Hannover to Vienna [1/11-1/12]

January 11- Today was our last day in Hannover. I don’t think I will ever stop appreciating way Germany really doesn’t joke about breakfast! I’m getting so spoiled with all these fluffy scrambled eggs and delicious rolls and of course nutella! A great, solid start to the day! This morning we had a lecture and tour of the nephrology department with Dr. Kielstein. It was interesting to see the array of methods of treatment and care for dialysis patients. It also made me really stop and think twice about what good care for my kidneys needs and how I can minimize my likelihood of one day needing dialysis. Also, as a representative of a health field I think is important to be knowledgeable about all of these issues and what daily steps towards prevention are. http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/porper-kidney-care/ is a good resource for anyone else out there who thinks “YES I would like to take good care of my filter organs, but where do I begin?” After a very satisfying plate of vegetables, we headed off toward the Axolotl research center. Everybody in the world: Stop what you are doing. Google “Axolotl.” The Axolotls are absolutely amazing creatures and I am legitimately upset that I didn’t know they existed before this day. I found myself very quickly mirroring the enthusiastic attitudes of the researchers toward the Axolotl population in the lab. These animals have astounding regeneration capabilities, and not to mention an adorable outward appearance and quirky demeanor. We also got to see the spiders they keep for biotechnology purposes with the spider silk. By “see the spiders” I mean we got to go into their enclosures, which is a room repurposed for spider living; sticks, webs and spiders just hanging all over the place, a tank of cricket-snacks, and a ladder graced the room. I was very impressed by the quality of work and the attention to detail in the removal of the spider silk and the appropriation of it for medical purposes. One short flight later we were at the airport in Vienna, and Dr. Rainer was waiting to lead us to the hotel. We went out for a delicious meal that ended in a homemade chocolate torte. January 12 brought us on a medical tour of Vienna, as led by Dr. Wasser. As is the custom, we saw several few small-scale models of the city at different times throughout its history. After lunch, we headed to St. Stephansdome and prepared to go in. The sun shone on the windows and cast the most beautiful, almost underwater, glow to the Church’s interior. Then we met our guide and he led us into the oldest remaining parts of the church: the catacombs. We were led into the burial area for the bishops, where they lie, embalmed inside copper coffins. We next saw the burial rooms of the royal family and where their organs are kept in very intense jars. Next we went down an Indiana Jones—worthy tunnel and were soon standing in the middle of Vienna’s old city cemetery. Peeking through the bars, you could see 3 or 4 prominent skeletons on top of piles and piles of bones. It was not only hard for me to wrap my mind around how long ago these people lived, but also that they had distinct lives not so different from my own. It is hard to make the leap between remains and individual lives when there are so many in view. Note: Skeletons are very effective at evoking solemn thought and reminders of the time-honored human tradition of… not living forever. There are at least two ways to make a person feel small: to belittle and to humble. Seeing skeletons of people who now rest in their own dust and buildings that have come to crumble definitely falls into the humbling category but also acts as motivation to enable others to reach their highest possible quality of life while they are here. Upon exiting the catacombs, we headed toward the Museum of Vienna. We saw many models and maps of Vienna through the ages, my very favorite being the depiction of the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman empire in 1529. (Look here!) There were many weapons in exhibit as well. It is important to not how important Vienna was, as it was viewed as the Gateway to Europe. On this night we had a very fast turnaround at the hotel; we had a lecture in preparation for the Opera and away we went! The version of Mozart’s “Magic Flute” that we saw was actually rather Victorian looking, though steampunk may also be fitting. It was a very interesting experience and I’m glad I’ve now seen my first opera! I had a little bit of trouble following, but our lecture earlier and the summary from Dr. Rainer made it a lot easier to make conclusions as to what the German dialogue referred to.