Monday, May 7, 2012

Aachen, Chocolate Museum, and Customs


On Wednesday, April 25 we went to the Helmholtz Institute in Aachen for cardiovascular engineering. We had a presentation on the work done there, which includes valve projects, total artificial hearts, lung assists, and research about blood flow through all these devices, durability, how to best attach devices, and other things. I thought it was very interesting to see all the engineering that has to go into these devices that you might not think about, such as the complex machines that simulate normal blood flow so they can see how the device will affect the blood's normal flow. I also thought it was interesting when we saw the machine shop where they make all the devices, and the guide told us you learn a lot by working with those people because sometimes an engineer will have a really good idea for a design but it's impossible to manufacture, so the machinists will offer suggestions about how the design could be modified so it is possible to manufacture. Sometimes when you come up with an idea you don't always think about how it would actually be made, so it was interesting to hear about how much needs to come into consideration. Another thing that was really surprising was when we learned that companies that make devices will often choose not to make a device more automatic if they can because legally it makes them liable if something goes wrong, whereas if they leave it up to the surgeon or patient to adjust, they are no longer liable if something goes wrong. It was surprising because it seemed counter-productive to technological advancement.
After the Helmholtz Institute, we went to the Aachen Cathedral, which was really neat because we got to see the throne,
and go into the treasury and see the reliquaries.
We also may or may not have seen Charlemagne's bones, depending on what you believe. I especially liked the wall paintings.
I also really enjoyed hearing about some of the history of the Cathedral like the bronze banisters which had turned black because they stopped being polished, and the pillars which the French had stolen. Also there were relics inside the Shrine of St. Mary which are claimed to be some piece of John the Baptist's clothing, Christ's swaddling clothes, and Mary's cloak.

It was cool that even though they couldn't prove for sure that they actually were what they claimed to be, they could prove that it was from the right time period.
The next day, Thursday, I got to watch the Biomedical engineering students give their device design presentations, which was fun because I learned a lot even though I didn't do a device design project myself, and I thought they were really cool.
On Friday the most exciting thing to happen was the farewell party. It felt a little weird because we hadn't actually taken our finals yet, unlike some of the other groups, so it felt strange to celebrate before the semester was actually over. We were still able to have fun though, and it was really nice of the AIB people to put in the work for party for us. It felt like just a while ago that we were at the welcome party, and now we're almost finished with the program.
Most of the rest of the weekend was devoted to studying and writing my paper for 485, but on Saturday I did go with Megan to the Chocolate Museum in Köln. Yes, the long-awaited Chocolate Museum! After multiple failed attempts to go here, I finally got to experience the legendary Chocolate Museum of Köln. It was really fun, and at the end we went to the chocolate shop attached to the museum, where we went just a little bit crazy spending our money on wonderful chocolate. On the way back we rode the chocolate express because it was rather warm outside and we didn't want the chocolate to melt. We thought it would be just a funny little train that took us back to the Cathedral, but it turned out to be a mini-tour. It alternated between German and English, so there wasn't a whole lot of new information, but it was still really fun to ride on the little train. We ended up going to the Hard Rock cafe for dinner, which we also thoroughly enjoyed. We decided to split an appetizer and a burger, and both were so delicious that we kept congratulating ourselves on our choices.
Most of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were taken up with studying and writing my paper. On Wednesday I had my physiology and history of medicine finals, and on Thursday I had my differential equations final. It was a relief to have them over with, but I still had some minor details to take care of. For example, the day before I had gotten a letter that a package my mom sent had been detained at the customs office because it did not say what was in it on the outside. My host mom helped me get directions to the customs office and figure out what tram to take, so after my final on Thursday I went to see if they would give me my package. I took the tram down to Ramersdorf and found the customs office, or Zollamt, fairly easily with the directions my host mom had given me. I then had to wait approximately 15 to 20 minutes in line, wondering the whole time if I was in the right room for picking up packages. I reassured myself by trying to read the German signs, which seemed to indicate that I was in the correct place. When I got to the front I showed them my letter, and the girl behind the counter went and got my package. She asked me if I knew what was inside, so I said that it should be a jacket, and then she asked me to open it. I was a little confused since I could clearly see where post office form had been taped, and under the area that said “Detailed description of contents,” I saw that my mom had listed “clothes” and “candy.” But I did what she asked, and when it turned out that yes, my mom had indeed sent me my jacket along with some candy, the girl had me sign and date a piece of paper and then I was done. The whole experience was a little annoying, since I'm still not sure why the package was detained as it clearly listed what was inside, but they didn't charge me any money so there was no serious problem.
After running a few more errands, I was ready to go to Munich! Some of us whiled away the hours until our night train at the AIB, wrapping up the loose ends of a differential equations project, or watching Katie make etouffee, a wonderfully relaxing end to a stressful but productive day.

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