Week 5: Vienna, Pizza, Pasta, and Wine

Week 5 in Vienna and Rome was a jam-packed experience with beautiful site seeing, historical lectures, and delicious cuisine. The first day in Vienna began with a one-of-a-kind lecture from Dr. Schnobel, a plague doctor who wore a long black coat with a bird mask. He took us on a tour through Vienna, showing us various historical locations that were involved in the plague. St. Stephens Cathedral was beautiful with a zig zag design of blue and white on the roof. The Maria-Theresien-Platz center and the Hofburg Imperial Palacer were two amazing sites that were just breathtaking. In addition to the site seeing, we got to try a variety of potions/elixirs that were supposed to prevent or treat the plague. That night we dined in at the Gulaschmuseum, where our table enjoyed a plate of horse gulashch with a cold beer. I did enjoy the horse, but it was a lot tougher than beef. I would say that venison is somewhat similar to it.

The next day was probably my favorite day in Vienna. We started our morning off early and headed out to Fools Tower, which was a tower that used to accommodate mental patients in the early 1800s. Now, it is home to the Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum. We had a guided tour through the museum that consisted of learning about diseases and methods for curing diseases that I had never heard of. For example, in order to treat bronchitis, doctors would use bees wax to fill the lungs of patients and try to close the holes of the lungs. The was would melt during the summer time, so patients would cough up wax and eventually die. This day we also got to visit the St. Michael Crypt, where the royal and the middle class were buried over 200 years ago. There were piles of bones and skulls. We also got to see a mummified body, which was a strange but interesting experience. Later at night, we got to experience a classical concert at St. Annas cathedral. Listening to music from Mozart and Beethoven was spectacular and something that not every millennial has done.

The third day we went to the Natural History Museum of Vienna where they hold the one of the best Vinus of Willendorf clay figures. Here, we also got to see some nice fossils from 65 million years ago, and we also got to see some beautiful stones. After the museum, Henning, Alexa, some of the other students, and I headed off to an Irish pub to watch the Germany game. Sadly, Germany lost to Korea 2-0, ending Germany’s chances at a World Cup. Although, we had a great time at the pub. Later that night, we went to a club and had a great time.

The last day in Vienna we went to the Freud museum, which was by far my favorite because I could relate to it the most. I learned a decent amount about Freud and his psychosexual development theories when I studied for my MCAT. Dr. Wasser gave a lecture on his history living in Vienna and moving out to London due to the Nazis. I learned that Sigmund Freud liked to smoke an insane amount of cigars and his Id, ego, and superego model. Overall, this was a great way to end our trip in Vienna.

Rome was hot but filled with so much history. The first day in Rome we went to see The Piazza Campidoglio (a plaza designed by Michelangelo) and The Altare della Patria, otherwise known as the Vitoriano. We went to the top to enjoy the most beautiful view of Rome. I’ll post some pictures below. The next day was the most tiring day of the entire trip. We walked about a half marathon in the heat, traveling all over Rome. We started off by heading off the Vatican City. We saw St. Peter’s Basilica, which was the most amazing cathedral I think I will ever see in my entire lifetime. The art, architectural design, and environment was indescribable. Other sites we got to see was the Trevi Fountain, Sant Ignazio, and The Coliseum. My all time favorite thing to see/experience was The Pantheon. It was amazing to see the rotunda made of stone, which is the largest unsupported rotunda in the world. We got to sit in on an Italian service at the Pantheon, where we listened to nice music and even got to take a body of Christ. In addition to the history, the pizza, pasta, and wine was spectacular. Our Airbnb was right in the middle of the Trastevere, which is the restaurant district of Rome. We enjoyed some of the best pizza and pasta in Rome. It’s going to hard to top this week, but we are on the way to Berlin to Rome. Despite that we had to say our goodbyes to Henning, Berlin is going to be an amazing time.