How Do I Make Time Slow Down?

Somehow, week five has already come and gone, and we are entering our very last week together. This past week was one of my favorites. The week started with a class day in Bonn before we were off to the encapsulating city of Vienna.

4 A.M. came early Tuesday morning as we were picked up by taxis to start our adventure. By 9 A.M., we were in Vienna after a quick plane ride, ready to start the day. We walked for about 2.5 hours around seeing important sites corresponding to medical history and the city’s history. This tour was led by the highly esteemed Dr. Schnabel. Lunch was on our own, and I was able to try a Viennese classic, Sachertorte. It was a very dry cake with apricot filling and a delicious chocolate icing, but I can honestly say it is a little over-hyped. After lunch, we toured the catacombs at St. Michael’s church which was extremely cool but a little creepy. Dinner was held at the Goulash Museum. Goulash is a traditional eastern European dish typically made out of beef or horse (ew); I had the vegetable version which was extremely good and reminded me of a typical beef stew. For dessert, we tried chocolate goulash, crepes with marmalade, and a yeast dough dumpling. I didn’t really enjoy any of them which is interesting because I have a huge sweet tooth. Afterwards, we were off to the hotel to get a good night’s rest.

Wednesday was a simple day class-wise. The only thing we did as a group was toured a small pharmacy museum, a little lackluster not going to lie. The rest of the day was left for us to explore the city ourselves. I went with a group first to the Naschmarkt where we had the most delicious falafel sandwiches. Afterwards, we walked to and toured the National Library and then sat down at Café Central to enjoy some sweet treats and wine. For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant recommended by Suji.

Thursday was jam packed with activities with the Narrentum being first. The Narrentum used to be a psychiatric hospital turned nursing home turned morbid museum about pathological anatomy. A group lunch at an Indian/Pakistani restaurant was next, followed by a lecture and tour of Sigmund Freud’s life and home. To end the day, we went to a classical music concert in the St. Anne Church. It was a quartet that played Mozart’s “Hoffmeister” and Haydn’s “Kaiserquartett” / “The Emperor.” We went out to a bar called Funky Monkey and had a good time.

Friday morning, we toured the House of Music, did some Tai Chi in a park, and had a wonderful tour of the Natural History Museum. Then it was off to Prague!

Prague was an interesting city with a lot of creepy men and no women. If there was a ratio, it would have been about 90% men, 10% women in the city. The minute we stepped off the train, the cat-calling began and didn’t end until we were back on the train leaving, not very comforting. We arrived to Prague around 10:30 and decided to take the night easy and sleep. Saturday was spent walking around the city. We saw the John Lennon Wall, the Prague Castle and cathedral, and the Dancing House. We ate a delicious dinner at Bistro Monk then devoured some Trdelník. We then participated in a Prague Pub Crawl, and everyone made it back to the hostel safe. Eggs Benedict were enjoyed Sunday morning back at Bistro Monk. Then we walked around the city some more until it was time to depart.

Week six is going to be another good week, but it is a little depressing that it is our last week in Germany and all together. But here is to ending the trip with a bang!