Wow it is hard to believe that it has been so long since we went to Europe! There are still times that I think that I will turn around and we will all be following Nils like good little ducklings. I learned so much about the veterinary profession, our overseas colleagues, and the differences while there. This trip opened my eyes to verity of facets within the veterinary profession that I hadn't even dreamed about. Also, the opportunity to see place steeped in history older than our country. You hear about buildings, places, and objects in history books for centuries past but it is another think to walk into one of the building or bike through one of those cities or even touch some of those objects, was amazing. Here in the states we really don't have anything, at least to the scale of what is in Europe, that is man made and that old. Yes we do have the odd Native American stone structure but they all have an abandon feel while Europe's old structures are lived in and used. There is so much that I enjoyed about this trip but I have already put off reading Radiology to long. This trip will make you catch the international travel bug, I did!
P.S. I promise group members the recipe for Pistachio Chicken.
Chicken breast, pounded flat
Pistachios chopped finely
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and pre-heat the oven to 300 F. Sprinkle a small amount of salt and pepper on each side of the chicken breasts. Coat the breast in chopped pistachios. Place chicken in the skillet allowing it to cook for 5-7 minutes on both side (pistachios should brown). Remove the chicken from the skillet and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and allow the chicken to finish cooking. Note: depending on how thin the chicken is you may not have to put it in the oven after it is cooked in the skillet.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Back to normal
Today was our first day back in class, and it has been weeks since I returned from Europe. I was able to stay an extra 10 days after the trip just to travel, and I'm glad I did. We wound up going to Ireland and London, which was neat because we saw all of the decorations up for the Olympics! However, being gone about 6 weeks was far too long, I missed my family and my pets, and while I loved the trip, I probably will never choose to be gone for that long again.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this study abroad trip. I thought we had a good variety in different types of medicine and facilities in Europe, and it was neat to see all of the differences between Europe and the United States (as well as similarities).
One of my favorite places that we went to was IZW, it sort of caused me to think more about changing the career path I have always thought about. Now, I am much more interested in wildlife research, and thanks to this trip giving me an introduction into that sort of work, I'm hoping to go on another study abroad next summer to further my experience in that field.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
What a long, strange trip it's been.
Just got back into the states about a week ago, and for the first time in two and a half months, am in a country where I can actually speak the language. Yay! Trying to speak cobbled together Spanish (and downright broken German) gives perspective as to how frustrating it is for non-native English speakers to try and communicate here.
I find it hard to write this post, as it's hard to encapsulate just how, or even if, the traveling has changed me, but I'll do my best. I'm going to put lessons learned from both Germany and Spain in this, even though they were two distinctive trips.
I guess more trust in others would probably be a big part of it. It seems here in the US we're always told how everyone's out to get you in some form or another, be it to steal your identity, steal your possessions, manipulate you, or what have you. However, you can actually put stock into trusting strangers because 99% of them are just like you, and really don't have any interest in taking someone else's things. When in Germany it wasn't such a big deal, as I had others I already trusted with me in case I needed someone to watch something, but in Spain I was traveling on my own and had to rely on strangers quite a few times to watch something (granted it was never my debit card, or passport, or anything like that. At a certain point it goes too far in the amount of trust you put in strangers, but my pack or something like that? Sure.) for me and I was approached quite often to do the same for others. So turning the paranoia that is drilled into you down a notch is an important lesson.
This may be more of an issue with personality, but another lesson learned was how traveling alone isn't such a big deal, and perhaps is better at times. Traveling with people you know is fun, but you kind of are insulated from the culture of the country because you can 'retreat' into the familiar. When you're alone, it's all new and there's no where you can really go to be around something familiar, except to try and find someone who at least speak your language. That's eventually what I ended up doing and ended up meeting and traveling with people from all over the world. Spain, Germany, UK, France, Korea, Russia, New Zealand, India, and so on. All walks of life from the extremely rich to the destitute and you had to figure out how to relate to them all. So that was an important and rewarding lesson.
Anyhow, just to keep this short I think I'm going to end it there. Traveling abroad was a huge experience for me, as it was the first time I've ever left the country as well as the first time traveling alone without anyone I knew with me (in Spain). Very glad I did it and I learned a tremendous amount about a variety of countries and lifestyles. If one can swing the time and money, it should definitely be high on one's list. It does come with a hefty price tag though. $1,000 to even begin your journey isn't very conducive to traveling. But oh well, will just have to find a way to make it work in the future.
I find it hard to write this post, as it's hard to encapsulate just how, or even if, the traveling has changed me, but I'll do my best. I'm going to put lessons learned from both Germany and Spain in this, even though they were two distinctive trips.
I guess more trust in others would probably be a big part of it. It seems here in the US we're always told how everyone's out to get you in some form or another, be it to steal your identity, steal your possessions, manipulate you, or what have you. However, you can actually put stock into trusting strangers because 99% of them are just like you, and really don't have any interest in taking someone else's things. When in Germany it wasn't such a big deal, as I had others I already trusted with me in case I needed someone to watch something, but in Spain I was traveling on my own and had to rely on strangers quite a few times to watch something (granted it was never my debit card, or passport, or anything like that. At a certain point it goes too far in the amount of trust you put in strangers, but my pack or something like that? Sure.) for me and I was approached quite often to do the same for others. So turning the paranoia that is drilled into you down a notch is an important lesson.
This may be more of an issue with personality, but another lesson learned was how traveling alone isn't such a big deal, and perhaps is better at times. Traveling with people you know is fun, but you kind of are insulated from the culture of the country because you can 'retreat' into the familiar. When you're alone, it's all new and there's no where you can really go to be around something familiar, except to try and find someone who at least speak your language. That's eventually what I ended up doing and ended up meeting and traveling with people from all over the world. Spain, Germany, UK, France, Korea, Russia, New Zealand, India, and so on. All walks of life from the extremely rich to the destitute and you had to figure out how to relate to them all. So that was an important and rewarding lesson.
Anyhow, just to keep this short I think I'm going to end it there. Traveling abroad was a huge experience for me, as it was the first time I've ever left the country as well as the first time traveling alone without anyone I knew with me (in Spain). Very glad I did it and I learned a tremendous amount about a variety of countries and lifestyles. If one can swing the time and money, it should definitely be high on one's list. It does come with a hefty price tag though. $1,000 to even begin your journey isn't very conducive to traveling. But oh well, will just have to find a way to make it work in the future.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Alas, the journey has ended...at least for now.
It has been many weeks since my travels in Europe and I've had some time to reflect. One thing is for sure, my 2012 summer adventures have lit the fuse on my desire to continue traveling. I've enjoyed looking back on the pictures I took and thinking back to the many interesting people I met along the way.
Currently in the United States, the press is focusing on the upcoming presidential election. There have been many outspoken young people discussing the status of the U.S. in comparison to the rest of the world. All of the things being discussed are things I experienced while overseas. I am privileged to live in the U.S., but we are a fairly pretentious nation. I was humbled by the viewpoints of the people I met, and their opinion of my home country. I now can look at my own country through the eyes of people from other countries. I still love the U.S, but now I see more clearly our downfalls.
Besides this newfound viewpoint, I also attained plenty of chocolate, jewelry, and beer. I'm still enjoying my riches from afar, and my family was also very appreciative of my spoils! I still miss the quality of the food and drinks. I would kill for some good apfelschorle or some steamy, fresh pasta right now.
The last few days overseas, I made the decision to travel alone. Although it was very stressful, I feel a sense of pride that I would not have achieved otherwise. This trip was my first time out of the country, and to be able make my own way through a foreign country was a big step in developing my confidence and skills in travel. I met more people this way and these adventures impacted me more than any others.
I'm so glad I made the decision to travel this summer, no matter the cost. It was an eye opening experience and it's something that can't be recreated or fabricated in any way. I came back a more open person, a person more willing to try new and exciting things.
Currently in the United States, the press is focusing on the upcoming presidential election. There have been many outspoken young people discussing the status of the U.S. in comparison to the rest of the world. All of the things being discussed are things I experienced while overseas. I am privileged to live in the U.S., but we are a fairly pretentious nation. I was humbled by the viewpoints of the people I met, and their opinion of my home country. I now can look at my own country through the eyes of people from other countries. I still love the U.S, but now I see more clearly our downfalls.
Besides this newfound viewpoint, I also attained plenty of chocolate, jewelry, and beer. I'm still enjoying my riches from afar, and my family was also very appreciative of my spoils! I still miss the quality of the food and drinks. I would kill for some good apfelschorle or some steamy, fresh pasta right now.
The last few days overseas, I made the decision to travel alone. Although it was very stressful, I feel a sense of pride that I would not have achieved otherwise. This trip was my first time out of the country, and to be able make my own way through a foreign country was a big step in developing my confidence and skills in travel. I met more people this way and these adventures impacted me more than any others.
I'm so glad I made the decision to travel this summer, no matter the cost. It was an eye opening experience and it's something that can't be recreated or fabricated in any way. I came back a more open person, a person more willing to try new and exciting things.
TiHo Teaching and Research Farm
Recently we had the pleasure of visiting TiHo Teaching and Research Farm Ruthe with Dr. Surie. It's so interesting to see what is emphasized in the education system for veterinary students in Germany. They are required to spend two weeks on the teaching and research farm in order to study and actively participate in the care of a variety of farm animals. They are responsible for the health and maintenance of the poultry, swine, and cattle during their time there. I think this is a great opportunity for the students who aren't familiar with agriculture to get some hands on experience. I feel like this would be extremely beneficial for students in the United States, because there is a giant disconnect between the processing of food and the consumer. The role of agriculture is the most basic and important aspect of a society, and it is vital for the everyone to understand not only the role they play, but how the entire process functions.
In these last few weeks, we've learned that Germany's animal right laws are much more strict and modern than in the United States. For example, they aren't allowed to cage chickens anymore for egg production. Dr. Surie explained the difficult balance between the need for maximum production and animal welfare. Ultimately, caging hens is the most efficient method for egg production, but it is completely lacking in regards to welfare for the chicken. Because of the laws established for Germany, they are forced
to buy eggs from other countries because the consumers don't want to pay the extra cost associated with the new production methods. This interaction has destroyed the egg production in Germany. Thus, the balance has favored animal welfare in this circumstance.
On a lighter note, there were several things I enjoyed seeing on the research farm. They had a massive turkey production, which I haven't seen before. When
Dr. Surie explained the efficiency of the poultry production at the farm, it was astounding. They are on such a tight schedule and it seems to run flawlessly. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, since we are in Germany, haha. Even the pubic transportation is run by precise clockwork here.
I was also amazed by the 'Robo-Milker'. Germany mainly has dairy cattle, and we've had the chance to visit several places with dairy cattle. But this facility was the only time we've seen technology this advanced. Cows are able to be milked whenever they please; the machine runs completely without human interaction. This way, the animals trust the system and freely go into the chute. The milker finds the teats with a camera, cleans them, and then milks each one. The machine calculates the milk production from each teat and can determine if the cow is allowed to milked based on time between milkings. It was a very impressive piece of equipment and I can see how this could help boost production and the general health of the cows.
One thing that Dr. Surie discussed was also fairly interesting to me. He believes that companion animals are not useful to society and they actually are detrimental in some cases. He feels that all animals should have a practical purpose. I fully understand why he has this point of view, based on the condition of agriculture in today's society, but I also reminded myself that he is in the role of the farmer, not the veterinarian. From my point of view, both small and large animal medicine are important to my career. As an companion animal owner and veterinary student, I find this concept almost inconceivable. From ancient times, people have been domesticating animals not only for food and production, but also for companionship. Though it is more logical to maintain animals only for practical purposes, we will always be drawn to animals for other reasons and they will continue to serve us as companions. Of course, this is only my opinion and I respect his point of view as well.
Overall, the TiHo Teaching and Research Farm Ruthe with Dr. Surie was a blast. We got to see a higher level of production and how the students experience farm agriculture in relation to veterinary medicine. I'll always remember Dr. Surie's fun disposition and his passion for farm animal production.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Finally posting: Week 3
The third week of the
program started in Hanover. We toured the cattle, sheep, goat, and
swine portions of the vet school there, then got to spend the evening at
a barbecue with some of the vet students. It
was great to be able to talk to them and realize that they face the same
challenges in class and have the same concerns about the future of the
profession as we do. Also in Hanover we went to the agricultural center
of the vet school where students live for
two weeks to learn about farming, similar to the one in Leipzig, but
much larger. There we saw an automatic milking machine that was able to
sense when each quarter of the udder was empty, cleaned each teat before
milking, and was available for the cows whenever
they wanted it. The man that gave our tour was pushing for people to
stop keeping house pets, such as dogs and cats, because they utilize
food that could be given to starving people. While I understand his
point, he wasn't exactly talking to the most receptive
audience. The last stop we had in Hannover was at the Niedersaechsisches
Landgestuet Celle where they train warmblood stallions for riding and
stud purposes. They have students that live there to learn to ride and
train the horses properly. We were able to
see a few riders while there and went to their 90 acre riding area where
they had cross-country jumps set up. It made me want to hop onto the
next horse I saw and start jumping them all. I wish we could have stayed
there a bit longer, but we had to get onto
a bus to make it to the Norderney ferry on time.
In Norderney we got to visit with a husband and wife that are the veterinarians for the East Frisian islands. They had very interesting stories about working on the islands, about having to hop on a plane to get to emergency patients on other islands and carrying all of their equipment on their backs while riding a bicycle because a few of the islands do not have cars on them. It was clear that they live very unique lives, but of course the job is not without tragedy. One major downside to living on an island that is a slave to nature and the tides is that in the case of an emergency that needs higher technology unavailable on the island, such as a colic surgery, it is difficult to make it to a mainland veterinary hospital in time, after the ferry ride and the 3-4 hour drive. Despite those difficulties, it was clear that these veterinarians wouldn't change a thing. During our time on Norderney we got to experience these particular weather issues, on the first day with almost constant cold rain that we rode bikes in, walked on the mudflats in, and rode horses in, and then on the second day when we did a 5 mile bird watching hike in the sunshine with blasting wind. In spite of the poor weather, it was fun and an experience I'm glad to have had.
After Norderney, we needed a break, so a few of us decided to go to Zurich and just relax. We took a night train, which was an adventure on its own. First the train was 45 minutes late, so we did not board the train until almost midnight, only to find out that our car, which was supposed to be full of reclining seats, was instead a sleeping car with six beds to a room. After about ten minutes of confusion and a brief consultation with the conductor, we found out that those were in fact our beds and we settled in for the night. We were nervous about the sleeping car because on the first weekend of the trip, one of the girls in our group had her phone and wallet stolen from a locked car while she was sleeping, so we were a bit on edge when we found out that we were not the only ones in the room. We ended up with a man in our room that was headed to Freiburg, talked to him for a minute, then went to sleep. Around 4:00 in the morning, I was woken up by a police officer (and at my vantage point, all I could see was her gun in her holster, which woke me up completely). The officer wanted to know where we had come from, and I quickly (despite Lexie shouting "Zurich" over and over in her sleep) told her Norderney, which she then confirmed that we had not come through Amsterdam at all. I can only assume she was looking for illegal substances, and found out later that that particular train car had originated in Amsterdam, so it made since. An hour and a half later, I was woken up again by the conductor telling me that the Freiburg stop was in 30 minutes, so I had to wake up the other man in our room. It was a bit awkward and I think I scared him a bit, but he left without issue and we made it to Zurich without any major problems.
Zurich was beautiful and all we really did was wander around, pick up some snacks for the next week, and walk along the river until we got to Lake Zurich. It was such a nice break from the crazy pace of the previous three weeks, despite how expensive it was there ($8 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks - I will no longer complain about their prices in the US).
In Norderney we got to visit with a husband and wife that are the veterinarians for the East Frisian islands. They had very interesting stories about working on the islands, about having to hop on a plane to get to emergency patients on other islands and carrying all of their equipment on their backs while riding a bicycle because a few of the islands do not have cars on them. It was clear that they live very unique lives, but of course the job is not without tragedy. One major downside to living on an island that is a slave to nature and the tides is that in the case of an emergency that needs higher technology unavailable on the island, such as a colic surgery, it is difficult to make it to a mainland veterinary hospital in time, after the ferry ride and the 3-4 hour drive. Despite those difficulties, it was clear that these veterinarians wouldn't change a thing. During our time on Norderney we got to experience these particular weather issues, on the first day with almost constant cold rain that we rode bikes in, walked on the mudflats in, and rode horses in, and then on the second day when we did a 5 mile bird watching hike in the sunshine with blasting wind. In spite of the poor weather, it was fun and an experience I'm glad to have had.
After Norderney, we needed a break, so a few of us decided to go to Zurich and just relax. We took a night train, which was an adventure on its own. First the train was 45 minutes late, so we did not board the train until almost midnight, only to find out that our car, which was supposed to be full of reclining seats, was instead a sleeping car with six beds to a room. After about ten minutes of confusion and a brief consultation with the conductor, we found out that those were in fact our beds and we settled in for the night. We were nervous about the sleeping car because on the first weekend of the trip, one of the girls in our group had her phone and wallet stolen from a locked car while she was sleeping, so we were a bit on edge when we found out that we were not the only ones in the room. We ended up with a man in our room that was headed to Freiburg, talked to him for a minute, then went to sleep. Around 4:00 in the morning, I was woken up by a police officer (and at my vantage point, all I could see was her gun in her holster, which woke me up completely). The officer wanted to know where we had come from, and I quickly (despite Lexie shouting "Zurich" over and over in her sleep) told her Norderney, which she then confirmed that we had not come through Amsterdam at all. I can only assume she was looking for illegal substances, and found out later that that particular train car had originated in Amsterdam, so it made since. An hour and a half later, I was woken up again by the conductor telling me that the Freiburg stop was in 30 minutes, so I had to wake up the other man in our room. It was a bit awkward and I think I scared him a bit, but he left without issue and we made it to Zurich without any major problems.
Zurich was beautiful and all we really did was wander around, pick up some snacks for the next week, and walk along the river until we got to Lake Zurich. It was such a nice break from the crazy pace of the previous three weeks, despite how expensive it was there ($8 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks - I will no longer complain about their prices in the US).
Back in the states and finally posting: Week 2
I got tired of writing my blogs on an iPad that wouldn't format my blogs correctly, so I just saved them all for when I returned (then life caught up with me and I forgot). So here we go:
The second week of our trip started in Leipzig, where we spent most of our time at the Leipzig veterinary school. I thoroughly enjoyed touring this school because I am seriously considering returning to Germany to study veterinary medicine and Leipzig is likely where I would study, if everything works out. We got to visit the university's collection of historical veterinary tools, which was very fascinating and we learned that the students are required to spend two weeks working on the farmland owned by the university to get a feel of how agriculture works, which is especially important for those students that have never worked on or near a farm. The Leipzig vet school is currently Germany's most updated vet school and we were able to tour most of it to appreciate the campus. We got to go into the large animal clinic and go over some of the equine cases they had in the clinic (in between getting chased for a few seconds by a cow that escaped her stall - that was exciting) and our group was able to answer most of the questions about the cases; the professor was pretty impressed by our clinical knowledge as vet students that have only finished the first and second years. Also at the Leipzig vet school we got to join in on a surgical anatomy class where the students were learning the surgical approach for a hemilaminectomy, which we learned in neuro-anatomy ( in theory, not on an actual cadaver) so we were able to offer some help, which was fun. As a German speaker I also liked being able to hear the students interact in the dissection the same way we did in anatomy, such as deciding where exactly to cut and giving each other a (jokingly) hard time for cutting a bit wrong or not knowing what to do. We were taken on a tour of Leipzig that was very interesting. Leipzig is a city in eastern Germany, so during the Cold War, they were under Russian control. It was a good experience to walk through the streets and see the old buildings interspersed with modern ones as they continue to rebuild the city. There were also buildings used by Goethe and Bach that we passed and statues of each in the city.
After Leipzig, we moved on to Berlin. Berlin in a unique city - many parts have become very modern, but other buildings and monuments remain as constant reminders of the past, from WWII to the fall of the wall. We were able to go on a bicycle tour of the city where we went from the Brandenburg gate, past the Bundestag, and along the former wall boundaries. Berlin also has a veterinary school that we toured. Since our group is so large, they split us into two groups - one went to the small animal clinic and the other went to the equine clinic - so I ended up in the equine clinic. We toured their facilities for a bit and then the students came to take us around in smaller groups. My group ended up in a hernia repair surgery, which was really interesting for me because I had never seen any kind of equine surgery. Also at the school we got to sit in on a classroom case discussion about a neurological case (which unfortunately for the rest of the group was mostly in German). It was fun to see the similarities in the classroom setting and apply my neurological knowledge to the case. Of course the other appeal for our group in Berlin was the Berlin Zoo, where the famous polar bear (Eisbaer) Knut lived until his sudden and unexpected death. At the zoo we were led around by the head veterinarian and got to feed the hippos - from a safe distance above them - by using a powerful water hose to attract them over and to get them to open their mouths so we could throw bread in.
That weekend we decided to go to Prague, which was a unique experience. There were some pitfalls along the way and it was difficult navigating the city with the entire group. Despite that we managed to have a good time. We went to the Prague Castle, walked on the Charles Bridge, explored the old town square, tried to go to the Jewish Quarter (it was closed for a holiday), and went to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments (which was creepy, but interesting). We also decided to spend the majority of one day at the Theresienstadt concentration camp outside of Prague. It made the day a bit longer, but it was worth it for the experience. That particular camp was used for Nazi propaganda films showing opposing forces that the camps "were not that bad" and that they really were just relocation camps for the Jews. This camp was where many of the Jewish composers, playwrights, writers, and artists were sent, which helped keep up the image the propaganda films needed. The camp was mostly used as a "halfway camp" before sending the prisoners to the extermination camps in Poland; however more than 30,000 people still died there.
The second week of our trip started in Leipzig, where we spent most of our time at the Leipzig veterinary school. I thoroughly enjoyed touring this school because I am seriously considering returning to Germany to study veterinary medicine and Leipzig is likely where I would study, if everything works out. We got to visit the university's collection of historical veterinary tools, which was very fascinating and we learned that the students are required to spend two weeks working on the farmland owned by the university to get a feel of how agriculture works, which is especially important for those students that have never worked on or near a farm. The Leipzig vet school is currently Germany's most updated vet school and we were able to tour most of it to appreciate the campus. We got to go into the large animal clinic and go over some of the equine cases they had in the clinic (in between getting chased for a few seconds by a cow that escaped her stall - that was exciting) and our group was able to answer most of the questions about the cases; the professor was pretty impressed by our clinical knowledge as vet students that have only finished the first and second years. Also at the Leipzig vet school we got to join in on a surgical anatomy class where the students were learning the surgical approach for a hemilaminectomy, which we learned in neuro-anatomy ( in theory, not on an actual cadaver) so we were able to offer some help, which was fun. As a German speaker I also liked being able to hear the students interact in the dissection the same way we did in anatomy, such as deciding where exactly to cut and giving each other a (jokingly) hard time for cutting a bit wrong or not knowing what to do. We were taken on a tour of Leipzig that was very interesting. Leipzig is a city in eastern Germany, so during the Cold War, they were under Russian control. It was a good experience to walk through the streets and see the old buildings interspersed with modern ones as they continue to rebuild the city. There were also buildings used by Goethe and Bach that we passed and statues of each in the city.
After Leipzig, we moved on to Berlin. Berlin in a unique city - many parts have become very modern, but other buildings and monuments remain as constant reminders of the past, from WWII to the fall of the wall. We were able to go on a bicycle tour of the city where we went from the Brandenburg gate, past the Bundestag, and along the former wall boundaries. Berlin also has a veterinary school that we toured. Since our group is so large, they split us into two groups - one went to the small animal clinic and the other went to the equine clinic - so I ended up in the equine clinic. We toured their facilities for a bit and then the students came to take us around in smaller groups. My group ended up in a hernia repair surgery, which was really interesting for me because I had never seen any kind of equine surgery. Also at the school we got to sit in on a classroom case discussion about a neurological case (which unfortunately for the rest of the group was mostly in German). It was fun to see the similarities in the classroom setting and apply my neurological knowledge to the case. Of course the other appeal for our group in Berlin was the Berlin Zoo, where the famous polar bear (Eisbaer) Knut lived until his sudden and unexpected death. At the zoo we were led around by the head veterinarian and got to feed the hippos - from a safe distance above them - by using a powerful water hose to attract them over and to get them to open their mouths so we could throw bread in.
That weekend we decided to go to Prague, which was a unique experience. There were some pitfalls along the way and it was difficult navigating the city with the entire group. Despite that we managed to have a good time. We went to the Prague Castle, walked on the Charles Bridge, explored the old town square, tried to go to the Jewish Quarter (it was closed for a holiday), and went to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments (which was creepy, but interesting). We also decided to spend the majority of one day at the Theresienstadt concentration camp outside of Prague. It made the day a bit longer, but it was worth it for the experience. That particular camp was used for Nazi propaganda films showing opposing forces that the camps "were not that bad" and that they really were just relocation camps for the Jews. This camp was where many of the Jewish composers, playwrights, writers, and artists were sent, which helped keep up the image the propaganda films needed. The camp was mostly used as a "halfway camp" before sending the prisoners to the extermination camps in Poland; however more than 30,000 people still died there.
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