Auf Wiedersehen, Deutschland. Bis Naechstes Mal.

What can I say, it seemed like yesterday I got on the plane to London from Miami and then 8 hours later took the train from Munich to Regensburg. Now, I'm typing away on my computer in room in Florida, more than 4700 miles away ( that's about 7600 km). After my last post, I only had about seven work days left not including the weekend. On the last thursday of my internship, my supervisor, Robert, came back from his honey moon in Venezuela. My total work included some synthesis reactions with thiophosphenes and the following workups but the PhD students didn't really have much other than that for me to do since I had so little time left. I spent a lot of my time during that last week in Regensburg with friends I made both in and outside of lab. I played lots of soccer/Fussball, beach volleyball, and took in the Regensburg night life, which is pretty decent for the small town that it is.

My family flew in to Munich on the 21st of July, a Monday and rented a car and drove to Regensburg to see me. I gave them a tour of the lab as well as and introduced them to all of my colleagues and, of course, the PI, Dr. Koenig. As for German culture, it was interesting noting my family's reactions to things that I had come accustomed to, such as drinking, general cleanliness in the city, and German organisation (like all things associated with a culture, these mentioned items are more like generalities and are not absolutes).

On my last working day with AK Koenig (AK = Arbeitskreis (working group)) I invited the three colleagues who worked in lab to dinner with my family and I. The three included Robert, my main supervisor, Stefan, my "adopted" supervisor, and Ralph, another undergraduate working in the lab. I'm going to miss working with them and all of AK Koenig. They really embody the paradigm of a great research group. While they all concentrated and focused on their different research projects, they also shared other common interests outside of research such as cooking, sports, and, of course, drinking. Combined with being German, it was a unique camaraderie that I was glad to be a part of and sad that I had to leave it so soon.

Fellow labmates on my last night in Regensburg. From left to right: Stefan, Robert, and Ralph.

The following day, my family and I left Regensburg to embark on our roundtrip tour of Europe. From Regensburg, we would proceed on to Leipzig, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and finally, Munich. Leipzig and a part of Berlin used to belong to the old DDR or in English GDR, the German Democratic Republic aka East Germany, and so naturally I found the cold war history the most interesting part during my time there. Aside from the communist pipes sticking into the streets, my first encounter with the cold war was the Stasi Museum, which had a pretty thorough collection of historical items as well as the paper shredders the Stasi used to destroy their documents when the wall was coming down. Leipzig is also well known as one of the hometowns of Johann Sebastian Bach and so we visited his statue as well as the church where he conducted and composed music.

My sister and I at the Stasi Museum.

Berlin has a lot of things to see and do and, therefore, it is a must on anyone's trip to Germany. There's definitely too much to be done in the two and a half short days we were there but thankfully a lot of the interesting things are centrally located near the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament).

The Reichstag, the center of German politics in the country's capital, Berlin. It was set afire in 1933 by a Dutch communist and then survived the Siege in 1945. The remnants of the SS made their last stand here against the Soviets in the Battle of Berlin. Today, tourists can go up on the roof and walk up the glass dome.

The Holocaust Memorial. There is a museum located underneath. It is adjacent one block to the Brandenburg gate.

The Brandenburg Gate. After Napoleon conquered Prussia, current day Germany, he had it dismantled and sent back to the Louvre in Paris. When Napoleon was later defeated and ousted from power, the Prussians or Germans took it back.

If you wanted to visit a city that made you feel like you were back in the 18th century then Prague is the place to be. Sadly, we were only able to see the main tourist sites like the castle and old city, which, although very pretty and worth seeing, were way too packed with tourists from all parts of Europe and the world. It almost felt like the Disneyworld of Europe, except with no rides. I would definitely go back to Prague and the Czech Republic again but I don't have interest to be in the tourist soaked areas, which are full of overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops.

Old Town at Prague, or Praha. The Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than Germany.

Vienna, or Wien (pronounced Veen), is probably might favorite big city in Europe. The city and architecture are both old and beautiful and complemented by the endless list of things to do. Perhaps Berlin would have been as equally as visually pleasing if it had not been leveled by the Allies in WWII. Among the many tourist favorites, we visited the National Library, Habsburg Palace, Art and Natural History Museums, and we even had Wiener Schnitzel. I also recommend the coffee. Ask for Wiener (Remember "Vee-ner") Melange if you ever stop in a cafe there. Beethoven also had an appartment in Vienna that you can visit.

Wiener Schnitzel. On the left of course.

Vienna Opera House. We just took a tour inside. It is out of season in the summer.

Salzburg is probably Austria's (Oesterreich in German) most popular little city as it was the birthplace of Mozart. We went to the Mozart dinner concert in a thousand year old restaurant. Aside from the River boat cruise and the Church, the only reason you go to Salzburg is to take in the history Mozart. You can visit both his family's residence and his house of birth there. Hotel service was below marginal.

View of Salzburg from the Castle.

Munich would have probably been more fun if I hadn't already done everything by myself before my family came but I still had fun, nonetheless. We visited the Deutsches Museum, the biggest science museum in the world, the BMW World, and Neuschwanstein (Noy-sh-von-stein) which is about an hour outside of Munich. Neuschwanstein is THE castle to see in Germany. Its not a real "castle" in the defensive aspect but more of a palace than anything. It's set in a really beautiful part of the Bavarian Alps. We also stopped by the mountain town of Mittenwald, known for its violins, ski resorts and most importantly, food. No where have I had such good luck in randomly picking restaurants and being so satisfied afterwords. Remember, Mittenwald = GOOD FOOD.

Messerschmitt 262 at the Deutsches Museum. It was the first turbojet fighter plane to be used in war. It made its debut in the European theater of WWII.

View of Bavarian Alps from Neuschwanstein.

And so the next day, I bid farewell to the country I had grown to love and become a part of in almost every cultural aspect. (I didn't get to wear Lederhosen, which is traditionally only Bavarian and Austrian, but I would have bought myself a pair if the average price wasn't around €2oo.) And now I'm sitting here back at home once more again, reflecting on the many adventures and friends I had made. Unforgettable is probably the best way I can describe it.

I hope to share more of my experiences in and out of lab when I get back to Emory. Until then, enjoy the rest of summer.

Thanks again everyone in IRES for helping make this possible. Vielen Dank.

Best wishes or Viele Grüße aus Melbourne, Florida,

Miguel