Dr. Schnabel and Mr. Freud

We arrived in Vienna, also known as Wein, home of the Weiners. Schnitzel that is. Not long after we arrived we met our amazing tour guide, Dr. Schnabel. Before beginning our tour he made sure we were well taken care of and in order to avoid the plague our knowledgeable doctor gave us cloves. We began walking the streets of Vienna and learning more about the history that not only surrounds the city but also the plague and the University of Vienna. Fearing that we may fall ill, Dr. Schnabel provided us with a compound drug. Our next preventative measure was urine. That's right. We drank urine. (It was actually Apple juice but the poor onlooker from the street didn't know that and neither did we when we drank it). Urine, while gross today, was considered a viable treatment for the plague. Specifically the urine of a young, healthy boy. For our next treatment (and arguably worst), we learned the story of theives who would hang out with plague victims then steal everything once they died. When they were caught, they were asked how they survived hanging out with plague victims and not catching the plague and their answer was white wine vinegar. I don't know if I'd rather have the plague. Okay slight exaggeration but drinking a vial of the vinegar made me rally consider other alternatives. And like that we survived the plague tour. I'd have to say that the best and probably most effective preventative measure given on the tour was: "Cito, Longe, Tarde" which means "leave quickly, go far, and come back slowly."

Later that day, we met at the St. Michael's cathedral where we delved into the ancient catacombs complete with ornate coffins from hundreds of years ago and mummified humans. There aren't words to describe what looking at a mummified person who lived centuries before me feels like but it was a very eery and interesting tour.

The next day we visited the Josephinium, which was the medical school built in the 16th century which now houses rooms full of wax figures of various human anatomy. The complexity and knowledge they had of the human body during the 17th century was astounding and very impressive. 

That evening we got all gussied up and went to the classical concert. The string quartet played Beethoven and Mozart in a beautiful church and it was a very beautiful and I enjoyed it a lot. The musicians were so talented and their skill was amazing.

The next day we visited the Museum of Natural history where we had a guided tour. My favorite parts of the museum were the skeleton of the largest turtle ever and of course, the Venus of Willendorf. The skeleton was incredible and showed how little the turtle has had to adapt over thousands of years. The Venus of Willendorf was astounding in the fact that it was 25,000 years old. Twenty-five THOUSAND YEARS. I can't even wrap my head around that number. Just wow. 

Next stop: Narrentum, or more commonly known as the Fool's Tower. It was originally built as the first insane asylum. The circular construction allowed the less dangerous inhabitants to roam around and always end up back at their room. Now, however it is housed as a museum of various mediums from skulls and wax to preserved organs and even a stuffed human girl. While the Josehinum housed healthy anatomical references, this was the unusual and nearly bizarre cases of medicine. One particular preserved jar contained organs from a human whose organs were located on the opposite side of where they're supposed to be. When asked what was wrong I answered correctly however, when asked how I knew that I referenced a highly reliable and trustworthy source: Grey's Anatomy. Lol. Awk.

On our final day in Vienna, we ventured to the famous Freudian Mecca, Bergasse 19, home of Sigmund Freud. There was an interesting collection of art that would be too long and hard to explain. But the museum was very cool and showed a lot of how Freud lived along with his extensive archeological collection. After we toured the house we did a lecture on Freud at the Freud house.  Ahhhh. So cool. We learned about his background along with his various bromances that ultimately ended up shaping and impacting modern psychoanalysis. Also his cigar addiction, which he psychoanalyzed himself.

Then we were off to Czech out Prague! (I know, so many Czech puns..I just couldn't help it)

Tschuss til next time!