I really enjoyed our time in
Vienna. We started out the week fresh off of our first overnight train. I slept
in the middle of a three level bunk bed and felt like the center of an Oreo. It
was a little claustrophobic at first but once I accepted the fact that it was
impossible to sit up, I felt better about it and ended up getting a not-so-bad
night of sleep. Our first meal in Vienna had us jumping for joy as the prices
were a fourth of their counterparts in Switzerland and they had real bacon! The
hotel was also a pleasant surprise as the rooms were much nicer and bigger than
I had imagined they would be.
Our week
was filled with tours, visits and lectures. I found the medical school lecture
given by Dr. Marz really interesting. As I listened and thought about the
system in place, I feel like I broke down a tiny cultural barrier as I realized
that a free 6 year program sounds a lot better that the extremely expensive and
debt incurring 8 year plan that we have in place in the US. There have been
many times over the last two years that I have felt frustrate that I had to
spend time and energy on a class that has nothing to do with my ending career
goal and that I’m not the slightest bit interested in. that afternoon was my
favorite part of the trip. I had expected Fool’s Tower to be a museum about the
history of the building as a Psychiatric hospital and was pleasantly surprised
by the gory, realistic wax models and the large number of specimens that filled
the halls and rooms. The Siamese twin skeletons and the skin diseases were the
most interesting to me. It is cool to think about the time that went into
making the wax models and how the people that made them were as much of a part
of medical advancement and building a knowledge base as the doctors themselves
were.
Overall, Vienna was an extravagant city filled
with churches, beautiful architecture and a rich history. I’m glad that we got
to spend more than a weekend there because I really feel like I got to know the
city.
No comments:
Post a Comment