Week 2 is already over?!

This past weekend our program was based in Vienna, Austria. The beginning of our first excursion began with my alarm going off somewhere around an early 5:15 AM and snoozing my alarm only a couple of times. I finally got out of bed around 5:40 to get ready and finish packing my bag and backpack. I then walked across the street to grab some breakfast at my host family’s house, but their gate was locked. No breakfast for me. I was only given a key to their house, not the gate, so I walked back to my apartment ate some of goldfish my mom packed in my bag (thanks mom!!) and called it a meal. I then caught the bus with Alana to Hbf where we waited for everyone to show up. Only a couple of people were late, but their timing was clutch because they walked up just as their airport bus arrived. We made it to the airport and only had one small surprise gate change. We surprisingly traveled very well as a large group through the trains in Vienna to the Hotel Deutschmeister. After checking in to the hotel, we met with Dr. Schnabel, a plague doctor, which was definitely not Dr. Wasser. Dr. Schnabel took us on a walking tour around part of Vienna where we were given “cures” for plague along the way. They consisted of a clove that kind of numbed the tongue, a young boy’s urine which was actually Almdudler, a rather tasty soft drink, and vinegar which put a sour expression on just about everyone’s face. One of the funniest parts of the tour was seeing the reactions of the onlookers. They were very confused by the doctor’s clothing, beaked mask, and cane. It was quite hilarious. Following the conclusion of the tour, we met up with Dr. Wasser at Sigmund Freud’s house. Getting to walk through his house was awesome. It was crazy to think that we were breathing in his cigar molecules since he smoked so many cigars per day.  Dr. Wasser shared an incredible amount of history with us throughout the house. We saw the room where he had patients come sit on his famous couch, even though the actual couch was not present. The way he conducted his sessions was interesting because he did not face the client and he took no notes until the client was gone. The next day we even got to have a lecture in his house, which made the information more remarkable. That evening we all went to the “Goulash Museum” where we enjoyed some fantastic goulash and Kathryn, Alana, Sarah and I split a bottle of wine and three delicious desserts. The four of us got to know each other better and really dive into some great conversation and laughter. It was a wonderful way to end the day.

The next morning we slept in until about 8:30 AM. It was much needed. We made our first stop at the Medical History Museum in the Jospehinum. The anatomical wax collections were absolutely incredible. I just completed taking anatomy this past semester, so it fascinating to see the waxes were compared to what I had just been studying. I loved being able to walk by the cases and know so many details that made up each of the systems. I could have spent a few more hours looking at it all. We next went to the Haus der Musik. After climbing a piano staircase, the rooms were each focused on a composer. We entered rooms that were centered on the music and lives of Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and a couple more. We were a little rushed going through, but it was all very interesting. We didn’t actually have lunch scheduled into our day, but Henning rocks and we had a little extra time so we grabbed a quick bite to eat. Kathryn, Alana, Juliette, Gabe, Carter and I were searching for somewhere and had reluctantly decided McDonald’s would have to do, but instead we ran into a little kebab stand. It was delicious and I wish this guy’s stand was everywhere. Next, the Kapuzinergruft. This is the burial site of the Habsburg family. These crypts were enormous and intricately detailed in their design. They were beautiful to look at. The sarcophagus of Maria Theresia… wow! It weighed about two tons and had such unique design to it. We finished our afternoon with a lecture in Freud’s house. Afterwards we went to get gelato that Dr. Wasser paid for. He’s the best! With a free evening, Kathryn, Juliette, Alana, Gabe, Carter and I dropped our bags off at the hotel and went on a search for dinner. After wandering around for too long (like we always seem to do), we ended up at a restaurant close to the hotel. It was amazing though, so I’m definitely not upset about it taking long to decide on. With great company and lots of laughter, we ended our second day in Vienna.

Day three began a little bit earlier with a trip to the Narrenturn or the Madhouse Tower. It was built in 1784 under Emperor Josef II and was the first psychiatric hospital. It was built in a circle with 28 rooms on each floor. It was a circle so if a patient wandered the halls, they would always end up back by their room. The 28 rooms on each floor were designed specifically because there are 28 days in the lunar calendar. Even after it was no longer used as an insane asylum, the building was used as rooming for nurses and offices until 1993. The tower was a little creepy. They rooms and halls were pretty tight and were filled with cases on either side of wet and dry specimens. The specimens varied from skin conditions to conjoined twins. We then all went to lunch. I really enjoyed this lunch because not only was the food good, but also Professor Waltz was sitting across from me and he had some very funny stories to tell, including how he shattered glass screaming. Our free afternoon began once we finished our chocolate mousse. Gabe, Carter, Alana, Kathryn, Juliette and I used this time to go inside the Stephansdom for a short bit and then made our way over to a palace we had seen earlier. We took a tour of the royal silver collection, the Sisi museum, and the royal apartment. The silver collection was extravagant and there was a set for every occasion. One set had over 4,500 pieces, which blows my mind. The Sisi museum was not what I was expecting. Dr. Wasser and Henning told us that every young girl, at some time, wanted to be Sisi when they grew up. However, I learned on the tour that she was very unhappy for a lot of her adult life. We then went to Demel. We didn’t have much time left before we had to get back to get ready for the concert, so a couple people bought some chocolate and we went back to the hotel. We all got a little dressed up and went to St. Anne’s Church for the concert. It was beautiful: both the baroque style church made of blue and pink marble and the music. After taking a few pictures, we followed Professor Waltz to an Irish pub. After about an hour at the pub, some of us went to a bar by the hotel. It smelled so much like cigarettes, I’m pretty sure I developed smokers cough just being in there. Needless to say, we did not stay out a very long.

On the final day in Vienna, we packed our luggage and put it in a shed in the back of the hotel. The only thing scheduled was to visit the Naturhistorisches Museum. Here we saw the Venus of 

Willendorf, which is a tiny figurine of a fat woman made around 30,000 years ago. I can’t even wrap my mind around how long ago that was! We also got to see dinosaur skeletons and a vast number of stuffed animals, some of which are extinct now. Even though the group I was with ended up leaving the museum after our tour was over, I would have loved to stay. Alana, Miguel, Carter, Gabe, Kathryn, Juliette and I decided to grab a bite to eat before saying bye to Alana and Kathryn so they could catch their bus to Prague. With a couple of hours to kill and all of us being very exhausted, we decided to find the nearest grassy area and lay down for a while. After trying to take a power nap, but instead being surrounded by birds, we left the park. As we wandered back in the direction of the hotel to get our bags, we stopped at a restaurant that served less than superb American food. We then 

collected our bags from the hotel and met at the bus station where we left for a weekend in Prague!