Migrations

 

On our second weekend, we headed north to the Hula Valley which is nestled between the Galilee and Golan Heights. From this area, one can see directly into Lebanon. Because it is a swamp, it is a perfect spot for birds on making their way from Russia to Ethiopia. At one of the pools, we saw huge numbers of pelicans, cranes, and ducks. There were even a few lone flamingos and kingfishers. Above you can see the overwhelming quantities of birds gathered. A local nature guide told us that 44,000 birds were there on that day, well above the norm. I can't remember the figure, but several million pass through every season. We will post more pictures soon.

Back from Israel

We returned from Israel last night. The trip was great and we will post new entries and upload photos soon. The only problem is that our modem is broken and I am typing this from an internet cafe. Updates to follow ---- End Transmission ----

Congratulations Danielle!

 

Danielle finally had her interview at Sankt Hedwig Krankenhaus (Hospital) on Monday and she got the internship! She'll be starting in the urology department when we return from Israel on 11 May.

It's not Snakes on a Plane, It's Cat on a Train!

 

This was my neighbor during my ride back to Zurich this morning.

Beware of Unexploded Ordnance

 

When I returned back to my hotel last night at 9, I was greeted by the Friedrichshafen volunteer fire brigade and a police barricade. When I asked if I could go into the hotel, the police explained that the whole square block had been evacuated because of a gas leak. They told me it would be a couple of hours. I already felt a great blog post coming.

I was directed to the huge tents set up by the Red Cross. They were serving all the residents tea, coffee, cookies, and a choice of cheese or ham sandwiches. There was even a heater to make sure that everyone was warm on the chilly autumn evening. I took a seat in a group of older folks (ex-Nazis?) and struck up a conversation with the man seated next to me. He explained more fully why a gas leak would result in the evacuation of 200 people in the middle of the night...

During WWII, the allies flattened Friedrichshafen because it was a major center of armament production. Dornier Aircraft (the planes used to try and bomb the British into submission) was based in the town. When the city was rebuilt, there wasn't a systematic search for any bombs that may have been left unexploded. So last night, when an industrial drill was brought to reach the source of the gas leak, there was some fear that it might hit one of the bombs. This made for an interesting history lesson.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and Boats)

 

I went to visit my professor in Friedrichshafen for my first time on Monday and Tuesday. Friedrichshafen is a small town in Southern Germany that sits on Lake Constance (or Bodensee in German). Back in the day, it was the spot where the Zeppelin blimps were built. There is even a small memorial outside the town to the people who died in the Hindenburg explosion in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Friedrichshafen is not easy to get to and my journey there started at 3:30 am in Berlin. I took a subway and a bus to reach the airport. From there, I took an airplane to Zurich. At the airport, I boarded a train to a town called Romanshorn on the Swiss side of Bodensee. Right outside the train station was a boat waiting to take me to across the lake. Finally in Friedrichshafen, I took a bus to reach to university. The whole trip took 8 hours. Better than Steve Martin and John Candy during Christmas.

*Correction

Our neighbor popped by today to let us know that there have been one (or more) attempts to break into apartments in our building. Don't worry, he told us, they aren't interested in killing anybody, just taking any random s@#% that may be lying around our hallway.

Our last post said our neighborhood was safe, but I'm going to have to go negative on that one. We've responded to this terrorist threat by putting a rickety old chain across the front door and rubbing worry beads we picked up at the local Turkish market between our fingers. But hey, let's not get too excited. This is nothing compared to the shooting we had in our garage back in Oakland.