Hamburg

On Sunday, we made a day trip to Hamburg! It was a jam-packed day filled with old churches, delicious food, and beautiful views.

Our first stop was the Rathaus, or the city hall, home to Hamburg's parliament and senate. It is one of the few completely preserved buildings of historicism in Hamburg.

Hamburg Rathaus

In the courtyard, there is a large fountain with the statue of Hygieia, the goddess of health in Greek mythology. It was built in remembrance of the cholera epidemic in 1892.

Statue of Hygieia

We then headed over to the ruins of St. Nicholas' Church, which now stands as a memorial. The church was actually the tallest building in the world from 1874 to 1876. The church was severely damaged during the bombing of Hamburg in World War II. These bombings occurred between July 25th and August 3rd 1943, meaning we were there exactly 70 years after the bombings. Pretty crazy.

St Nicholas' Church

And we went to the very top of the tower!

View from the top of St. Nicholas' Church

At this point, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at the Portuguese quarter of Hamburg and got food at a tapas restaurant. We shared a plate with a variety of grilled fish, along with pork covered in a gorgonzola cream sauce, juicy meatballs covered in a thick tomato sauce, and bacon wrapped dates (possibly the most delicious thing I have ever eaten). Needless to say, the food was absolutely AMAZING.

After our stomachs were satisfied, we took a ride on the ferry around the Elbe River. From the ferry, we were able to see the huge shipyard, the fish market, beaches, and beautiful river-front houses.

The ferry

View of Hamburg from the ferry

Once we were done being on the river, we walked through the tunnel that is 12 meters below it! It was unbelievable to be walking underneath such a large amount of water!

The tunnel underneath the Elbe River

Our next stop was St. Michael's Church, where we walked in right before the Sunday evening service began. We were able to snap a couple pictures of the inside of the church before we had to leave.

Inside St. Michael's Church

We were however still able to go through the church's crypt, as well as take the elevator up to the tower.

The Crypt beneath St. Michael's Church

Another beautiful view of Hamburg, this time from the tower of St. Michael's Church

Across the street from the church was a large carnival called "Dom." We walked through the carnival which was filled with rides, flashing lights, games, and food and candy stands. 

Dom Carnival

And of course, we got ice cream...

Megan and me with our delicious ice creams!

Our beautiful day was all we had dreamed of and more. It was hard to leave at the end of the day, and we decided that we will need to make a second trip to Hamburg before we leave Germany.

The more places I visit, the more I realize how absolutely beautiful this country is!

Love,

Vanessa

One Day, Two Aquariums

Today, Megan and I took a train to Stralsund to visit two of the aquariums in the town. Our first stop was the Ozeaneum - a large aquarium in Northern Germany that portrays sea life of both the North and Baltic Seas. 

 There were so many awesome exhibits! I felt like a mermaid the entire day. Here is a little insight into what we encountered...

There were tons of invertebrates:

Seashells

Sea urchins, shells, and sea stars

Preserved Cephalopods

Echinoderms, some of my favorite invertebrates!

Colorful Crab

Purple Sea Anemones

As well as some really cool fish:

Didn't get the names of these guys, but at least they posed for me!

I spy with my little eye...a flounder!

School of fish

And even penguins!

A Humboldt Penguin

But of course, the marine mammals were my favorite...

Sperm Whale Skeleton

I even got to pretend to be a grey seal (my favorite seal) for a couple of seconds! 

I think this was supposed to be for kids...

A real, yet no longer living grey seal

One of the exhibits, called "Giants of the Deep" had a large room with life size models of a Blue, Humpback, Orca and Sperm whales hanging from the ceiling. On the floor, there were lounge chairs to lie on underneath the whales. There were lights that simulated the sun streaming through the surface of the ocean, and they played whale songs as you looked up at the most beautiful animals imaginable! Needless to say, this was my favorite part.

"Giants of the Deep" exhibit

Model of a Humpback Whale

After we saw everything at the Ozeaneum, we headed over to the Meeresmuseum. This aquarium, which also focused on fisheries, shipping, and ocean health, is located in a former monastery.

Outside of the Meeresmuseum

There was some pretty awesome ocean life here as well:

Spotted Ray

Sea Turtle

purple and pink fish

came out to say hello!

I had such a beautiful day learning about marine life. I just can't seem to get enough of it.

Love,

Vanessa

Work and Play

Sorry it has been a while since I have written, I have been busy working during the weekdays and exploring during the weekends!

 I realized I haven't gone into much detail about the research I have been helping out with, so I wanted to give you a little insight into what I have been up to while I am working:

I have recently started conducting the research myself with the oldest octopus named Tintoretto. We are testing symmetry detection in these very wise invertebrates by presenting two different stimuli, one symmetrical and the other not, and seeing which one the octopus decides to choose. They are rewarded with a small piece of a shrimp when they choose the symmetrical stimulus. She usually gets between 70% and 80% correct.

Tintoretto

Last week, Megan and I were working with Tintoretto when a newspaper journalist came to do a story on the research. Long story short, we ended up getting in the Rostock newspaper!

The text in the article roughly translates to this:

"Tintoretto, Tizian, and Giambellino aren't only names of Italian painters, but also the names of three Octopods at the Marine Science Center on the eastern pier. In behavioral experiments, the Octopods, among other things, respond to visual stimuli. The goal of the work is to close the gaps in the scientific area of sensory system biology. Under the supervision of Frederike Hanke, American exchange students Vanessa Delnavaz and Megan McElligot conduct experiments to investigate the performance and learning abilities of these animals."

Megan and me in the Newspaper!

With the seals, I have mostly been helping with two different experiments happening here at the lab. 

One of them involves testing wether or not harbor seals can detect breathing currents of flounders, one of their primary prey. There are 8 different nozzles on the bottom of one of the enclosures, with one turned on with a soft current comparable to the pressure of the breathing current of a flounder. The seals have been trained to swim around the enclosure so that they can detect which nozzle is turned on. 

The second experiment with the seals I have recently been working with is testing haptic matching. Henry, the seal that is doing this experiment, is masked and is allowed to touch a stimulus with his vibrissae. He is then provided two other stimuli, and must choose which one of these two match the first one he felt. Here is a video of the experiment.

Henry with the stimuli - plastic sea stars and fish. In this trial, the "correct" stimulus would be the fish (green)

During the summer months, the lab usually gets some visitors from the baltic sea that like to stay just outside of our enclosure, as they find it is a nice place to haul out and lie in the sun.

Gonzo is a grey seal that has returned to the outside of the lab enclosure for the 3rd summer in the row. He is quite funny looking for a seal, but I think he has some charm to him :)

Gonzo! (stole this pic from Megan!)

This year, the lab got a new visitor - a teeny tiny grey seal pup that has been given the name Mini. She is SO adorable! 

Mini on the other side of the fence.

 Outside of our work at the lab, Megan and I had quite a lovely weekend. We went into town to see the town's yearly festival. There were an abundance of street vendors, people, and pretty boats.

Harbor inlet in Warnemunde

The weather was so beautiful on Saturday so we decided to end our day at the beach!

Dipping my feet in the Baltic Sea!

On Sunday, Megan and I went on our first dive trip in the Baltic Sea! There is not that much to see, but we went to an airplane wreck and saw tons of moon jellies, a halibut, and a rather large cod. Even if there is not much down there, I love feeling like a mermaid for a little while :)

After the dive!

Once a month during the summer, when three cruise ships leave from the harbor on the same night, the town has what is called a "port party." There are lots of stands that sell beer and bratwurst, and everybody comes to watch the ships and a fireworks show. Megan and I got beer, bratwurst and ice cream (what could be better?!). We decided that the best place to watch the fireworks would be right from our very home - the research boat! We went back to the boat, bundled up, and went up to the sundeck and watched the fireworks as the ship drove off into the dark horizon. 

Cruise ship and fireworks

I love how much the people here find anything to celebrate, such as a cruise ship leaving a harbor - something that happens everyday, all day, all over the world. It is such a wonderful way to live :)

Love, Vanessa

Berlin

This past weekend Megan and I traveled to Berlin! Three days of pure amazingness. We arrived late Thursday night, so I will start my story on Friday morning...

Friday, June 28th

We started our Journey by figuring out how to take the trains, subways and busses around the city. The public transportation in Berlin is wonderful! It is so easy to get around to wherever you want to go.

The Train Station

Our first stop was the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall. It was so amazing to see after learning so much about it in school. I loved all the different paintings and artwork we saw as we walked along.

Loved this part of the Wall

Polaroids from the Berlin Wall

  After spending quite some time at the East Side Gallery, we headed over to the Berlin TV Tower. We took the elevator up to 207 meters where we could see Berlin at a 360 degree view; it was absolutely beautiful!

Berlin TV Tower

Berlin from 207 meters!

At this point, we were starving so we decided to get some authentic German food. We went to a traditional restaurant where I got Schnitzel and a classic Berliner Weisse, which is a sour wheat beer flavored with raspberry syrup. As disgusting as it sounds, it pretty much just tastes like soda and it was delicious!

My first time trying Schnitzel with mushroom sauce and fries!

My raspberry Berliner Weisse. The green one in the back is Megan's green apple Berliner Weisse.

Saturday, June 29th 

We started our day at a very cute cafe with the most amazing drinks and pastries. I got cashew caramel hot chocolate, which I think I can safely say is the best hot chocolate I have ever had. Along with my delicious drink, I got an apricot scone with clotted cream and marmalade. I could not have asked for a better breakfast!

Scone and cashew caramel hot chocolate

We then visited the beautiful Kaiser-Wilhelm Church that was made out of beautifully stained glass.

Inside the Kaiser-Wilhelm Church

Our next stop was the Victory Column, which commemorates the Prussian victory in the Danish Prussian War in 1873. It was such a great feeling being inside such a historically significant monument!

The Victory Column

The statue at the top.

Megan and I at the top of the Column, 66 meters high!

Continuing on with our very historical tour, we stopped at the Brandenburg Gate. It was truly glorious to see in person.

We then walked through the Memorial to the Murdered Jew of Europe. It was an extremely beautiful memorial that perfectly portrayed the feeling of loss of so many people.

After a few more sightseeing stops, we went back to our flat to change and went out to the bars. We ended up at a few different places that were all very different, but a lot of fun. We ended the night with delicious Turkish food at 3AM, which is known and classic "drunk food" in Berlin.

Sunday, June 30th

On Sunday we had an early lunch at a Bakery that had a variety of German-style sandwiches. I got a sandwich on raisin-walnut bread with brie cheese and lingonberry jam. So tasty!

Then, we headed on over to Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing point between West and East Berlin during the cold war. 

Checkpoint Charlie

Our last stop in Berlin was the Jewish Museum. It was painfully heart-wrenching to see so much about their history in such a beautiful museum.

The Garden of Exile at the Jewish Museum. It is a garden with 49 tilted columns on a slanting plot of ground that parallels the feeling of disorientation of moving to a foreign country.

The Memory Void. A beautiful piece by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman of 10,000 faces dedicated to all of the innocent victims of war and violence.

My weekend in Berlin was so life changing in ways that I never even knew were possible. I have learned so much about history and saw a beautiful culture and city right before my eyes. Berlin will definitely be a place I would love to visit again in my life. I already miss it very much!

Love,

Vanessa