Week 2: January 16-22

This week has been full of ups and downs, learning, adventures, and new experiences.  So far, school has been really good. I absolutely love physiology! Learning about how the body functions is the coolest thing to me. And history of medicine is so interesting. It amazes me how much information Dr. Wasser knows on the subject. On Thursday, I had a very productive night and got all my homework done, and I finally applied to grad school. Despite my unusual nighttime productivity burst (I usually work best in the mornings), I started to feel a bit stressed and overwhelmed. Now that school is kicking into gear, I’m realizing that it’s going to be a challenge to balance a full workload, traveling on the weekends, and finding time to rest.

The train/tram system has given me quite the headache this week. On Monday, Erin and I decided to take a different route than usual (which we’ll never do again). We thought we were going the wrong direction just to switch directions and realize we were right the first time. Then, we decided to ditch the tram and take the train, but we had to take a round-about way to get across the tracks and just barely made it on to the train, completely out of breath from running down the streets of Bad Godesberg. On Tuesday, the tram I planned on taking didn’t come, and the next one wasn’t for 15 minutes, which would cut it super close to the start of class. Then, the tram drove as slow as possible, and I had to get off one stop early and speed walk to class. I made it with 30 seconds to spare. And then Dr. Wasser canceled class. On Friday/Saturday, we took an overnight train to Interlaken, Switzerland. This train, however, had a 4-hour layover from 1am to 5am in Basel that I was less than thrilled about. Fortunately and unfortunately, there were trespassers on the tracks and an accident occurred that diverted the route and caused a 90-minute delay. So, we ended up only spending 2.5 hours in Basel. And then to cap it all off, on Sunday, our first train from Interlaken was supposed to stop in Mannheim, but due to railroad construction, terminated in Basel. So, we had to get on our second train in Basel instead of in Mannheim. And then the train was super crowded because of all of the changes to routes going into Cologne. Then, the RB26 back to Bonn was canceled so we had to take STR16 all the way home. But we made it!

Spending the weekend in Interlaken, though, was an incredible experience! Switzerland is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been. Interlaken is set in the valley of the Swiss Alps, and its small-town feel, crystal blue lakes, and powdery snow made it just magical. A few of us found a hiking trail that highlighted an event venue, multiple outlooks, an old wooden bridge, and a gazebo that all looked out over the towns below. It was about 11°F when we got off the train Saturday morning, and it probably rose to about 25°F by the afternoon. So, it was very cold. But thankfully, the sun was out for most of the hike, and when it did start to snow, it was so pretty. I don’t think I’ll ever think snow is cool anywhere else anymore after experiencing the snow in Switzerland. On Sunday, I went kayaking on Lake Brienz. Everyone thought we were crazy for planning to kayak on a lake in sub-zero temperatures. And we probably were, but it was such a cool experience! It was snowing, the church bells were ringing in the background, and there was no one else out on the lake. It was so serene and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.