Hello my wonderful blog readers! Before I explain my entire trip to Berlin and Poland, I want to say hi to whoever is reading my blog in Russia and Sweden! Blogger makes it really easy to track views on your blog, and I was looking at it the other day and noticed there were people reading this from all over the world! Many thanks to my friends abroad for adding to the diversity! But anyway, this blog is about my long study tour with my Medical Practice and Policy core class to Berlin, Germany and Poznan, Poland. I will keep it as short as possible, and promise to add pictures when I can get them off my camera!
My section went to Berlin first, and then traveled to Poland halfway through the trip. We took a bus to Germany, getting there in time for dinner and a tour of the Jewish History Museum in Berlin. The architecture of the building was fabulous! There were so many different meanings behind the shape. If you have a chance, I would highly recommend visiting and taking a tour. We had our first meal at the museum, and it was amazing. DIS always makes sure you are well fed, and this was no exception!
Russian olive trees in the Garden of Exile, Jewish Museum, Berlin
Monday we went to the DDR museum in the morning to learn about communist East Germany. I was amazed to feel the clothes they wore - I am very grateful for cotton pants now! The visit got my friends and me thinking about how strange it must have been to grow up with Germany being two countries. I only know it as one! It's something history classes never really have time to touch on, yet it is a huge part of the 20th century! We learned more about East and West Germany when we went on a great bike tour of Berlin in the afternoon. I am already planning a bike tour in Paris in November, they are a great way to see the city (especially when you've been riding a bike all around Copenhagen for weeks and are highly skilled in your cycling hand signals and stopping quickly). On the tour we saw the TV Tower, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenberg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Museum Island, among other spots in the city. It was fabulous!
The third largest existing portion of the Berlin Wall
Tuesday was our first day with academic visits. We visited the German Heart Institute, learned about what they do and then headed into the wards! We saw a man with an artificial heart for both sides, and next to him a man with an artificial heart for the left side. The difference is that one is placed outside the body and one is inside the chest cavity. The men are on the transplant list and can survive with the artificial devices for up to five years, so we hope they get hearts before then! We also visited the intensive care unit (ICU) and saw many patients returning from surgery. The ICU is very expensive, but necessary for all patients coming out of heart surgery. For this reason, the institution spends a lot of time fundraising to support their procedures.
Wednesday, before traveling to Poland, we went to the Center for Anatomy, located at Germany's largest hospital located on the outskirts of Berlin. Here we discussed the importance of cadaver anatomy and continued hands-on learning, and were allowed into a laboratory to examine four cadavers medical students had dissected last semester (in Germany the school year starts in late October). It was so amazing to be given this opportunity, as I have only ever used cats, sheep and pigs in lab. My favorite part was examaning the lungs - they feel like a huge sponge when healthy, but rock hard when damaged by tobacco and pollution. No wonder people who smoke have breathing trouble! After the lab visit, we went to the Medical History Museum also on the hospital campus. Here we had a great tour guide explain important parts of medical history and show us the thousands of specimens that have been donated since the collection began in the early 1700's. Normal and abnormal structures were perfectly preserved in jars, then placed in glass cases in large rooms for viewing. It was amazing.
Wednesday night we discovered the gem of a hotel DIS found in Poland. Complete with a sauna and American-style continental breakfast, we really hit the jackpot. It was so nice to have scrambled eggs and bacon! In Poznan, our main visits were to the gynecology/labor and pediatric wards of the hospital. On Thursday I spoke with a women who had given birth 10 hours before - her baby was adorable and perfectly healthy! Friday we visited children in the pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) ward. Many had genetic disorders of the GI tract, and one adorable five year old was malnourished from an ulcer in her small intestine. She was in too much pain to eat, but since being in the hospital had gained 5 kilos (about 12 pounds)! She was so cute, and luckily was being discharged soon! The visits in Poznan were very interesting, gender roles are not equal at all in Poland, and their medical treatment is behind western Europe and the US. For example, they still regularly use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) as a pain killer during child labor due to the cost of epidurals. I have not once met a women in the US who has recently given birth who was offered nitrous oxide. We mainly use epidurals. That was interesting.
Town square in Poznan
Other than medical visits, we had a walking tour of the city and went to a chocolate house! I loved Poland, it was the perfect size, nothing is expensive, everyone is friendly and the food is amazing. My entire group loved the peirogies, Polish dumplings with potato or meat filling. So good. Poznan also had amazing malls and we spent our free time Thursday shopping until our feet hurt. Which didn't take very long since our hospital visits did not include chairs. Friday evening after an amazing final dinner together, we boarded our bus and drove overnight to Copenhagen. Our ferry from Germany was at six am! Other than the cold ferry and my forgetting to use the bathroom when I could, the ride back wasn't bad! I made sure I had two bus seats to stretch out on and brought a blanket and neck pillow from home just for that purpose! Such a smart decision. Our drive was uneventful and soon we were home again!
Frozen hot chocolate - YUM!
I absolutely loved my long study tour, DIS does a fantastic job organizing the trip and including multiple cultural and academic visits throughout the week. The food was amazing, probably too amazing, as I am going to the gym extra this week to make up for the fabulous meals! Our hostel in Berlin and hotel in Poznan were great and had delicious breakfasts! So much Nutella... I promise to add pictures on this post as soon as I can, I have a ridiculous amount of photos from last week. My mom and sister are arriving in Copenhagen on Thursday (YAY!!!) with my new laptop in tow. Which I will guard with my life. And a laptop lock. We are headed to Stockholm this weekend, so look for a post on that soon! And I will have more posts later this week... think cupcakes. :D
Until then,
Devon.
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