Days 16, 17, & 18

Location: Wien, Osterreich

So, three facinating days have passed by, taking us out of the Vaterland of Germany and into the cultured Austria. But before I talk about Vienna, I need to finish up Hannover.

For our last day in Germany, we spent our time in the Heart & Diabetes Center North-Rhine Westphalia in Bad Oeynhausen. This was a facinating hospital, in spite of it not being for veterinary medicine. I was part of the first group that began with a lecture on some of the research currently being done. As it had much to do with genetics, I found myself facinated. After lunch, my group went to view surgeries. I was in a room to see an aorta replacement. I'm not quite sure how I felt about that. My father has had bypass surgery, so I knew some about how to get to the heart and what to do, but I couldn't help feeling disturbed by the cracked sturnum and still pumping heart surrounded by red liquid.

On a much lighter note, that night, we took a night train from Hannover to Vienna. All I can really say about that is - cramped. There was no space, no clearance between me and the bunk above me, and gave me a strange, somewhat closterphobic feeling. Next time, I think I will pay the extra Euros and get the first class cabin with private bunks. Still, I was able to sleep and when I woke up, I was in a new land - Austria.

We began our stay in the capital, Vienna, with as short walk through of the city relating to medical history and Mozart. I was genually suprised about how much medical history was concentrated in the city. Normally, when I think of Austria and the Habsburgs, I think of culture, great battles, politics, but not medicine. After a lunch of Weinershnitzel (we are in the place where it origniates after all), we went through the catacombs of St. Stephen's Cathedral, viewing all of bones of the plague victims. I felt a bit rushed through, but otherwise throughly enjoyed the tour.

The next day, we began by going to the Vienna School of Medicine and hearing a presentation on the Austrian medical school system. We had heard about it throughout the trip, but this was the first, sit down and analyze the subject on the trip. Next, we travelled to the older part of the school and visited the Josephinum. The anatomical wax models were brilliant and so well done, if not sometimes wrong. Then, in the afternoon, we went to the Narrenturm, the first hospital for the mentally handicapped. Today, it houses a massive collection of pathologic anatomic samples. Truely, there were some disgusting, all be it facinating, samples. Finally, that evening, we went to a real Viennese Operetta, "The Count from Luxembourg." Once again, I knew only limited German, but from what I knew and the actions of the actors, I can say with certainty that the performance was brilliant.