Vienna to Vicissitude: Days 14 through 18

Guten tag! I understand the title of this blog post sounds nerdy but let me explain why that is. I wanted to find an appropriate title for my final trip post and yes, I know we all still have our post-arrival post to write still, but I looked up some words that started with a “V” to use with Vienna. I then found a word called “vicissitude” which is defined as “a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant” which perfectly described how I was feeling on the plane ride back. So I actually began this post on the way back to Houston from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam but eventually finished it and finally posted this today! I will write this post as I was writing it on the airplane. This is for the dates January ^9th through January 13^th. We arrived in Vienna on January 8^th 2013 and it is now January 13^th 2013 and I am now alone on my way back to the USA.

Posing for a photo outside one of the many places Leo and I went around in Vienna.

So on day fourteen, January 9^th, we started out with breakfast at the Hotel Deutschmeister, which consisted of the typical German cold cuts, eggs, bread, and fresh fruit, which was really nice to have. We then set out with Dr. Wasser who took us out on a medical history tour through Vienna where he explained the historical significance of different buildings and statues. The thing that stuck out the most to me on this tour was the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Lecture Hall. The lecture hall was simply jaw-droppingly amazing and had so much intricate work inside of it. The walls, ceilings, and décor in general all had Greek or Roman motifs and just had so much detail. It is hard to believe that students used to have class in there several hundred years ago. That aside, Vienna is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to and would definitely beat Berlin in a city beauty pageant. We then had lunch on our own and by now, I have spent so much money on food here. Europe in general is expensive compared to the USA and feeling frugal, I bought a wurst in a bun that had cheese in the wurst. It was really good but I felt as if I was gaining weight as I was eating it. German food tastes great but is in general, not very healthy. After lunch, we all met in front of the St. Stephen’s Cathedral for a tour of the church. We had a very knowledgeable guide who explained many things such as how most of the windows in the church are not originals but rather “fill-ins” since they were destroyed. The first part of the tour consisted of a tour around the interior of the church seeing all the structures inside and then the second part of the tour we went into the catacombs of the church and saw dead bodies. Well, we saw the skeletons to be accurate, but we saw the bones of plague victims and even a room made of bones because they ran out of room to properly lay them out! It was eerie and I definitely would not want to spend a night there. We then had free time after the tour and that is when Leo and I set off on our grand Vienna adventure. After visiting the St. Stephen’s Cathedral again, we went to Schonbrunn to see the Schonbrunn Palace, and then we went to Volkstheater to see the name place, and then went just all over the city and saw the museum district and a large castle-like building we could not go into. It was just relaxing and great but then, when dinner time came around to meet up at Pfudl, we    got super lost on the way to the Restaurand Pfudl and had to ask four or five different people for directions to which we arrived roughly 45 minutes later. An old couple we asked for directions knew of the place and suggested that we get the weinerschnitzel, which I did eventually get. Surprisingly, when Leo and I got there, most people had not even gotten their appetizers yet so we were still good! After eating, the Munich group decided to go to visit some clubs. I went separately with the other half of the group to check on some things at the hotel before I went out. I then went to go find the Australian Pub, but by the time I got there, they had gone. And without minutes on my mobile, I could not contact them and they could not contact me either. I then went back to chill in my hotel room and went to sleep.

Pfizer Austria is located in that tower. It was nice outside too.

On day fifteen, January 10^th, we woke up and went to the Pfizer Austria branch headquarters to visit with Pfizer employees about the drug industry and the Austrian healthcare system. They provided candy and drinks as well as goodie bags with slyly inserted pamphlets about corporate responsibility and such. It was interesting hearing about the similarities and differences between the German and Austrian systems, especially since the two countries share a similar culture, language, and people. After the Pfizer visit, we were all free to roam and have lunch so Kitty, Ariana, Cassie, Austin, Connor, and I went to a kind of upscale restaurant of sorts where I ordered the cheapest thing they had to offer which was an excellent lunch special consisting of a soup and an alfredo-like pasta with pomegranate seeds. After our meal, we went to Sigmund Freud’s house. Dr. Wasser gave a lecture about Freud and his life, which was appropriate considering that we were in his former house. It is a strange feeling to be in a place where you know someone influential lived in at one point. Then, we toured around the house, which is now a Freud museum. We then had dinner on our own and then met up to go to the State Opera House, which was an incredible building, probably with much history. So we saw the opera called “L’Italiana in Algeri”, which was about an Algerian ruler who dumps his wife in favor of an Italian girl who is and has been in love with the ruler’s former slave and the action ensues from there. The opera was about two hours and during the intermission, Dr. Wasser hit us all up with champagne, which was pretty good. When the opera ended, the group went to the Australian Pub where we picked up dinner where I ordered eggs, sausages, and buttered vegetables as well as some drinks but most of the group went back to the hotel after the pub and a few of us wandered the city before heading back ourselves.

Enjoying hot chocolate with Monica and Leo at Cafe Demel.

On the sixteenth day, January 11^th, we again had breakfast at the hotel and went out using the public transportation system to go the Vienna Medical School. We then met up with two medical students who went to school in the area. And just like magic, it started snowing for the first time we were in Europe so we basked in the glory for a bit before we headed into the hospital to hear a lecture given by Professor Marz. The lecture touched on the fundamentals of the Austrian healthcare system and medical school and it is easy to see that even though Germany and Austria have their differences in those areas, they had rather similar systems. Aside from that, I am glad that I get to have the undergraduate experience that does not really exist in those countries. We then went to the Narrenturm, the Federal Pathologic Anatomical Museum, which is in the same building as a former medical training facility and hospital. We saw so many human samples and wax depictions and it was pretty graphic like the skeleton of conjoined twins and stuff like that. After the slightly gruesome museum, we ate lunch at the Universitatsbrauhaus where I ordered a fish dish. Fish dishes in Germany are expensive and come with small portion sizes, so don’t order fish dishes inside Germany. After lunch, we made our way over to the Josephinum to see the collection of anatomical and obstetric wax models. Those models were simply gorgeous, stunning, extremely intricate and for the most part, pretty accurate. One mistake noted by Dr. Wasser was that the lymphatic system was too widespread on the models and that we did not have that many in our own bodies. But I just cannot see how they made such pieces of work back then without the help of photography and machinery. After we finished looking at the wax models, we then headed over to Café Demel where Dr. Wasser got us drinks and cake. I had a hot chocolate and a French coffee cake, which was divine. After snacking at the café, we then headed off for our free afternoon and evening. We headed back to the hotel to chill out and relax a little before we went out for the night. For the evening, our group visited a few clubs for several hours such as Bermuda, Funky Monkey, and Flux. Kaitlyn, Monica, and I left a little earlier than the other guys, and I went to sleep pretty quickly when I got back.

The land before time!

On the seventeenth day, January 12^th, we all woke up, fully aware that this was our last full day in Europe. It really did not kick in that we would be leaving Europe so soon and would soon be sitting in class for the Spring Semester back in College Station. After a final breakfast at the hotel, we left to go see the Spanish Riding School’s Lippizan horses doing their morning exercises. Funny thing, the program was called Morning Exercise, but I thought it was going to be a show, and then after asking many times after the horses and riders were going in circles and stuff when the show would start, I then realized to my disappointment what I was watching was the show; literally, morning exercises. But the horses were definitely graceful and a strong-looking breed. I actually work in the VIBS department back at TAMU and the lab I work in deals mainly with equine genetics so I could imagine how expensive a sperm sample from one of those horses probably costs. After the Morning Exercise, Leo and I went around to look for souvenirs and then we then went to have lunch with the others at Café Europa. I ordered a beef stock soup and spinach ravioli, which was divine. After paying, Leo, Cassie, and I went to go meet up with everyone in front of the Natural History Museum. We then proceeded to go through the museum with a tour guide who was also a doctorate in zoology or biology and he showed us the stocks of the museum from its dinosaur bones to its outstanding collection of meteorites. It is awe-inspiring to see a room full of rocks that came from outside of the planet and even touch one of them! However, the most amazing thing I saw at the museum was the Venus of Willendorf, a several, several thousand-year old figurine of a woman. It is one of the oldest of its kind and dates from roughly 22,000 – 24,000 BC. It is incredible to think that something like that was carved from people like us that long ago. Society has definitely come a long time from then when you think about it. After the museum, we left to go wander around a bit and went back to the hotel. Now, it was time to get ready for our farewell dinner at a typical Austrian restaurant, which was quite delightful. Dr. Wasser had the meal and tab open and I ordered a delicious Austrian soup and goulash with various meats and shared a bottle of white wine with a few others. At the end of the meal, we all got schnapps which tasted terrible. Once dinner was over, Suzanne went out with us to hit one club before we would have to leave the next day. We all went to the Funky Monkey to hang out for a bit and since I would have to wake up early the next day, when the clock hit midnight, I decided to head back for my last night in Europe.

It was really early but it was time to go back.

On day eighteen or today, which is January 13^th, Leo, Austin, Samantha, Patrick, Kaitlyn, Tyler, and I had to get up very early to make our 7 AM flights. Drudgingly, we all made our way down to the hotel lobby to checkout and wait for the impending cab ride that would take us to the airport. In moments, the cab arrived and Dr. Wasser bid us farewell and we left the rest of the group, all of whom would soon be leaving as well. But on the bright side, at least we would be home sooner and ready for school the very next day sooner. But anyway, upon arrival to the airport in Vienna, our part of the group wished each other bye and safe travels and we went off to our respective terminals. Luckily, Kaitlyn and I had the same connecting flight to Schiphol Airport and shared a plane from Vienna to Amsterdam. After that, we each had different flights back to the USA and I bid Kaitlyn a bye before we went to our own terminals. Now I am on the airplane and thinking about this entire trip and all the amazing memories I had. This whole trip to Germany has showed me how amazing an educational experience abroad can be as well as the wonders and things that a whole other country can offer. Words cannot really describe everything and I wish this trip lasted longer. I made great friends and gained new experiences that I hope will last for a long time.

Vienna was gorgeous. I will miss it lots.

I cannot thank Dr. Wasser and Ms. Jansen for their time and effort in making this trip a memorable experience. And both of you guys motivated me to come back for the Spring Semester in 2014 so I will visit with some advisers when I get back and see how that will work if I can come back. All in all, this entire trip was incredible but too painfully short. It is still hard to believe I will be back in the USA in just a few hours, going from amazing experiences and memories in Vienna to the hum and drum of College Station but I suppose it is time to return to reality. An autobahn will soon again become a highway, a wurst will soon again become a hotdog, a water closet will soon again become a restroom, and a mobile will soon again become a cell phone for me. I feel that it is going to feel weird coming back but at the same time, I know it will not be because I will just be going home to familiarity where it will seem like this trip was just a dream in due time. But just to note, I am only going back “across the pond” so Germany is only a “pond-hop” away but maybe, perhaps home can be anywhere you want it to be. It does not matter because Germany was certainly an eye-opening, welcoming, comfortable, and amazing place to be in and I know I will be back someday so instead of an auf wiedersehen, I will close with something to leave a better taste for myself.

“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” ~Peter Pan

Hannover and Vienna

The study abroad trip met back up in Hannover at the end of the free weekend.  Hannover was a quiet city compared to the previous ones that we had visited.  We visited the zoo and got to hear about the many things that a zoo vet does.  Their breeding program for their elephants is world renowned with a total of five live births in one year.  Being an animal science major with a background in large animals, the behind the scenes of how the zoo works was pretty neat to see.  A few days after arriving in Hannover, we were off to Vienna on a plane with the whole group.  In Vienna, we went to a church that had basically a cemetery underneath its floors.  People buried/ cremated here were victims from the plague, whose bodies needed to be disposed of.  We later on went to Café Demel for cake and coffee, which was very good and much needed since the day was so cold.  The last day in Vienna, we started out at the Spanish Riding School. While I thought it was pretty neat, the rest of the group did not seem to enjoy it very much.  It would have been really cool to see them perform.  After a lunch break, the last museum of the trip was the Museum of Natural History.   Growing up as a huge fan of dinosaurs, this museum was pretty cool! The bittersweet ending to the day/ trip was our farewell dinner.  This group of friends was a group that I would not trade anything for.  Spending three weeks in a foreign country with these guys was an experience that I will remember forever.  

Munich

Then came our free weekend! Our group decided to take a seven-hour train ride to Munich.  We arrived around 1:00 am to find out that the buses did not run to our hotel that late so the group had to walk probably two miles with luggage to the hotel.  After having to make a pit stop at the police station to get Max’s wallet the next day, we decided to go to a concentration camp near by.  While the camp has been mostly destroyed, Dachau gave you an instant feeling of sorrow.  Dachau was not an extermination camp but many were lost there. The museum was placed inside the main processing center for the camp where they received, cleaned, and took inventory of the prisoners.  Most of our time at the camp was spent looking at the many things within the museum.  These objects ranged from pictures, bowls, spoons, punishing tables, and even the identification cards for many prisoners.  The rest of the remains of the camp were a crematorium, guards’ houses (which people currently live in), guard towers, and sleeping quarters for the prisoners.  Seeing an actual concentration camp is definitely one of those things in life that I will never forget!  After a long and depressing trip through the concentration camp, the group decided to visit a beer hall where we indulged in dinner and many beers.  My advice to anyone going to Germany is to spend a couple of days in Munich; it was worth every penny spent to get there. 

Berlin

The next town that we adventured to was Berlin.  As soon as we got off the train we encountered groups of people with piercings everywhere and people sleeping on the ground.  Coming from a small town, I was not accustomed to seeing anything like this so immediately I was freaked out by Berlin.  We arrived on December 31^st so pretty much everything was closing early to prepare for the New Years celebration.  By far the coolest New Years party that I have ever attended or heard about was definitely in Berlin.  The mass number of people trying to get to one place made the once huge crowds in Kyle Field seem miniscule.   The next day a tour guide, who was really friendly and funny, took us around Berlin.  It was really cool to see the different areas of Berlin, wall, and many historical areas.  Then we were off to Dresden.  Dresden was a beautiful city that was rebuilt after its destruction over 40 years ago. While the city has become a tourist place to visit, the people of Dresden did not seem too friendly. Thus being said, Dresden was my least favorite city of the whole trip.  However, we did get to go to the hygiene museum.  By far the coolest museum of the trip, everyone was given one room to teach/ show to the rest of the group.  Our room was the most boring but Patrick did a good job of summarizing the room.  

Final Week: From Hannover, Germany to Vienna, Austria (Dec. 7 – Dec. 13)

I had most of this entry written while in Germany/Austria, but I waited until recently to finish writing it/posting it... So that's why my verb tenses are the way they are. I just had to put that out there before you start reading. Thanks!

We arrived in Hannover on the 6^th of January and found our way to the Hotel “Haus Martens”. It was a nice and chill evening as there was nothing on the program for the rest of the day. Aaron and I roomed together for this leg of the trip and we found the accommodations at this establishment to be quite pleasing. But just some thoughts that are running through my head at the moment: I’ve realized that on trips like this, there’s a point when you get tired and you just want to go home. I’ll call it a withdrawal feeling. It’s not that I don’t like being in Germany, it’s just that with everything that’s going on, I just can’t grasp the right feelings and everything just feels so unstable. I’m hoping it’ll get better from here on out. Overall, Germany has definitely been worthwhile and I still truly believe study abroad is something every student should do as it really opens your mind to a whole new perspective and way of life.  

On January 7^th, we took a train together to the Nephrology Department of the MHH where we visited Dr. Kielstein, a doctor who spoke with us about the German health care system. It’s strange that I didn’t really get the impression that things were way different outside of the US; I think that’s why study abroad is so important: it really makes you aware of things and ideas that you never really thought about. Basically, Germans all receive health insurance and it is all subsidized by the government via high taxes (about 14-15%). We discussed the ethics and guidelines of organ transplant in the EU and also discussed kidneys and dialysis. We even got to see a dialysis patient and the doctor went over how a dialysis worked. I honestly was slightly lost because my foundation knowledge is not yet up to par with an incoming US medical student. We had lunch in the menza of the MHH and we then took a train to the Hannover Zoo. Since it was winter, there were not many animals available to view and the number of people there was quite low. Our tour guide was this nice lady who showed us the lions, giraffes, wolves, zebra, and another small variety of creatures. Our tour concluded with a visit with the veterinarian of the Hannover Zoo, Dr. Kumerow. She talked about anesthetizing animals to do procedures and the various methods of doing so. I never knew that so much went behind the scenes of a zoo! After this tour, our evening was free so I decided to take it easy and relax.

 

On January the 8^th, we returned to the MHH, but this time it was to visit Dr. Jan Schmitto, the country’s youngest head of a cardiovascular department at the young age of 35. I was taken aback when I heard that. He had a big discussion with us over heart replacement surgery and ways to prolong the life of a patient still in need of a heart transplant. He even brought in a patient awaiting a heart transplant; he had what I think is called a left ventricular assist device. Since I haven’t studied the heart (or anatomy/physiology for that matter), I was slightly lost throughout much of the discussion. The heart is a tricky organ and it really made me think about how important PREVENTATIVE medicine is. Prevention is almost always the best cure for any condition. To be frank, I slightly zoned out of some of the discussion because my glasses broke during the lecture; I was fairly concerned about losing the one screw holding my glasses together. Although I would have to wait until the hotel and train to fix my glasses, I was fortunate to have my prescription sunglasses on me. I forgot my regular spares back in the apartment. So as Dr. Wasser described, it was a cool look like “Gangnam Style”. We didn’t get to eat lunch since the talk went over time and we had to get over to the Axolotl research center for the next activity so I ended up sharing really nasty crackers that were healthy and reminiscent of sawdust pieces. This actually brought up a conversation where I talked with Susanne and Dr. Wasser about the importance of nutrition and exercise in a healthy lifestyle. Apparently, Germans are getting influenced by Americans to eat more junk food and the country is getting bigger every year. After we arrived at the Axolotl research center, we listened to Prof. Dr. Kerstin Reimers and one of her graduate students talk about the axolotls and what they do in the research lab. They are thinking the ambLOXe gene plays a huge role in the regeneration of lost limbs in the axolotl. So far, their research has found that exposing mice to the gene improves the rate of wound healing. The eventual goal is to see if regeneration of human limbs may be one day possible. Moreover, I visited the spider room where many spiders live freely. The point of having this room is so that Dr. Reimers’s lab can study how spider silk can act as a sort of conduit for nerves/cells to grow. This phenomenon results in faster wound healing and Dr. Reimers is also trying to study this as well. In addition, we got to see the axolotls in their laboratory habitat and it was all in all a very neat experience. Upon conclusion of our visit, we returned to the Hotel “Haus Martens”, picked up our luggage, and made our way to the Hannover Airport for Vienna. After an hour and a half or so of flying, the plane arrived in Vienna. We took the fancy airport train into the city and took the U4 until we arrived in Roussauer Lande. From there, we took a very short walk to Hotel Deutschmeister. Everyone resided in the first floor of the hotel (really the 2^nd floor) for the last leg of the trip. Sometime that evening, Connor, Cassie, and I set out for some late dinner and after a short and chilly walk through a snow-blanketed city, we found a hot dog stand that was open from 10 PM till 6 AM. When I got back, I basically passed out because I was so exhausted!

After a busy previous day, I was grateful that January 9 was not as hectic of a day. I had a good breakfast at around 9 AM and we set out for a Medical History Walk. On this tour, Dr. Wasser showed us buildings of historical and medical importance. It was very interesting and I was definitely into the tour. I actually answered a question: Boccaccio wrote “The Decameron”. It was an important work during the time of the Bubonic Plague. We all met up at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after lunch for a tour of the interior and crypt/catacombs. It is an impressive Gothic/Romanesque cathedral, but it pales in comparison to the one in Cologne. We had a guide walk us through the church, but like stated earlier, the most interesting part was the tour of the crypt and catacombs. They had great rulers buried there and mass graves for others. Organs were kept in jars filled with alcohol that were sealed in other jars when they leaked. The creepiest part was probably the not renovated part of the catacombs. They had mass graves filled with countless skeletons and bones and they even had a room that was made of a “wall of bones and skulls”. Eerie. After the tour concluded, we had a free afternoon. I found a music store called Musikhaus Doblinger. There I poured over their oboe music collections and found sheets for Mozart’s Concerto in C, the Strauss Oboe Concerto, and an arrangement of Pavane pour une infante defunte (I think that’s how you spell it) for oboe and piano. It cost about 60 USD but now I can say I brought something back from Europe. At 7 PM, we had a group dinner at Restuarand Pfudl. It was really great; I ordered a Johannesbiershaft (Pago), a small order of risotto, and a scrumptious portion of Fiabergoulasch. It was so good and I had a great time. Afterwards, I think other people went out, but I decided to go back to the hotel to relax. I basically say this every night, but after the day’s activities, I don’t have the energy to go out; it’s just so much more relaxing to lie around and do nothing.

As January 10^th drew to an opening, I finally realized that this trip was coming to a close. Funny how trips start so slow but then speed up as time goes by. It’s such a strange perception. In addition, every trip I’ve gone on in the past has this pattern: “I like being away… I want to go home… I don’t want to go home…” Today, our group took a trip to Pfizer, a flagship international pharmaceutical company, to visit an office branch in the outer areas of Vienna. The presentations were very professional and included folders with information, candy, and beverages. The two speakers were very informative and interesting because they really helped me get a fresh perspective on why drugs are so expensive. These companies need to recover the costs of research, development, and testing during the time that they have a monopoly on the recipe. After that, generic drugs can attack and reduce the profits that the brand name companies need for further research and development of new drugs. I was really grateful for this presentation as it definitely helped me get a better perspective on the medical industry. On a side note, I definitely think I need to take pharmacology at A&M before I graduate. We had a nice lunch break near the Hotel and Kitty, Ari, Connor, Cassie, Aaron, and I went to a really nice restaurant where I had a potato/mushroom soup with cheese cream pasta. We even got free tap water! From there, we all met up at the Sigmund Freud House/Museum where Dr. Wasser began with a lecture about Dr. Freud and his life story/accomplishments/theories. It was all very interesting and I learned a lot about the impact he made in the field of psychiatry/psychology. We then proceeded to have a short tour on the museum in which we went through Sigmund Freud’s works and his personal effects. It was neat to see a tangible part of history right in front of me. In the evening, we proceeded to the Vienna State Opera House, checked our coats, took pictures, and enjoyed the opera. The name of this particular one was “L’Italiana in Algeri”. I love the overture as I had already played principal oboe on it. This evening was awesome as it was really great to experience this musical masterpiece in a cultural setting. 

It’s finally January 11, the next to last day of the program. As I am approaching the end, I am actually getting sad that we are so close to leaving Vienna (and Europe in general). I don’t really want to be thrown back into the rigors of A&M so soon. Anyway, it was an early day as we left at 8:45 AM to go to the AKH to meet up with current Austrian medical students who were to take us to various medical museums around the vicinity of the medical university. The first stop was actually snow. It started snowing and we all took time to observe and admire it. Growing up in Houston all my life really made this snow a special experience. We then had a quick visit in the Vienna Medical School, followed by a presentation given by Professor März about medical education in Vienna. It’s a way different system than it is in America, but it evens out roughly in the end. It’s just so strange to me that the concept of undergraduate education is foreign to many who live in Germany and Austria. One point that really got me in the lecture was about knowledge retention. He displayed a pyramid showing the percentage of information retention following certain teaching methods and it gave me insight into how I should learn and study back in the states. I guess studying abroad can also teach you how to study when you are back home! After his lecture, we walked through the light snow until we arrived at the Narrenturm, the Federal Pathologic anatomical Museum. It was an old building with a very graphic interior. This place has a massive collection of human medical anomalies. It’s definitely not an ideal location to go to if you are easily grossed out. But following that exhibit, we had a nice lunch at a restaurant where I ordered a light dish of Zanderfilet with tomatoes and spinach. After lunch, we went to the Josephinum, which boasted a huge collection of anatomical and obstetric wax models. They were made over 200 years ago and the glass cases used to protect them are so unique that they aren’t even capable of being replicated to the same precision anymore. These models were used to teach medical students and are basically the reason why we have those beloved lab practicals today. I initially thought this museum was small, but if you try to see every single wax model, you get overwhelmed pretty quickly. Finally, because today was the next-to-last full day of the trip, Dr. Wasser took us out to a really nice café called Demel that served delicious coffee and cakes. 

January the 12^th was definitely a difficult day for me (and for all of us I assume). This was our last full day in Germany. I kept counting the hours until my first organic chemistry lecture of the new semester and it didn’t make me feel any better. We all went to see the morning exercises of the Spanish horses. Two hours later, it was exciting to go to lunch as we were ready to die of boredom watching the horses. I met up with everyone and admired the impressive statue of Maria Theresa as we entered the massive museum. It began with a guide tour where we went through exhibits of jewels, moon rocks, meteorites, the Venus of Willendorf, prehistoric fossils, and live bugs. It was a short tour but very fascinating. As we wrapped up the program, everyone returned to the hotels to relax and finish packing up. Later that evening, we went to a typical Austrian restaurant for the farewell dinner. It was tough realizing that this was my last dinner of the trip. Looking back, I can say that although there were bumps in the road, this trip was every bit worth it for the experiences and the sites. We celebrated with great food, company, and drink. Afterwards, other people decided to go to the Funky Monkey at around 10 PM, but I chose to return to the hotel as my flight was really early the next morning. 

I had to wake up at around 4 AM to pack up what I couldn’t the night before. I then got ready and met up with everyone taking the 5 AM shuttle (Me, Aaron, Leo, Patrick, Max, Tyler, Sam, and Kaitlyn) down in the lobby where Dr. Wasser bid us farewell. We got dropped off at the airport shortly afterwards and I started the journey back home.

From there, well, you know the rest…

To end, I want to say that this trip was a wonderful experience and I made some great memories. From the perspective of just getting back, there are a few points I want to make. If you haven’t studied abroad, DO IT. Even if you think you don’t have the time. So many people don’t go abroad in their undergraduate years and they regret it. It is overstated but study abroad should change you and make you see the world differently. But you have to do it right; merely showing up won’t do anything. That’s because you need to approach the opportunity with an open mind and a hunger for learning. Try things that you normally wouldn’t back in the States. You may surprise yourself. I didn’t think I would ever eat apple sauce with horseradish and I’ve learned that sparkling water isn’t so bad. Make mistakes when trying to communicate with people in another language. Sure you get laughed at, but how else can you learn a language this late in the game? Also, make sure you pack light, but pack right. I packed light, but I didn’t pack right: it’s cold in Germany and I wasn’t properly prepared. I’m saying a lot of things that I should be saving for the post-trip blog post so I’m going to stop myself here. Hopefully I won’t end up sounding like a parrot in the next post.

So until next time (Spring 2014?), auf wiedersehen!

 

Austin Wang