About two and a half weeks ago (June 5th), I met Marlies, my PhD student, at the Munich Hauptbahnhof and her boyfriend, Andres, drove me towards Mannheim to the town of Ulm. On our way to Ulm, we drove on the sections of the Autobahn that had no speed limit. This was quite an experience... Andre changed the GPS to mph so I could understand how fast we were really going and our average speed was about 130 mph, but we peaked at 153!!! I don't think I will ever be in a car driving that fast again in my life, but it was awesome! Naturally, we made good time and arrived in Ulm only an hour later. Then, Marlies and I took a train Mannheim and she brought me to my apartment.
Mannheim was heavily bombed during the war, so it was rebuilt quickly to serve a functional purpose, aka it isn't the most beautiful city, but it is nice and has its own unique charm. It is situated on the Neckar River and has many parks and bike paths. Also, the town of Heidelberg is only 20 minutes away by train and the buses run between both cities so it is easy to get back and forth. This is convenient because our confocal microscope is in Heidelberg and most students and American families live in Heidelberg because it is a beautiful medieval university town. The University of Heidelberg is the oldest university in Germany and the third oldest university in Europe (I think).
Anyways, back to Mannheim.. I live in a shared students house where I have my own bedroom and I share a kitchen and two bathrooms with 5 other students. Unfortunately, none of them really speak English or Spanish so communication is a little primitive and mostly consists of sign language and random words.
So that you can get a feel for where I am, here are a bunch of pictures of the town of Mannheim. Mom and Dad, you will be seeing this in only a few days!!!
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| The Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) |
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| View from the back of the Wasserturm |
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| Buildings that surround the Wasserturm area |
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| The Wasserturm (old water tower) |
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Universitat Klinikum Mannheim
The University Hospital where I work
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| A map of the Hospital Grounds |
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