Wednesday-Once we arrived in Vienna we met up with Rainer, and made our way to the hotel we would be staying at for the remainder of the trip. We had a short hour break at the hotel. That short hour was an amazing rest time for me as I took a small nap, showered, ate breakfast and drank coffee, getting myself ready for the day. After the short break it was off to our medical history tour of Vienna. We made our way to the city square and surrounding areas, and had an onsite lecture of all medical things Viennese. We even visited Mozart’s old home, now turned into a ritzy department store. After the city tour, we headed off to lunch were I got to experience a real Viennese Wienerschnitzel. Food in Austria did not disappoint, as it would wonderful. Unfortunately for me, I was still feeling the effects of the night before and could not enjoy lunch as much as I would have wanted to. After lunch, we made our back to the city square and went to tour St. Stephens’s cathedral. Just another cathedral tour right? Except for the fact that we got to visit the catacombs under the cathedral. The catacombs were just like you’d expect catacombs to be. Dark, claustrophobic, cold, and piles of bones lining the walls of the inner cells of the catacombs. After our cathedral tour, it was time to visit Café Demel. Café Demel was an awesome café as they had tons of desserts and drinks to choose from. I ended up getting a hot chocolate and a very unique tasting chocolate cake. After the visit to the café, it was free time, so we headed back to the hotel to rest up a little bit, before heading out to get dinner at a place near by our hotel.
Thursday: Today was going to be a busy day. We started off our program events by taking a visit to the Vienna Medical School, where we got a lecture about the Austrian medical school system and how it differed from our own. The system here was very similar to the system in Germany, consisting of 6 years post high school training. The curriculum here seemed to hover around early clinical exposure and problem based learning. After having talks about both systems, I’m still not sure what to think about them compared to our own back in the States. After the talk, we spent a little more time in the school/hospital and went up to the roof and looked out on to the city. Weather today had continued to be good to us as it was much warmer than it had been past weeks. We made our way to the Josephinum, where we had a small crash course in Viennese medical history. At the Josephinum we also had the opportunity to look at the anatomical wax models that had been there for decades. For being things made centuries prior, it was remarkable how well made they were and how “accurate” they were to a degree. Lunch afterwards was an interesting experience. We made our way to a popular restaurant that was a “pay as you like”, a very progressive idea. The food was Pakistani and was delicious. After lunch we made our way to the Narrenturm, which was basically an old insane asylum converted into a museum dedicated to pathology .The displays here ranged from wax models of the pathology to preserved remains of the person afflicted with the sickness. It was very similar to the Charite museum; however the sheer amount of items here dedicated to illnesses made it more impressive. After the visit to the Narrenturm, it was time for a short break back at the hotel before we headed off to the opera house to see the Count of Luxemburg. The majority of us grabbed a quick bite to eat at the McDonalds near the hotel. We dressed up appropriately and took a quick subway train to the opera house. Once we arrived and checked in our coats, Dr. Wasser and Rainer gave us a quick overview of the plot and setting of the play. The play started with a grand musical number, in a very Broadway like way. The operetta was in German, so an immediate understanding of the operetta was missing. However, from context clues throughout the play and prior knowledge of the plot, most of the play was understandable. I will admit I feel ashamed I could only point our 10 words I knew during the play. The operetta overall ended up being a great experience. It seemed more like a musical than a “happy” opera. After a long day, a little music, relaxation, and comedy is just what I needed. After the play ended, we headed out to a restaurant near our hotel were we had a post play dessert. A genuine apple strudel and chocolate cake really is a great way to end a day.
Friday-Today would be one of the more relaxing days on the trip. The day started off with a visit to the Spanish Riding School, which was a riding school for Lipizzaner horses. Rainer and Dr. Wasser gave us our ticket and we sat to enjoy the horse riding show. Unfortunately the constant drone of ¾ waltz time, and the same classical pieces being played over and over again, gave way for some listening exhaustion. When it was time to leave, we headed to a little café nearby and had a quick lunch. After lunch we headed back near towards the area where we had lunch we had the day prior to visit the Sigmund Freud museum. This had to have been one of the more enjoyable visits on the trip because Dr. Wasser gave a very interesting on site lecture on Freud and Freud’s ideals, and then we took an on-site tour of the museum which was remade to have parts that looked like Freud’s House and office. After the Freud museum, we headed off to the Wien museum, which was very similar to the German history museum we visited in Berlin, and had much of the same information, except from an Austrian and Hapsburg perspective. The tour was not nearly as long as the tour in Berlin and was less concise. After the museum was free time, so we went back to the hotel and rested up, before heading out to eat at the Italian restaurant next to our hotel. The service was a little slow; however none of us were in a big rush, so we did not mind too much. It was nice to just have a nice relaxing dinner. Tomorrow would be the last full day we would be in Europe, and it was time to prepare for that day.
Saturday-If I thought the day before was a relaxing day, this day was twice as relaxing. We started off the day by taking a trip to the Natural History Museum. This had to have been the best museum in our visit abroad. Seeing all the dinosaur bones, animals and animal Body Works exhibits made me feel like a kid again. The majority of the others also acted like kids and fully enjoyed themselves. One thing that was surprising about this visit was that Dr. Wasser acted as our tour guide. Boy did he know a lot about almost everything in the museum. He did a better and more concise job than a tour guide would have. After the museum it was our last free time in Europe, so the majority of us spent it going back to the city square to do some last minute souvenir shopping. For lunch we ended up going to a little “English” café. It was a tiny bit expensive, but for our last lunch abroad, it was nice. I ended up spending the majority of my remaining Euros on souvenirs for my family. After that was all done, we headed back to the hotel to pack up for the trip back, and rest up before dinner. Dinner today would be at the 7 Stern Brau, a brauhaus with great food and drinks. I ordered the full rack of spare ribs along with fried potatoes and French fries. Wow, just wow, what a meal. No matter how much I ate out of it, there was still a great amount of food left. Definitely one of my favorite food places we went to in Europe. Time flew by here, because before we knew it, it was time to leave. Our time in Europe was drawing to a close and I couldn’t think of a better way to end it.
The following day was our dreaded departure day. We said our good-byes to Rainer and Dr. Wasser, and anxiously awaited our plane to Frankfurt and home. I enjoyed my time in Europe very much, and hope to return with other friends and family. Three weeks was way too short s time, and if time and conditions permitted, I would have stayed longer. I’m grateful to have been able to take the trip.
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