survived some cold weather. A German spring felt like a medium Texas winter. My two favorite itinerary items was the lecture about homeopathy and touring the elephant enclosure at the Koln Zoo. Honestly I was rather skeptical about homeopathy having any effect on the animal at all. A simple demonstration of how different methods can be used to calm an aggressive or anxious dog cured me of my skepticism. I think it can be useful in allowing the owner to bond with the animal and making exams go more smoothly. It’s always better when a dog likes to come into a vet clinic. I also think it can be useful in managing chronic/progressive problems such as arthritis. The elephant enclosure at the Koln Zoo is by far the best one I’ve seen. I love that it was a large enclosure with the option to come inside when the elephants felt like it. The fencing allowed the public to be relatively close to the animals. I think the elephants enjoy having something more to look at than concrete walls.

Other highlight of the week is walking up a mountain to see Drachenfels Castle ruins. Walking up the mountain seemed to take forever and a day. My legs were not happy about it. Every time the road curved we thought we were almost there. The view was completely worth it. We got there right at sunset and spent about 30 min taking pictures and only walked down because we didn’t want to go down a mountain in the dark. I could see the top of the Koln Cathedral in the distance aka really far away.