Denise Akob Research Blog

Eva's Visit

2008-01-13T20:07:00.003-05:00

2007_1111MissionSanLuis0142, originally uploaded by deniseakob.
Eva was in the US for 3 months this fall and we had a great time! Please check out the photos on my Flickr site to see all of our adventures!

Kayak Adventure on the Saale

2007-07-06T20:03:00.003-04:00

DSCN2504, originally uploaded by deniseakob.
We took a boat trip down the river Saale my last week in Jena. We had a wonderful time even though Grit and I capsized our boat! The area is so beautiful and I really enjoyed my time with everyone. More photos are on my Flickr site--including pictures from the party afterwards. My friends surprised me with a wonderful going away party and gifts to remember my trip. I miss everyone and can't wait to go back!!!

BioBall 2007

2007-07-05T22:54:00.002-04:00

The Biology Department at the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena has an annual Bio Ball--a ball for all of the biology students. It was similar to a US prom but with a bar and dinner and standard dancing. I went with Grit & Claus, Kirsten, Marco and Eva and we had a great time! Check out the other photos on my Flickr site (just click on the photo below)

BioBall (6), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Trip to Leipzig

2007-07-03T19:59:00.002-04:00

Leipzig (38), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Photos are posted on my Flickr page from my visit to Eva's home city of Leipzig. I really enjoyed the visit and her parents were very kind to host me.

Trip to Erfurt

2007-07-02T22:55:00.002-04:00

Grit and I took a trip to Erfurt on Saturday, August 30th to meet Ute and do some shopping. Erfurt is a beautiful city and had lots of great shops!

Erfurt (1), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

I stayed over at Ute's house Saturday night and spent Sunday sightseeing with her family and our friends Marco and Janine. The first photo is Janine, Marco and Ute standing a wall around a church in the center of Erfurt.

Erfurt (7), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

As we walked through the city we came to a unique street of shops and houses that was actually a bridge! The photo below shows a view from the river-side of the street and you can see the houses. I saw a similar image on lots of postcards since this is a very unique thing to Erfurt.

Erfurt (26), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Ute's husband Andre and her daughter Paulina met us for ice cream. Here Paulina is trying on my sunglasses--I think they are a bit big!

Erfurt (35), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Our next stop was the Petersburg Fort. We took a torch-lighted tour through the underground walkways of the fort. This was interesting! It was pitch-black below and without the torch we would have been lost. More photos are on my Flickr site and I took lots of photos from the wall of the fort --it was a great view of the entire city!

Erfurt (43), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Trip to Bremen

2007-06-22T15:51:00.002-04:00

Bremen (71), originally uploaded by deniseakob.
At the end of June I took a trip to Germany to visit the Kostka family (Joel, Beth, Laurel, & Lilly). Bremen was a great place to visit with lots of interesting things to see. My first night there we had dinner with Heath, Jen, & Jordan Mills and a British family that Joel and Beth know from a visit to Berlin.

On Saturday, we went to Universum (a science center) with all of the kids--this is my favorite way to visit a science center because I can play on all of the exhibits with the kids! Universum was the best science center--and everything was in German! We all really enjoyed it. That afternoon/evening we walked around downtown Bremen and saw the marketplace and the glockenspiel. The glockenspiel or 'play of bells' is quite famous in Bremen because part of the wall next to the bells turns. It is quite beautiful and you can see all of the faces of the wall with the various images (just click on any of the photos to go to my Flickr site).
The Bremen Marketplace:

Bremen (10), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

The glockenspiel:

Bremen (15), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at Botanica, a fantastic botanical garden within walking distance from the Kostka's flat. Laurel and Lilly had a great time in the gardens and I really enjoyed seeing new plants and the exhibits.

Bremen (40), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

In the afternoon, Joel and I met Heath, Jen and Jordan at the cathedral downtown to climb to the top. After lots and lots of steps, and getting a bit dizzy in the circular staircases, we made it to the top. The view was spectacular! Below you can see the view of Bremen and a gargoyle on the roof of the cathedral. After the climb we went to a nice pub along the river and enjoyed good German food and beer!

Bremen (68), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

Trip to a Fen

2007-06-19T13:20:00.002-04:00

On Monday, I tagged along on a sample collection trip to a Fen with a few of Kirsten's graduate students.......in case you are wondering "what is a Fen? "....

Well, according to Wikipedia: "a fen is a type of wetland fed by alkaline, mineral-rich groundwater and characterized by a distinctive flora. Fens are often confused with bogs, which are fed primarily by rainwater and often inhabited by sphagnum moss, making them acidic. Like other wetlands, fens will ultimately fill in and become a terrestrial community such as a woodland through the process of ecological succession."

The fen Schloeppnerbrunnen, located in northern Bavaria, is the site of a collaborative ecological study composed of 6 test areas. The purpose of the study is to look at microbial processes in the context of global climate change (for more detailed info check the link below).

A view of the entrance to the Schloeppnerbrunnen fen site:

All of the monitoring equipment is run by solar power and can maintain the equipment for up to 5 days without sunlight:

What we were here to collect...sediment cores (0-40 cm):

Some of the flora and fauna I saw....

a lizard...

a small creek with Sphagnum moss...

...and there is more on the Flickr site (just click on any photo above).

Click here to reidrect to Kirsten's website and information about the fen research: Peatlands

BUGA '07

2007-06-17T16:28:00.001-04:00

BUGA '07 = Bundesgartenschau 2007

Located in the cities Gera and Ronneburg within the state of Thuringia this is a 6 month long garden show that changes locations each year.

You may remember that Ronneburg is the same site that we collected samples for uranium-conatamination experiments! The photos posted will show a sign for Wismut and a large waste heap (to the right of the photo below). Wismut was the uranium mining company that since the reunification is in charge of environmental remediation. Part of the BUGA is to show the "success" of the remediation activities [--I say "success" because I am too cynical to be fooled by the pretty flowers, sorry.]

The BUGA was a great experience! They had an entire exhibit of carnivorous plants (my favorite!!!), an exhibit of the Wismut activities, a Lego garden, and more. The Lego garden was quite fun--you could build your own Lego flower and add it to the garden! Eva and I had quite a good time making our own flowers!!! Please take a look at the Flickr site for more photos!!!

Jena Tower

2007-06-15T14:08:00.001-04:00

This evening I had the chance to visit the viewing platform of the Jena Tower. Finally after looking at the Tower from the ground for a whole month I was able to enjoy the view!

JenaTower (11), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

The view was incredible!! I could see the street that I live on and the Wagnergasse--the area with pubs and cafes! On my Flickr site I have posted notes showing these areas!

Trip to Berlin

2007-06-14T11:36:00.001-04:00

Berlin 041, originally uploaded by deniseakob.

The weekend of June 9 I went to Berlin and stayed with Marco and Janine(picture above)--Marco is a PhD student in Kirsten's lab and his girlfriend Janine is a PhD student in Berlin. They were fantastic hosts and made my visit a wonderful experience!

On Saturday, we spent the day kayaking in an area called Spreewald which is ~1 hour from Berlin. The kayak trip was organized by friends of Marco and Janine and it ended up being a large group--9 boats! We had a great time paddling around the area and stopped for a nice picnic lunch at a grassy spot. The Spreewald is a wetlands area with some small towns and man-made canals weaving through it. The area is now mostly nature preserve and a popular tourist spot for Germans. It was interesting to see the area because in some ways it is similar to a Florida swamp but the plants are a bit different and there are no alligators! It was funny because early in the trip I had to remind myself that the log in the water was not an alligator! The Spreewald is also a famous place for pickles and I tasted an authentic Spreewald pickle at a canal-side stand. You can just paddle the boat up to a stand, coffee shop, cafe or pub!! They make a variety of flavored pickles--some good, some not so good! I would love to share photos of the trip but, unfortunately all of the photos were lost from my camera. I am hoping to get photos from the other kayakers or find a way to retrieve the pics.

On Sunday we went sightseeing in the central part of east Berlin--we walked a total of 11 km in 6 hours! Luckily we were able to make the best of a single day in Berlin and saw lots of the main sights. I'll post more info soon but for now there are more pics at my Flickr site.

A brief update...

2007-06-13T12:20:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that more than 2 weeks have passed since my last blog post! Its been a busy few weeks--the weekend after my trip to Köln I spent in Jena and finally had time to explore the city!

On Saturday I spent the day with Grit, one of the grad students, walking around the city. We went to the Botanical Gardens (really beautiful) and to the Jenaer Paradies park. The park is a beautiful, popular greenspace next to the River Saale and only a 5 minute walk from downtown. That night I met Grit, her boyfriend and other friends at a pub downtown. I had a great time and we at the bar drinking and talking until 1:30 am!! Her friends were very nice and I finally had a chance to see the city and the pubs on a Sat night. The bad news was that I had plans to be up early on Sunday...

Sunday morning I met Kirsten and her family at her son's soccer game (at 9:30 in the morning). It was a great experience--the parents are so serious! I spent the day with her family--enjoying another fantastic German meal and then we visited the Dornburger Castles. This is a set of three castles which are famous for their rose gardens. It was a beautiful site!

The following week was very hectic! I gave a seminar on Wed to the Institute of Ecology and it went exceptionally well! I was glad that all of the hard work I put into my talk was successful. In between preparing the talk I was also preparing for an experiment--on Thursday I went to the uranium contaminated field site with Eva (another grad student) to collect samples. It was really interesting to see the site and I will post photos soon. Friday was spent setting up the experiment and I finished everything just in time to depart for a weekend in Berlin!

Light Trapping

2007-06-13T11:46:00.001-04:00

LightTrapping (12), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

The Insitute for Ecology had a light trapping (on June 6th) for one of their practical courses. Basically they set up a sheet with a full spectrum light bulb (at night) and wait for all of the insects to arrive. It was really neat to see all of the insects and to visit the southern area of Jena.

Take a look at the other photos for the actual set-up complete with a Florida-style umbrella and more insects.

Feild Work in Ronneburg

2007-06-13T11:45:00.001-04:00

Ronneburg (21), originally uploaded by deniseakob.

On June 7th we went to the field to collect contaminated sediment samples for a new set of experiments. We collected samples from the Gessenwald creak, downstream from the former Gessenheap (mound of earth resulting from strip mining activities). The area has been "remediated" although I believe there is quite a bit of residual contaminants in the subsurface. You will also notice a large "hill" in the background and that is a heap of mining wastes that has not been removed yet. I will add more information about the site and my work as soon as I can--please take a look at the other photos!

Random sites in Jena

2007-06-13T10:16:00.003-04:00

Here are a few random photos from the Lobeda area of Jena. Yes, those are sheep in a parking lot! (click on the photo below to be redirected to my Flickr site and more photos!)

The old building with the drab exterior is typical of the former GDR (East Germany). I find the remnants of the GDR and the changes since the reunification very interesting.

Trip to Köln

2007-05-30T05:02:00.001-04:00

For BlogPost 05-30, originally uploaded by deniseakob.

I took advantage of another holiday weekend and took to the train to Köln to visit my friend Elke. I left late in afternoon on Friday and arrived just before midnight. The train system in Germany is really fantastic but it is plagued by delays. I missed a connection due to a late arrival but still managed to find my way! The train stations for the large cities are really unique! I posted a few photos of them on my Flickr site--you can see that the city and the station name are in neon lights inside the station. When you arrive in Köln and exit the train station you are met by the Dom (cathedral)--talk about a shock! The Dom is gigantic! and quite beautiful! It was a neat way to start my trip in Köln. When I arrived at Elke's flat it was like going home after spending two weeks in a new place and with new people.

On Saturday we planned to go shopping and explore the downtown area of Köln. I was able to meet Elke's son Qobelo that morning--it was like meeting him for the first time since I haven't seen hime since he was 1 month old! He is a wonderful child and Elke is an amazing mom! She lives in the suburbs of Köln which is only a 10 minute walk across the Rhine River to the main downtown area of Köln. We spent most of the day walking around the pedestrian area and shoping and ended at the Dom where we had a coffee. After a long day of shopping it was time to give Qobs some proper play time so we headed over to the Rhinepark, which is a large playground and greenspace. That night we had a proper German meal and crashed from a long day of sightseeing.

On Sunday we had a very touristy day--we visited the chocolate museum and took a Rhine River cruise. The chocolate museum was really cool--it had sections with the history of chocolate and past advertisements and a fully functioning Lindt chocolatier production plant! We were able to watch the creation of chocolate bars and truffles right before our eyes! The Rhine River cruise was also great! (This area of the Rhine is not the famous "romantic" area with castles and fairytales--that is found further south). We were able to see the countryside around Köln and some of the smaller towns south of the city. We were really lucky with the weather--it was supposed to rain and be cold the entire weekend but the sun came out during the cruise and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the weather.

Monday was a nice relaxing day--we watched cartoons (in German) and Elke helped me learn a bit of German (I can now order a coffee and ask where the bathroom is--vital language skills). I left a bit early and managed to get home in 4 1/2 hours since the trains were running on time. It was such a good weekend! I really enjoyed spending time with Elke and Qobs! Qobs and I played Legos whenever we were at the flat and he would help his mom teach me German! It was quite funny to play Legos with him since he only speaks German and I only speak English--somehow we were able to have a good time and build cool Lego houses.

Please check out the photos on my Flickr site--just click on the photo above and you will automatically be redirected!

the week is almost over....

2007-05-24T13:27:00.001-04:00

So...I've been in Jena a full week now! It is a great place and I am very content here. The people in the lab are so nice! I am having such a hard time communicating--when I go out to lunch with the group I feel like a little kid since I can't do anything on my own--I still need help ordering and the food choices are still unfamiliar. The food is GREAT though! I usually don't really know what I am eating but it tastes good!

Its been a long first week in the lab--I am still adjusting to the time change. I don't feel as jet-lagged but I don't have a set schedule yet so I am dragging through parts of the day. Yesterday I had a nice break from the grind--Kirsten took me to her son's soccer game so we left work a bit early. Her son is 7 yrs old and watching these little kids play soccer so intensely was amazing! They were really good! The atmosphere at the game was also very different from the US--the parents were intently watching the games and not chit-chatting. I guess that soccer at every level is a VERY serious matter!

This weekend is long weekend because of a holiday on Monday. I am going to Cologne to visit my friend Elke and I can't wait!! (I am a little nervous about the train but at least it will be an adventure!!) I think we will go shopping so I can pick up some cool German duds and get a few extra summer clothes--its still 80F here. I will post new photos as soon as I can!

Settling in...

2007-05-21T12:15:00.000-04:00

Things here are great (except for that whole nein Deutsch thing, ugg)--Kirsten's group is really friendly! Many of them have offered to take me around the city or show me their hometowns--I feel very welcome here. The weekend was especially nice--I finally had time to explore/learn my way around the city and I no longer feel lost.

Friday we finished in the lab around 5 pm so I was able to leave and explore the downtown area for a few hours. I was able to locate the store "H&M" (Mia, you should be proud)--and this was not a tiny American H&M but a two-story clothing extravaganza! I actually managed not to buy something but I am considering stopping there on my way home tonight! Besides clothes, I found at least 5 different shoe stores, 3 or 4 flower shops and a whole bunch of funky junk stores. At the end of my wandering I found the market place in the center of the city where a spring festival was going on. What an experience! People everywhere, food carts, beer carts, wine carts and music! I managed to stumble through ordering a Radler (mixed beer) and enjoyed watching the sight.

On Saturday I walked around the downtown and went grocery shopping (--Mom, in a real Aldi's). In the evening I went to watch fireworks in the downtown area with Marco (PhD student of Kirsten) and his girlfriend Janine (PhD student in Berlin). It was great to see fireworks right downtown--they looked like they would hit the Jena Tower (the big round thing in all the photos)! The downtown was packed and people were dancing and hanging out until past midnight!

I think Jena is a great place! I like the fact that is is not a huge city--there is a lot to see but the forest is close-by. My apartment is nice--not too big/not too small--the worst part about it is that I don't have internet--I forgot what life is like without the net accessible at every hour of the day. I have internet access with my laptop in the lab now so it is easier to email, etc.--last week I was using a lab computer--the German keyboard made things interesting!

I almost forgot to mention--the weather here is crazy! Its been 25-30*C since I arrived! For the non-science geeks, today it was 29C which is 84F! I didn't pack the right clothes! According to climate predictions it was supposed to be around 19C this month and at the most 25C in June/July. Guess I will have to go shopping!

Miss you all!!!!

Exploring Jena, May 19-20th

2007-05-21T12:12:00.002-04:00

cover shot, originally uploaded by deniseakob.

I spent a lot of time walking around Jena this weekend. All of these photos were taken within a 10 min walk of my apartment. As you can probably see it is a true city but completely surrounded by hills and forests! I really love it here!

Gästeunterbringung an der Universität

2007-05-21T11:43:00.002-04:00

Picture 001, originally uploaded by deniseakob.

This is the university Guesthouse that I am staying in during my trip to University of Jena. I have more photos of the inside of the apartment on my Flickr site (just click the photo and you are automatically redirected).

May 17th--Holiday!

2007-05-17T07:26:00.001-04:00

My host, Kirsten has been a fantastic! Yesterday I met everyone in her lab and they are all very nice. Friday I will start working with them in the lab and I am very excited!!

Today is actually a holiday--called Father's day and I have been invited to Kristen's house for the day. She and her family took me for a bike ride through the country and we stopped at a lake to have a beer--my first German beer!! It is traditional to have a mixed beer as a refreshment--this is beer mixed with lemonade and it is one of the best things I have ever tasted! As a part of father's day the men walk around the town and local fields pulling a cart of beer and jsut drink all day! It was quite a site--mind you most of the men we saw were not fathers but young drunk groups of men-boys! I must go now--Kirsten and her husband are serving me a traditional German lunch!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

2007-05-16T08:42:00.000-04:00

I have arrived! Things are going ok and I am slowly settling in--I have more to write and info from the past few days but I do not have my computer connected to the net yet--so stay tuned!

Tuesday, 9:30 pm

2007-05-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

I arrived in Jena around 1pm today—I was so tired that I hardly even knew where I was for most of the drive from the Liepzig airport to Jena. Kirsten’s graduate student, Eva, picked me up from the airport and she seems very nice! It will be great to work with her. I met Kirsten at the Institute and it was great to see her. She was amazingly hospitable—very understanding of my exhaustion. She helped me get some groceries and settle in to my apartment. All of it was quite overwhelming—I would have been in the grocery store for hours trying to figure everything out if she hadn’t been there! As confusing and overwhelming as things seem right now I can tell that I will settle in quickly and that everyday tasks will get easier. I am much to tired to write anything else—I will have my first day in Kirsten’s lab tomorrow and hopefully some time to explore Jena. It will be another exciting day!

Monday to Tuesday, May 14th to 15th

2007-05-15T04:24:00.000-04:00

I left Tallahassee yesterday and did not get really excited about the trip until I boarded the flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt. I think in a way the whole trip was not real until that point. The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful—I got lucky though and had an entire row of 2 to myself. I had forgotten how unique it is to fly away from the sun then back into it with the change of time zones and the day—I can tell already that I will be quite jet-lagged (I arrived in Frankfurt at 1 am Eastern time but 7 am German time).

When we were approaching Frankfurt for quite a while the cloud cover hid the city. Once the plane dropped below the clouds the view of the city and surrounding areas was breathtaking. Everything was surrounded by trees and the building had that European flair that I remember from my parent’s photos of Holland. Once off the plane I realized how interesting the next few weeks are going to be—I haven’t been this confused in a long time! Just trying to figure out where to go, how to get Euros, how to find the toilettes, how to not get lost is an adventure! I have been walking around the Frankfurt airport laughing to myself about how crazy/ interesting the situation is. Once I finally found my gate (and this process was further confused by the extreme amount of construction at the airport) I decided to get caffeinated and enjoy my three hour layover. First stop: get Euros; second stop: shopping; third and final stop: coffee shop! A real live amazing coffee shop—I have a butter croissant and an amazing cappuccino sitting in front of me—it’s like heaven. (Note to Sarah—in the shop I stopped at they had Pylones stuff and those cool jute bags that you and I got a long time ago in Tally—I will go shopping for you on the return trip.)

Well, I think that will have to be all for me right now—I need to revive myself with the cappuccino and find my way back to the gate soon. More news soon!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

2007-05-13T20:19:00.000-04:00

Well, this is it! Tomorrow I depart for my 2-month German adventure! I finished packing late this afternoon and I am finally getting excited about the trip! I leave Tallahassee at noon (May 14th) and I will arrive in Jena after ~20 hours of travel on May 15th. As soon as I get settled I will update everyone with a new post. I will miss everyone!!

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