Where in the world is Hannah?

As I said before, no weekend in Germany is a boring weekend.  Indeed, last weekend I headed off to Heidelberg for a DAAD conference.  This conference took place from Thursday to Saturday, but I stayed an extra night until Sunday.

I have to say, the conference was incredible!  The DAAD organizers gave us the perfect balance of free time to explore Heidelberg and substance to make sure this wasn't just a free vacation.  It was a great opportunity to meet more interns working in different parts of Germany and even meet more students working in Munich that I hadn't met before.

The first day (July 4!!), we were welcomed by Heidelberg University and British and Canadian ambassadors (the US didn't send an ambassador unfortunately).  They spoke of the differences between their countries and Germany, the difference in research styles between the US and Germany, and the growing need for collaboration and cooperation.  After the talks, the DAAD team treated us to a banquet in one of the Heidelberg's beer gardens and microbreweries before the entire American DAAD-RISE coalition took over the streets of Heidelberg to celebrate July 4th.  The only thing we were missing were fireworks!

Some friends in Heidelberg. :)

Heidelberg's castle

Inside Heidelberg's castle

We also heard talks from industry and research institutions in Germany telling us all about the different opportunities they had to come back to Germany for a job or a degree.  I'm not going to lie.. the idea of coming back to Germany for research is sounding more and more appealing.  And Germany is really investing huge amounts of resources into bringing international talent into Germany.

And on Saturday, we heard research talks from our fellow RISE interns.  One student/statistician from Oklahoma working in Munich is actually working on analyzing data from a study on depression done at Emory.  I guess Emory facilitates the study then ships the data off to Germany to be analyzed.  Only in this case, an American student ended up doing the work anyway. :P

We spent the rest of the time in Heidelberg exploring.  Shawn even popped by on Saturday and Sunday to explore and hang out with us!

Other than the DAAD conference, it's been a very chill and relaxing week for me.  My friends and I get together every Wednesday evening, and this Wednesday, we went to Burger House, Munich's best burger joint.  We had to make reservations two weeks in advance to even make it through the door, but it was well worth it!  After not having a burger for more than two months, this burger tasted like heaven.

This weekend, I went to Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Mozart and filming location for The Sound of Music.  It was an amazing day exploring such a beautiful and historic city.  Below are some pictures from the day:

Donut pretzels? :D 

Overlooking the city and countryside from the Salzburg fortress

Maribell Schloss.  They filmed parts of the Sound of Music at one of the fountains here. :D

I also went to the Nymphenberg Schloss in Munich this weekend as well.  It's a giant palace that served as the home of the Bavarian royalty.  There were also beautiful, lush gardens and lakes on the property.    I was so surprised that the palace was so close to the city center.  It's only about 15 minutes away, yet it was so huge and pristine.  I could easily have forgotten that it was in Munich at all!

At one of the lakes in Nymphenberg Schloss.  So picturesque!

Part of the palace