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Cheers To The A-team
The A-team enjoys a champagne in Heidelberg. (From Left: Jason Lettmann, Jason Godley, Ben Potter (Back), Christie Clark, Matt Comstock, and Me. The Heidelberg Castle is pictured in the background.
As a continuation of this semester’s IMAP project, our team flew to Germany on Friday to conduct primary research - interviewing physicians and patients groups across the country. We first flew into Frankfurt on Saturday and rented two black Mercedes E200s before making our way to the Marriot hotel in downtown Frankfurt. That night we had dinner as a team at an ‘authentic’ German restaurant. After dinner we took in the local pubs where we enjoyed delicious Hefeweissen and Pils beer.
Fahren Auf Den Autobahn
This was our means of transportation while on the Autobahn. The GPS navigation was a life saver. The E200 is the machine of choice.
On Sunday morning we split into two groups of three. Team North was responsible for traveling to Hanover and Düsseldorf to conduct physician interviews, and my group – Team South, was responsible for interviews in Munich, Augsburg, and Wiesbaden. The first stop for Team South was Munich where we stayed at the Tryp Hotel downtown. Munich is a very clean and modern city, yet it is still steeped in German heritage and tradition.
On Monday, after our interviews at the University of Munich, we took advantage of the pleasant weather and sat outside enjoying Hefeweissen in the sun. Later that evening we enjoyed dinner and steins of Hofbräu at the Hofbräuhaus (of Oktoberfest fame).
2nd Beer In Munich
Jason Lettmann and I with heffeweissen number 2.
Me & My Beer
Me and my delicicious stein of Hofbräu.
Drunkel Dunkel
Jason and Matt decide to try a dunkel at the Hofbräuhaus.
The next day we traveled to Wiesbaden via Augsburg. Augsburg is a great little city, reminiscent in many ways of Boulder with its collegiate atmosphere and thoughtful urban design.
Later that afternoon, Team South pulled into Uberlingen, a small village nestled between Lake Constance and the hills of the Austrian and Swiss borders. We didn’t have a hotel reservation, but we luckily managed to stumble upon the ‘Bad Hotel’ (which was actually quite good) right on Lake Constance.
Bad, But Good
This was the best bad hotel I'd ever been to.
The next morning we drove North through the Black Forest to reconvene with Team North in Heidelberg. We were somewhat disappointed that we weren’t able to find any Black Forest ham.
We arrived at the Heidelberg Marriot that evening and traded stories with Team North over Bitburger beer on the 3rd floor executive lounge, with clear views of ‘Schloss’ (the Heidelberg castle) and the Neckar river below.
The Rheumatology conference in Heidelberg was, from a research perspective, the apex of our trip. Dr. Lorenz, the conference organizer was gracious enough to grant us (as complete strangers) full access to the conference, and introduced our entire team to the conference attendees. He also set up a meeting with some of the most recognized names in the field – which made our work much easier. He also invited us to a formal dinner for the physicians at the ‘Molkenkur über Heidelberg’ which was located over the site of the old Heidelberg castle and which overlooked the city from the foothills. We were all shocked that we, as total strangers, would be received with such graciousness.
One last day in Heidelberg, a tour of the castle, and some beers at an outdoor cafe brought an end to out trip. We boarded the flight back to Detroit from Frankfurt and said goodbye to suds, sausage, and schnitzel... at least for the time being.
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