Prague!

Saturday morning, we left the A&O hostel for Europcar!  Renting a car to Prague was about 1/3 the price of getting a train ticket, so our group of 4 decided to rent a car & trusted me to drive (I hope Dad is more proud than pissed).  And I get a check off the bucket list :)  

Ready for Prague

The drive was about 2 hours- from Dresden to the autobahn (where semi-trucks drive about 60 and Germans drive about 120 mph), through the longest tunnel ever, pretty countryside and cute Czech towns on the water- to Prague! 

We parked the car in an area we were told was free and safe (near to the Czech police station), then checked into our hostel.  The weather was hot and sunny all weekend while exploring Prague. 

Vltava River, Prague

Statue of the Madonna attending to Saint Bernard, Charles Bridge

Statue of the Madonna attending to St. Bernard, Charles Bridge Prague

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Stands on Charles Bridge

Our second day in Prague started with a run around the gorgeous city. 

Around 11am, we met in the Old Town Square for a free walking tour around Prague. 

Astronomical Clock Tower in Old Town Square 

Old Town Square, Prague 

Rudolfinum- the most famous concert building in Prague

Prague Metronome

Spanish Synagogue

After 90 minutes of touring, a few of us headed to lunch before our castle tour at 2:30pm. 

Lunch with Heidi, Selam, Michelle

Saint Nicholas Church, Old Town Square Prague

We gathered by the Rudolfinum with a huge group of people, and baked in the hot sun before our Prague Castle tour started.  A tram took us up the hill to the castle.  Unfortunately, our tour did not lead us inside of the entirety of the castle, which we were expecting.  But it was still interesting to learn about and takes some photos. 

Finally made it to the Prague Castle

Prague Castle

View from Prague Castle grounds

On our walk back to the hotel, we ran into the Lennon Wall. 

Lennon Wall

Love Locks near Lennon wall

We said goodbye to Prague this morning after more running and exploring shops around the city. 

Thankfully the car was where we left it, and the weather was still hot and sunny as we drove back to Dresden from Prague.  

It seems we are all looking forward to Ms. Biester and clean laundry in Velbert.  This 7-hour hot and humid train ride is close to being over... 

Trying to survive the hot train ride

VP of Parliament & Off to Dresden

 This morning we had breakfast and left our Berlin hotel bright and early with suitcases in tow!  After stowing our bags in lockers at the train station, we headed over to the German Parliament Building.  

German Parliament Building

We were greeted by the Vice President of Parliament (quite a big deal!), Ulla Schmidt, of the Social Democratic Party.  She spoke about leadership, her role as Vice President, and the future of interdisciplinary healthcare.  It was a short, but very worthwhile visit!

Our group with Ulla Schmidt, VP of the German Parliament

After a 2-hour train ride from Berlin to Dresden, we unpacked at our A&O hostel & grabbed some lunch. 

A few blocks from our hostel, we met to take a tour of the Museum of Hygeine.  Sounds pretty weird...but was actually very interesting!  

At the Hygiene Museum in Dresden

We explored the exhibits about "the transparent man", living & dying, sexuality, and dance.

 The Transparent Man (

http://www.dhmd.de/index.php?id=787)

From the Hygeine Museum, we hopped on some bikes to make our way to another destination.  We didn't know that our bikes would be a spinoff of our Minneapolis pedal pubs...

Our 7-person bike

 (Michelle's photo)

Biking through Dresden

 

Gorgeous views along the Elbe River

(Traci's photo)

Our bike tour led us to the Saxony-Anhalt Chamber of Pharmacists.  We chatted with some of the pharmacy chamber pharmacists and other pharmacy students.  A German pharmacist from the nearby Dresden University Hospital presented about clinical pharmacy. 

Afterward, the entire group discussed pharmacy school in the USA and compared compounding practices.

After enjoying BBQ for dinner (Sarah's photo)

Visit to ABDA

The first half of the day was relaxing for most of us.  Some of the group checked out a Jewish museum.  

My morning was pretty uneventful, until my 40-turned-70-minute run, when I was lost in the Tiergarten.  Never have I been so happy to see a sleeping homeless man.   

Berlin's Tiergarten ("Animal Garden")

The afternoon consisted of our visit to ABDA (Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Apothekerverbände).  We first had a tour of the building. 

Library/treasury with huge vaulted doors

 

ABDA's building

We listened to a presentation and discussed the tasks & structure of ABDA, the organization's education of pharmacists, quality assurance, & other projects they are working on.  ABDA's Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists represents the professional and economic interests of all German pharmacists.  

Some main differences I picked up on between ABDA & the United States' APhA (American Pharmacists Association) is that there is not as much advocacy for change within the profession and its future.  ABDA creates structure and organization within German pharmacy in accordance with many rules and laws set for pharmacy as a profession.  It seemed to be similar to a board of pharmacy.

APhA creates numerous opportunities for student pharmacists, while ABDA currently does not have roles for students within its organization. 

Our group at ABDA

More about the German health system

Our first stop of the day was to the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV), which is the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (NASHIP).  NASHIP & ASHIP (regional) determine physicians' expenditures for pharmaceuticals & overall government regulations regarding pharmaceuticals.  

We received a presenatation on KBV's quality and efficiency goals. 

Some of the problem areas in Germany pharmacy include non-adherence (50% of those prescribed are not taken), and polypharmacy.  A new pilot study was recently started to develop and deliver their concept of medication management.  

At the KBV

In the afternoon, we crossed the street to visit the G-BA (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss), which is the federal joint commission, and learned more about their pharmaceutical department.  The G-BA is the highest decision-making body and self-governing system in Germany.  

The newly developed early benefit assessment (AMNOG) was described, and aims for fair prices for medication products and pricing within their statutory health insurance (SHI). 

At the G-BA

After the work was done for the day, the ladies went shopping. 

Shopping success at Primark- probably Germany's busiest store

Dinner was at the Augustina.

 Nick taught us a really fun game