Germany: Nurnberg/Nuremberg

Our last stop was Nuremberg in the south of Germany.  While we did have dinner in city centre, most of our time was spent in the zoo helping my lab mate Alina set up her work with the dolphins. But I did have time to wander around the lovely zoo - it is very large, with fantastic exhibits for all of its animals.  They also have a state of the art manatee enclosure which is fantastic, and they keep many of there animals in multiple species enclosures which when done so well I think is fantastic for the animals.  And I felt close to home as they had their own hairy coo exhibit :)

Germany: Berlin

Next stop on our whirlwind Germany tour was Berlin.  We stayed with some of Alina's friends, who were brillant hosts and provided a fantastic tour of Schnapps in addition to being great local guides.  We spent the day simply wandering around city centre, but highlights included finding the only watchtower left still standing since the wall (which we were lucky enough to be able to go up in, it is very rarely opened by city volunteers), the holocaust memorial (which on the outside is a maze of cement tombs that you can wander through), and the Berlin dome after a walk along the canal.  And I had to include a photo of the walking signal, a unique looking little character :)

Germany: Rostock

First stop in our rush Germany tour was Rostock, at the far north of Germany right on the water.  It is a tourist-y area, with lots of shops and beach front access.  We spent the day chatting about seal research at the marine science centre rostock, where another brillant seal researcher's (Guido Dehnhardt) lab is based.

There is a great video that gives you a better picture of the centre here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x147j6o_meeting-seals-at-marine-science-center-rostock_animals

Cats & Technology

What happens when you combine: 1) a thesis student who can't spend any more time looking at data, 2) a household of cats, and 3) the latest and greatest in phone technology (i.e. a game with a moving laser) ?

See above.

Five Sisters Zoo

Marc and I enjoyed a visit to the five sister's zoo today. It took us long enough; it is close to home, in one of Edinburgh's provinces.  It is a nice small zoo, but is undergoing a lot of work as it had recently had a lot of damage from a fire.  There was a lot of community support, and they seem to be making a lot of improvements.

I must say though, the prarie dogs were much fatter than I remember back home...perhaps this is what the wintering prarie dogs look like, but they usual hibernate in the Colorado winter.

Jorge Cham visiting St Andrews :)

I had the pleasure of meeting Jorge Cham of phd comics (http://phdcomics.com/comics.php) this week! ^_^ He came and ran a workshop on how to communicate your research to the public, and had a great seminar on the power of procrastination. His comics are just plain good for the graduate student's soul.

Cramond Island

Today was a lovely sunny morning, so Marc and I took another mini Edinburgh adventure. We went out to Cramond Island, which is connected to Edinburgh by a mile long walkway.  But it is only accessible at low tide. It used to be a Roman fort back in 142 AD, and played a role in Brittish defense during WWI and WWII. Most recently it was a holiday home, and now is open to the public.