Vienna!!

What a week it has been in Vienna!  It was quite a whirlwind of a week in a city that has had such a significant impact on the history of modern medicine.  I had never realized the history that was in Vienna, specifically the medical history.

            After arriving on Monday, we started the afternoon with a guided tour of the city.  Vienna truly is beautiful; with a unique mix of old cathedrals and new buildings and shops.  St. Stephen’s Catacombs were an eye-opening thing to see.  We have all heard about the plague and how detrimental it was to the populations in Europe, but to see the piles and piles of victims demonstrates how horrible it really was.  On Tuesday, the medical walking tour with Dr. Schnabel was quite interesting!  It’s sometimes hard to imagine what these cities were like hundreds of years ago, with plague doctors walking and the horrible hygienic conditions.  The funeral museum was also an unexpected adventure.  The way the Viennese recognize and treat death is certainly a cultural difference.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a funeral museum in the States!  On Wednesday, we visited the Medical School of Vienna and Fools Tower.  The lecture with Professor Marz was very informative, but also really got me thinking about the admissions process for medical school.  I am currently in the middle of the application process, and I can’t wrap my mind around the European application system.  I can’t even imagine sitting in a room at age 17 and taking a test to determine my entrance into medical school.  Over the past four years, I have thought long and hard about the commitment medical school requires.  I have also matured significantly.  I hope that admissions committees see me as more than a test score.  Being a good doctor isn’t about whether you have good test taking skills; it’s about your social skills, intelligence, ability to interact with people, and ability to integrate the things you learn into treating your patients.  Fools Tower was also very unique.  The huge amount of specimens they had was mind blowing.  On Thursday we visited Freud’s house, heard a lecture, and visited the Josephinum.  I’m interested in obstetrics and gynecology, so to see their huge collection and emphasis on the field was fascinating.   On Friday, we visited the Natural History Museum.  This and the Josephinum were probably my two of my favorite things we did in Vienna.  I feel like I could’ve wandered throughout the museum for hours.  Body Worlds was also really exciting.  I had never been before, and my favorite exhibit was probably the one on fetal growth and development.  I am always amazed by how small a fetus is at four, five, six, and ten weeks. 

            Overall, our time in Vienna was quite interesting and I feel like I learned a lot.  We’re off to Prague for the weekend, so see you in Bonn on Monday!