https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757 Stories & photos from College of Vet Med students who traveled to Germany to get a global perspective on food safety, infectious disease & public issues. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30289 domal@illinois.edu Sat, 19 Jun 2010 14:30:00 CDT We arrived safely at the Hotel Bischofshol in Hannover, where we spent the next few days. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30290 domal@illinois.edu Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:30:00 CDT Professor Hansjoachim Hackbarth, an expert on animal welfare and one of the professors that was going to teach us during our trip (incidentally, also Dr. Hoenig's classmate from veterinary school) picked us up at the hotel and we all went to see downtown Hannover. It was a very hot day. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30291 domal@illinois.edu Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:30:00 CDT My day began with a 6am wake up. After getting ready, I had breakfast and went for a walk on the paths in the forest behind our hotel. The hotel provided a beautiful breakfast buffet with cheese, meats, breads, eggs, cereals, juices and coffee. The walk in the forest was refreshing and full of bicyclists on their way to school and work. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30293 domal@illinois.edu Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:45:00 CDT We began our morning by having breakfast at our hotel in Hannover. Some of the students ran or walked in the forest preserve before or after breakfast. Then we all loaded in the van to head to the veterinary college in Hannover. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30294 domal@illinois.edu Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:45:00 CDT We started off the morning not knowing exactly what to expect. On our way to a slaughterhouse south of Hanover, I wondered how it would compare and contrast to the abattoirs I had seen in the States. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30296 domal@illinois.edu Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:45:00 CDT This morning we traveled to the Verden District on the Aller River to visit the Mobile Infectious Control Center. Since a large part of my internship with the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) last summer involved emergency response planning, I was excited to see what was involved with disaster planning in Germany. When we arrived, I found that the location was pretty much what I expected: a series of trailers and warehouses surrounding a mostly-empty parking lot. It seemed pretty desolate during our visit, but of course that extra space is necessary during an emergency. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30297 domal@illinois.edu Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:00:00 CDT This morning we had our breakfast in Hannover (the usual), then loaded up the vans and hit the road. Tschss Hannover! We started heading west towards Dr. Helmut Surborgs practice in Wahrenholz. Dr. Surborg is a large animal practitioner and also a Representative at the Lower Saxony Veterinary Association. We arrived at his home, which also houses the small animal practice that his wife runs. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30298 domal@illinois.edu Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:00:00 CDT On our own, we set out to explore Berlin in different groups. Five of us took a bus tour to see the sites. The City Circle Bus Tour was a hop-on/hop-off individual tour that made 16 stops around the city. We started at Checkpoint Charlie. President Kennedy ordered it built along with two other checkpoints, Alpha and Bravo, after the Berlin Wall was built. At the checkpoints, allied forces could enter West Berlin. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30299 domal@illinois.edu Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:00:00 CDT A lovely Sunday started with the typical scrumptious German hotel breakfast before heading out for the day. The plan was to take a bicycle tour of sites important to Third Reich history. Fortunately, the bicycle shop also offered rather cheap laundry, so one of our companions took us up on the opportunity to have some clothes cleaned. https://illinois.edu/blog/view/757/30300 domal@illinois.edu Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:15:00 CDT Today, we left early in the morning Destination: Greifswald and the Isle of Riems! After our drive and lunch at a local restaurant Waldeslust, we headed to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) what would be equivalent to the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in the United States/Plum Island, Professor Thomas Mettenleiter, President of the Institute, greeted us and gave us a brief history on the Isle of Riems, the virus research conducted on the island, biosecurity issues, and on Friedrich Loefflers important discoveries (founder of the Institute).