Genau.

Büsum & Copenhagen

The group said farewell to Germany last week, even though I will be returning to the vet school in Giessen after the program ends. Genau (something along the lines of "exactly") has turned into a joke word to us, because the Germans say it constantly but scoff when we don't use it appropriately. Anyway, after Berlin we traveled to the area of Büsum, which is a tiny town the North Sea. The landscape became quite flat and full of quaint little farms and windmills as we rode through the countryside in a big van. The first stop was at the Seal Center in Friederichskoog, where one of the trainers told us about their rescue program and resident seals, who live there permanently for various reasons. Unfortunately, we did not get to see any of the newly rescued seal pups since they were in quarantine. It would have been nice to see more of the veterinary work and facilities that the public does not, but it was still really neat to visit a seal rehabilitation center. 

Next we drove to the Multimar Wattforum museum in Tönning, located in a sea of grass with sheep grazing placidly outside the front door. It is an informational center and aquarium featuring the species fauna of the salt marshes and tidal flats in the region, which was pretty interesting since I didn't know much about it before. After a series of sharp turns down narrow country lanes, we finally arrived at our hotel in Büsum, a quaint yellow house with lilac bushes surrounding the door. The rest of the evening was spent walking casually though the small city center, which was lined with nautical-themed shops, and out to the beach. At low tide, the water recessed for miles and left behind soft but firm mud full of shells and jellyfish. 

The following morning, we walked to the Aquatic Wildlife Center, which is an extension of the vet school in Hannover. One of the veterinarians explained their research of marine mammals - mostly disease patterns, tracking, and population monitoring - before we suited up in white garb and joined some students and vets with a harbor seal and porpoise necropsy. It was awesome seeing not only the anatomy, but also parasites and cause of death (intestinal volvulus and undeveloped fetus in the seal, and a flat fish stuck in the trachea of the porpoise) of these animals. It's something I've never done before and enjoyed doing, despite the buckets of blood and aroma of fishy-death. We also got to meet the students and young vets working on their research there, and they were so friendly and happy to have a group of young people to interact with since Büsum is clearly a retirement/vacation for the elderly hub. They joined us at the group dinner of the seafood restaurant where the local "seehundjäger" ("seal hunter") cooks. The seal hunter actually rescues the abandoned pups who howl on the beaches and brings them to the seal center. One of my favorite things so far was actually just getting to know the students, who came from Denmark, Portugal, and the UK. They were so interesting and were in turn very interested in everything about the US, from vet school to politics. We talked for several hours and had a lot in common despite being from entirely different parts of the world. 

The final day in Büsum dawned sunny and only a little windy - perfect conditions for the mud flat hike. I won't lie, I did have reservations about walking around in mud and stepping on a bunch of shells, but once we reached the soft, more sandy areas near the streams and rivers flowing through the flats, it was actually pleasant and quite pretty, really. Our guide was a cheerful Biologist who let us catch a bunch of critters, including the tiny little shrimp that they eat locally after sending them to Morocco to be peeled - which no one understands why. We played around in the deep mud and everyone left in high spirits. After lunch, we hit the beach and spent all afternoon relaxing in the sun and swimming in the chilly North Sea (I did anyway - most of the Texans were wimps) before meeting the students again in a pub and karaoke bar for drinks. It was one of my favorite days of the entire trip. 

On Saturday, we began our trip to Køpenhavn, a long, long train ride north. I was in a bit of a daze about halfway through, when the train suddenly rolled into a container of sorts and one of the staff told us to get out. We were inside a ferry! I spent the entire 45 minute crossing up on the deck in the sun and wind. When we arrived, we split up to find our vet student hosts. Rebecca and I ended up in the dorm and partaking in a very strange Danish floor party (complete with costumes, games, and themes in each room) with our hosts that evening. The next day, we rolled out of bed late and met everyone in town, toured the Rosenberg castle (very cool!), and wandered though the botanical gardens. The last day, one of the students gave us a tour of the large animal clinic of the veterinary school, and we got to join rounds and watch a few neat procedures, including a gutteral pouch endoscopy and EKG on a calf. Then we returned to town, toured the royal stables (!!!!), walked along the part of the canals where Hans Christian Anderson lived, and finished the night at Tivoli, an old amusement park in the middle of the city. With all the brightly painted structures, vintage lights, and lovely gardens, I felt like I stepped into a 1930s circus. We watched a very strange outdoor ballet (some Danish folk tale) and I even rode the 100 year old roller coaster with manual brakes. It was quite the experience, and I'm really glad we spent the weekend with students there. If anyone decides to go, we can hook you up with the vet students there!

Currently, the program has actually ended and I am sitting in London Heathrow airport, waiting for my connection to Scotland. Since I am experiencing technical difficulties with my laptop (I typed most of this on my phone...), I will attempt to add photos and finish my last post about Holland if and when I can get that sorted out. I can't believe the four weeks are over!

Until then, proost! [Dutch is like a weird combination of English and German]

~Andrea