...Lo aNd BeHoLd...
On Sunday, we visited the Residenz palace in Munich. As is the case with all castle-like structures, this palace was beautifully ornamented with various chambers that remain but depictions of the functions which they used to serve. The palace was disastrously destroyed during World War II- Thankfully, the Bavarian authorities managed to restore it to its former magnificent state. The second part of the day involved us taking an amazing boat ride across a huge lake to a very interesting and inspiring museum. We had lunch on board the boat. The chilly wind across the deck contributed to the memorable experience. The 'Buchhiem Museum' as it is called, houses art from the private collection of one man. A man who visioned that anyone and everyone can do art: That art may be found in the most remote of places. Thus, one can imagine the diversity and non-conventional outlook of his collection.
Monday meant lecture day once again. We had, first, an interesting lecture on Astronomy and Astrophysics. There seems to be a greater emphasis upon Astrophysics and Biophysics within the Physics community in Germany. Zhang Jiang and I often joke that there are only two types of people of work in Germany. First, the shopkeepers and second, the Physicists. Germany is 'the place' for physics. The Astrophysics lecture covered topics related to the big bang and the universe- for example, the theory behind why one may deduce that the universe is in fact expanding. The second lecture covered the arena of biophysics where we learnt about the mechanisms of thermodynamical heat gradients, how they affect cell mechanics and the underlying idea of DNA origami. The last lecture on elementary particle physics made the development, construction and usage of the ATLAS detector clear to us. To think that once the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is in operation at its full power, we'll be able to observe particle creation beyond the energy threshold rendered by the limitations of other present day colliders. At the same time, we'll have a high-tech detector at our disposal to make observations and consequent deductions. Monday evening was spent with Prof Englert. We had the opportunity to dine and make merry at an awesome, underground restaurant. What rendered this place special was that there was a live JAZZ band performance. The instrument players were awesome- Alto-Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Tuba, Piano, Trumpet, Drums and Bass.
On Tuesday, we had the amazing opportunity of visiting the German Aerospace Center where we saw first hand how weather observations and predictions are made based on ideas such as the composition of particular and specific atoms or molecules in the air. The lecture was marked with a tour of the aircraft used for such a purpose. At the hanger we saw aircraft such as the 'Falcon' and the G550. Following the hanger visit, we were brought to the German Space Operations Center. There, we were shown the various rooms and consoles that the people on earth use to conduct space operations- Space operations such as the processing of data received from satellites as well as communication with astronauts.
By the way Tuesday was our last day in good old Munich. Hence, we were treated to a farewell dinner. Finally got to try great German Sausages. It was a jovial event which was concluded with the presentation of momentos. I believe everyone is most definitely going to miss Eyleen and Max, our student guides, to a very large extent. They were very sincere in their daily dealings with us. From ensuring that we were on time for all lectures and events to translating the menu for us at almost every meal, they meticulously took care of everything. Thank you guys! :)
On Wednesday, we took the speedy train from Munich all the way to Gottingen, our dwelling for the next 6 days or so. After a four hour long journey where we played card games on the train, we were greeted at the station by Prof. Thomas. We're living at a place called Maria Springs. It's seriously awesome. Serene, tranquil, lusciously green, surrounded by hills and mountains, what more can I say? :) The only comical part is that there is an entire clan of very old people living on the premises of the cottage as well. By old I mean really, really old. On the first day, we were flanked by them from all sides. It was like a scene from some horror movie. Hahs. Wednesday concluded with us heading to the Institute of Astrophysics to star-gaze through a telescope. We actually saw a breath-taking close up of the moon, the planets Saturn and Venus as well as a system of binary stars. I managed to get pictures of all of them.
This sure is a long post. Shall stop here for now.
...aNgeLs BrouGhT mE HeRe...
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