Swiss tourist 1: Fribourg and Bern

Hi everyone!
My first weekend trip of Swiss travelling is officially done, and I can add two beautiful cities to my "been there" checklist.
First up was Fribourg on Saturday. Being only 45 minutes by train from Lausanne, we got there around 9:30 in the morning. It was, unfortunately, raining. BUT, what does one do when it's raining and there is a massive shopping mall right across from the station? One goes shopping of course!! :D Not too much was bought in our approximate hour inside, but the weather did lighten marginally when we went back outside. We wandered a little aimlessly around to get our bearings a little, and then decided to have an early lunch since the weather was not ideal.

We ended up at a very nice Italian gelateria and restaurant in the walking street running through the town centre. Food was great and ice cream better so we were pretty pleased at the end of it.

Our main plan for Fribourg, however, was to play the infamous "CITY GOLF". My boyfriend is very big on golf, and when I found this I thought we might have a bit of a laugh while seeing the city. It turned out to be a lot of fun, starting off with a map, two balls, and a club to share and going "hole-hunting" through the city. 18 in total, the holes were placed all around, some in small secluded parks hidden in the steep ridges below the city, some on playgrounds that lay along the river in the valley. The weather got progressively better, and ended up as sunshine towards the evening. The whole round took about 4 hours, and we got to see the city from all sides, including bridges, the cathedral, the convent (we were apparently walking the same route as a large group of nuns-on-tour, they looked at us a little suspiciously when we played our hole diligently right outside a smaller church where there also happened to be a wedding going on), the river, sheep... It really turned out to be a great day, and we really got a feel of the city although it was quiet.

 

 

So that was Fribourg, we left at about 17:30 and headed north to Bern.
It was actually only 15 minutes on the train to Bern, so our first excursion didn't take us that far from Lausanne. Bern was quite busy on the Saturday evening, and there was a nice buzz to the city when we arrived. Our hotel was really only a couple of hundred meters from the train station, and it was easy to find. We checked in an relaxed for a half hour (we had played an 18-hole golf course... sort of...). We went out pretty fast though, as we were getting hungry. We were really in the old-town part of the city, and the streets were small with lowrise buildings. I was surprised to find the city so "old-fashioned"-- I had expected the capital of Switzerland to be bigger and more busy??

We strolled around for a bit looking for places to eat,  and as we had differing food-wishes this took a while. We finally settled on what you could call a Swiss "pub"-- we ate schnitzel and spoke German to the Swiss-German speaking waitress, were largely confused at what she was saying, and generally enjoyed our meal. We were done with dinner quite late, and after a long day it was nice to go straight to sleep.

In the morning we had breakfast (included in our hotel deal), and headed out to the national history museum. We had booked tickets to see the exhibition "Qin"-- with a group of real teracotta warriors from China that is touring and is in Bern this summer. The exhibition was actually really interesting, even for me who really has no concept of the ancient Chinese emperors. Coming out I felt like I had really learnt something at least about the life of the "first emperor", but I guess I'm still in doubt as to how 8000 stone warriors buried in the ground would help him in the afterlife... but what do I know? It really made me want to go see the site of the excavation in China in real life!

The rest of the day we spent exploring the old town- it's on a sort of peninsula defined by the river that runs past the city. Bern has a brown-BEAR park... as in real BEARS :D They were really cute, and their green area by the river was really nice so I wasn't too angry they were there. I was told I could not take one home, and that I really only wanted to hug it because it looked small from where we were standing. I chose to ignore this reasoning and still want a bear. It wasn't just in the park there were bears though, they are the symbol of the city, and various statues all around the city portray them. We saw the house where Einstein lived for two years, we saw the old clock-tower, we saw the cathedral. We had lunch outside (it was really nice weather!) at another Italian restaurant (one can't deny the influence of the Italian cuisine in Swiss food culture... it's everywhere!). We saw the rose garden (not really blooming but nice anyway). We left around 17 after feeling like we had seen the sights (at least the ones recommended to us via the iphone app for tourism in Bern...). I really loved Bern-- it was a cosy town and really quiet, and beautifully perched above the river. The only thing not to like is that this is where my june exams will be sent to be marked.

 

 

 

So that's Bern for you :) It's really worth a visit I think.
Next up is Schaffhausen, Zurich, and Lucerne! Enjoying my Swiss experience while I can!
xx Therese

Some wise words from the Dalai Lama, gastric secretions, and finally spring

Hi!
There is just something about this time of year that makes the weeks just fly by. There's been a lot of schoolwork lately, we're just finishing the module on digestive physiology this week, and guess what? Only 5 more weeks of class until this school year is done! Then there are the inevitable exams, but I'm hopeful that these will go much better than the ones in January. I guess I'm more prepared for the horror of Swiss examination methods ;)

So while I've been busying myself studying other people's insides (literally, we've done a lot of dissections lately), I've also been planning out my last two months in Switzerland. It looks like I now have no more free weekends until exams start! I'm really excited though, I think the month of May will be awesome! Plans are for two touristy trips to Swiss cities, one visit from my sister, one visit from my mom, some horsebackriding in the alps, and one trip home for my sister's graduation! And of course hours and hours in the library in between.

Also, I have to mention the awesome conference I went to last week when the Dalai Lama was visiting Lausanne. He came to UNIL to discuss the topic of "Living and Dying in Peace" with a group of scientists from my university, all in different fields. There was a psychologist, a doctor, a biologist, an anthropologist... and they asked questions pertaining to the subject of aging, how the elderly are valued in society, and how we should improve our "western" vision of the elderly as a "burden".
I really enjoyed his opinions and views, and found his answers to be very true. I particularly liked his openness toward other cultures and his emphasis on empirical values in ethics, rather than religious values.

When asked; "How do we approach a person suffering from dementia in a way that will value him/her and how can such a person be of use in society"; the Dalai Lama replied very simply that basic human compassion can be understood by anyone. We don't have to live the same reality to be able to show one another compassion and share in another persons' experiences. The value of the elderly person lies in his/her experience in life, in emotion, in beliefs, and in knowledge, and not necessarily in his/her "usefulness" in society.

Overall the conference was a rewarding experience, and it was fun to have seen him in person.

***

I asked in my last post whether spring was arriving any time soon, and I am happy to announce that it finally has! We've had some really nice weather lately, and last weekend I played golf for the very first time! I've also tested the local swimming pool next to campus, and been on several walks enjoying the sunshine by the lake with ice cream. Temperatures went up to about 23 degrees last week and have dropped slightly again now, but hope is we'll continue having nice weather in the upcoming weeks.
My most recent walk through the forest was much more photogenic than last time, so here are my spring photos from the Sauvabelin woods...

 

 

I'm definitely planning on some posts from the coming weekends, so stay tuned for the Swiss tourist!
xx Therese

April! That's spring right?

Hi!
Tell me something. When is spring this year? Because I seem to recall even March being considered the start of spring... no such luck this year.

The six weeks of classes before Easter went extremely fast. I've really been enjoying the curriculum too, cardio-respiratory physiology is really interesting! Now, though, we have turned to the digestive system, and this really isn't my favorite topic (ask those around me as well, I mean who wants conversation about gastric secretions at the dinner table???) Most of the anatomy of this semester I have already done last year and so I get time to focus a lot on the physiology and pathology which is all new. This week is Easter break, and my goal is to have finished reviewing the cardio module so that everything does not pile up on me in June.

Since spring has been taking its time this year, I feel it's been giving me a false sense of security-- I mean, it's winter right? So no exams to worry about? Great. Good. But no, once again (as always in the life of any medical student), exams are approaching waaaay too fast. Only 8 weeks of classes left!! How is it possible that my year in Lausanne is actually so much closer to the end now? I guess I'll have to start planning a post reviewing my experiences etc soon?? I don't even want to think about it.

So I just came back from a very nice long weekend with my family-- we went skiing in Zermatt, which is about as close to the epitome of Switzerland-in-a-nutshell as humanly possible. The mountains, the snow, the small chalets... and of course the Toblerone mountain-- the Matterhorn..
The weather was not great the first two days, but snow conditions were good so it didn't matter too much. We got two days of beautiful sunny weather as well, and even though we had a few kinks in the plan (people hurting themselves, losing some skis, feeling sick, etc), I think we managed to enjoy our time together. It was good to see my sisters since I hadn't seen them since January-- but I feel like this term we're seeing each other often enough that we don't have too much time to miss each other :)






I went on a hopeful mid-study walk in the woods today, certain that since the weather outside is so nice (10 degrees!!), there must be some flowers or leaves or life in the forest for me to take some pictures of. Again though, no such luck, spring has NOT ARRIVED. Here are some of the small signs of life I have found in the past few weeks though, telling me that all hope is not yet lost...
















I hope everyone has had a really nice Easter, I'm excited to plan some weekend trips and maybe some small hikes for the weekends to come-- taking advantage of the nice warm weather I have ordered :P

It'll be lots of school here again from next week onward, plenty of material to cover before summer.. otherwise trying to get fit again after a very reluctant-to-leave cold, and looking forward to a visit from my sister in a months time!
xx Therese

Winter Break!

Hi everyone!
I'm sorry it's been such a while since I've updated, but February passed by so quickly I have no idea where it went!

My exams finished at the end of January, and we got the first two weeks of February off. My results weren't as good as I had hoped, and it means some retakes in September when I get back to Belgium, but motivation is well up for the new semester! It was wonderful to have some true time off (which was really the first since about mid-August), where I got to spend 2 weeks skiing in Val Thorens in the French alps, first with just my boyfriend but then also with my family for the second week. It was really an amazing time with good food, and spending ALL day outside! A second plus was of course that it only took us about 4 hours total to get there, compared to the normal 10 hours by car from Brussels. We took the train from Lausanne, and the only reason we used 4 hours was that there was a snowstorm the night we arrived. Here are some pics from the beautiful 3 vallees area where I let myself completely disconnect from studying and the hectic every-day...

We had on and off good weather, but the bonus was probably the approximately 80cm of powder that came down while we were there, so that the off-piste was fantastic.

Now the second semester has started, and I have finished 2 out of 14 school weeks before the next exam period. Only a small amount of snow remains in the city now, and the weather is gradually getting warmer. I am soooo looking forward to spring! Just wearing a hoodie when I leave in the morning instead of the massive procedure that presents putting on massive coats and gloves and hats and whatnot. Also no ice in the hill outside my house... that will be good.

I do have some more company this semester as well, as my boyfriend is doing an internship in Vevey and is living in Lausanne for the next 5 months :) It's nice to get to spend some time together!

School has officially directed us to the cardiovascular system now, so it's all heart and lungs these days. For me it totally beats the neurosciences, and I think there might be a lurking cardiologist in me somewhere. This week we've learned to do ECGs, spirometry, and the basics in blood pressure and pulse points. Next week now is using our stethoscopes properly (yes I feel fabulous with it) as we learn about breath sounds and how to identify cardiac arrythmias.

So that's pretty much it, as I wait for warmer weather so I can start running in the forest, and maybe make use of the lake :)

OH but by the way, yesterday we went to the "Red Bull Crashed Ice" event which pretty much paralyzed the city this weekend. It's pretty much the most ridiculous sport I have ever seen, I had no idea "ice-cross" was a thing. Apparently though, it is, and we had a lot of fun watching!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dvOHaciEnU
(Video from the event in 2009).
Pretty crazy, tons of people, and a lot of loud music!

I hope everyone has had a good start to March!
xoxo Therese

Lausanne: Take 2!

Hello and happy new year 2013!

I've now been back in Lausanne for a week and finished my first exam on Tuesday. I think it went well, and am now working hard for my next one which is not until next Friday. I can honestly say though, that I am getting very sick of exams in general-- the amount of time I spend in my room, inside, working through masses of reading and memorizing, is really a lot, and I cannot wait for this time in two weeks when I'm off on holiday! It will be so nice to get some proper time off without the itchy feeling in the back of my head telling me to study if I have any inclination to do something fun. 2 weeks of skiing should cure whichever feeling of study-overload I will have acquired by then ;)

Lausanne presented cold and snowy when I got back, a very nice change from the dreary grey weather in Belgium. My flatmate and I are spending all our time inside, though, each studying, and emerging at random intervals to complain about the amount we have to do. All in a days work :)

I also learned something practical about refrigerators that I did not know. If you turn your fridge off to go away on holiday, having cleaned out the food and (seemingly) gotten rid of any crumbs, you have to leave the door OPEN. Otherwise, you get the result that I have now experienced, where the fridge was a very unhealthy shade of fuzzy green/grey, with a rather unpleasant smell. Yup- the mold had taken over!! EEEEK!  I therefore got the fun task of mixing a nice concoction of bleach and water, to then set to work and scrub down the entire thing. It now looks very nice and shiny, and has been supplied with new food and vegetables. So yes, there's a nice tip for anyone who wants to save some electricity over the holidays...

Some nice pictures from yesterday's "clear my head"-lunchtime walk . The Sauvabelin lake is completely frozen!

I am now going back to my neuroscience and immunology, trying to memorize that T-cells are activated by macrophages and B-cells by antigens but need help from the T-cells.. you know, the usual.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday and have gotten a good start to the new year!