Guten morgen everyone!

Week 3 is over and week 4 has begun *enter sad face here*. Sorry this is coming to you all a little late but it's been far too much fun here in Frankfurt to sit and write blogs over the weekend. There’s been so much to do, see, and experience – and I’ve spent all 3 weekends in the same city so far! Don’t worry; this will be corrected shortly, as I am now the proud new owner of one magical pass allowing me to explore the diversities of Europe via train. No, it’s not the Hogwarts Express and, no, I do not board at platform 9 and ¾ (although similarities to Harry Potter may arise when the teenager sitting opposite you bears an uncanny resemblance to Daniel Radcliffe). No, it is in fact... the Interrail Ticket.

Moving on from what is now undoubtedly the most famous and well known Scottish literature (Robert Burns eat your heart out) my last week has been nothing short of fantastic. The mathematical analysis of my project has churned out some interesting formulae which I’ve been putting together to describe how my system operates. However an even bigger and better idea, along with my modified software program, has seen the whole system improve tremendously. Hopefully progress will continue and I’ll manage to impress the staff here at Fresenius with the outcome. Without saying too much and getting in trouble, so far the project has been a good mix of practical measurements, implementing theory (thank you ME203/ Fluid Mechanics), and a slight amount of educated guesswork with some trial and error. Trust me – it’s faster trying new things that way than always over thinking the problem! My confidence has also improved a lot knowing that I can handle an individual project for an important medical and commercial purpose rather than just a small university research project.

Wednesday saw the highly anticipated badminton rematch postponed due to a change in teams. However the night was not without entertainment, as Nicolas (our new player) decided to use Sebastian as a target all evening rather than an opponent! You try not to laugh when your 6’ 2” teammate is afraid of a 5’ 1” man pulling Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon poses, whilst holding a badminton racket, just to put you off your serve.

The evening ended with a meal out at a local brewery (and ex-zeppelin airport) where I enjoyed a local speciality of potatoes and boiled eggs in Frankfurt green sauce. Don’t be fooled by the description – it’s a very nice dish! The conversation flowed from topic to topic before finally resting on food. Now I may have stated my idea of wanting to cook haggis across here for my colleagues to try, and I may have asked where I could buy some. I did not come up with the idea of using a car to try a hit and run on a sheep to then mash what remained into something approximately similar to our national dish! And to think stereotypes claim Germans possess no humour! Only they could think of such a creative way to make haggis from scratch.

Friday saw me take my first day off (Fresenius employees are entitled to 2 and ½ days holiday a month) to see my parents who had arrived for the weekend in Frankfurt. Although it had been only been 3 weeks since I flew out it was great to see them. I took the chance to obtain a new phone I’d bought in the UK since handsets or “handys” are quite expensive in Germany without a contract. This phone is replacing my old one which broke at the start of the 2^nd week so I once again have mobile contact to the world!

The day was spent showing the folks Frankfurt, taking lots of pictures and generally being typical tourists! Similarities were drawn to Glasgow in that Frankfurt is just one big melting pot of different people, languages and cultures. I got to show what German I’d learned so far by ordering food or translating signs and menus – although the good part about having parents visiting is they insist for paying for everything (thank you!). Saturday meant a trip to the city zoo which, although small, hosts a wide variety of animals including Orangutans, Sumatran Tigers and a Maned Wolf. It took most of the day to explore properly before we finished by taking photos of one of the tigers as it prowled along next to the glass, just inches away! The wee girl next to me was far braver than I was – pressing her face right up against the window and blowing raspberries every time the tiger passed. Sunday was a quiet day as we explored more of Bad Homburg together and saw a few of the sights. I finally managed to train my dad into saying “Ja” (rather than “Oui”) for “yes” so overall progress was made there! We also visited the local spa in Bad Homburg and spent our last few hours together relaxing. The perfect end to a perfect week!

If you’re still reading this, you have my congratulations and gratitude! Catch you all soon. Have fun!

Iain