Freud

July 19- 21

We arrived in Vienna Monday morning from Switzerland. Only two of our rooms were available because we got to the hotel before check in time, but it was nice to take a shower and take a nap after the long train ride from Switzerland. The night train was quite an experience; it was nice to have sheets and stretch out and sleep for once on a train.

Later that evening we walked through the city of Vienna and had some nice Viennese schnitzel (veal). So far Vienna has had the best schnitzel in my opinion (veal and pork). I always assumed schnitzel was something fancy or strange dish but it is just a thinner version of our (American) chicken fried steak/ chicken fried chicken; all that is lacking is the gravy. That Tuesday we did a medical history walk through the city and Dr. Wasser pointed out various buildings/ locations of historic medical relevance. We then stopped by the famous Cafe Korb for a quick lunch break before touring the Freud Museum. We had a guided tour at the Freud Museum but first we sat in on a lecture Dr. Wasser prepared about Freuds life and various Freudian theories. It was neat to see first hand the "birthplace" of psychology. This was where Freud began what we now consider the norm in psychotherapy. He began his "couch" therapies or psychoanalytic sessions in the building we toured. It was neat to see his old possessions and photographs; it really brought the place to life. Later that day we toured the catacombs beneath the Vienna Cathedral. I remember the bones of all the bodies that were placed in the catacomb were stacked in neat piles like firewood. Apparently the bodies began to smell so bad that they had to get prisoners to scrape off the remaining tissue from the bones and place them in neat piles/ stackes; skulls, femurs, humeri (is that the plural form?) etc were all arranged neatly. Kind of an eerie feeling.

In Vienna we also had the opportunity to attend a real life opera. It wasn't exactly what I imagined an opera to be like (fat lady singing in loud annoying voice), but Dr Wasser told us he chose one that would be appropriate/entertaining to younger people. It seemed like many of the plays I have been to except it was in German. There were English subtitles and I could understand most of what was going on by just viewing the actors. I will admit that I was lost at a few points through out the play. Later we went out as a group and explored the Vienna night life.