Vienna

January 15, 2011

Today is our last day in Europe. We went to the Natural History Museum this morning and saw the animal version of Body Worlds exhibit (made by Gunther von Hagens’, the same man who created Body Worlds). I really enjoyed seeing the insides of the elephant. I think the coolest think that I learn from reading the signs was the elephants’ lungs are attached to the chest cavity wall by connective tissue. This allows them to walk under water using their trunk as a snorkel with out having issues from the pressure differences.

After the museum we did some last minute souvenir shopping and then wondered though the Stephansplatz. I really enjoyed my time in Vienna. Once we got past the rain we had some amazing weather with beautiful blue skies. While we were wondering we found a park along a river. It had swing sets, soccer and basketball courts, jungle gyms and a mini skate park. One interesting observation I made was that the dads are very involved in their kids lives. It was not uncommon at all to see a dad pushing a stroller though the train station on a week day and there were numerous dad’s at the park with their kids. It just seemed more common then in the United States.

I think the most important idea I am going to take from Vienna is that the medical field is continuously changing and growing. It seemed silly to me that people originally rejected the stethoscope because its use is so common today. It makes me wonder what amazing invention is out there being criticized right now but will be the grandest and greatest in ten more years. Point being, I feel like I need to be more open minded while critically analyzing the credibility of advancements both in and out of the medical world.

I have really enjoyed my trip to Germany, Denmark, and Austria. I feel like I have learned more in theses three weeks then I could have in a classroom for three months. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye to Europe, but at the same time I need to get home. I have an extremely busy three weeks ahead of me.