Monday, July 28, 2014

A classy experience

Arrive in the beautiful city of Vienna, and take a walk with the plague. This historic town holds many homes of previous doctors that were famous during the ages of the plague. In a small cove of the town you find a building that was once the main school for the men. Now these weren't just your common man, these were your dueling, and ruckus types. The city people were not very fond of them for all the trouble they caused. You will even see the "doctors square"-they all had houses that were based around one area oddly enough. You will also find monuments dedicated to popular musicians that were from/or died in Vienna. Along with a gothic style Cathedral near the center of the city. Vienna has a very classy feel with its nice restaurants and clean landscape. It is a wonderful town to explore for everyone since there is a variety of music, museums, fantastic cafes and fun.
Walking through the Josephinum was fascinating because you see these intricate molds of bodies all done with wax. It makes the "Bodies" exhibit not near as unique because they were designed  much later, while the wax bodies we saw were done by a group of people ages before. The majority of them are very accurate from the organs to muscle groups that are shown. These wax models were used by the classes for the students to see the many different systems and anatomy of the body. They also have some of the very first x-rays and an assortment of operating tools separated by box for the type of operation that was to be performed.
The "Insane Asylum" or Fools tower is just about as mortifying as it sounds. Not in the way you would expect though, it is what is presented within this learning facility/museum. Every possible human defect, fact or fiction is modeled in this asylum. Beware walking past the walls filled with molds of dermatological diseases and preserving jars that hold anything from organs to babies. It isn't for the faint of heart -attempt to look at everything from a medical standpoint! At first it is an overwhelming sight, but quickly becomes interesting with the stories about what they used as lung plugs when a person had T.B. and can also show you preserved lungs with the filling. There are even skeletons of Siamese twins and the different places some were attached.  I won't ruin the best part, just expect the unexpected is all I have to say.

A few fun things we added to our free time, was the markets and the theme park! If you have a thing for roller coasters, you absolutely have to try it. The indoor roller coaster was by far our favorite one. Buy some food or fruit at the market, and if you see something you like then have a little fun bargaining with the sellers over it! It is quiet the experience and most of them speak decent English.
At last we arrive at the Freud house. The term "Freudian" might sound a bit familiar to you. It's an interesting walk through what used to be his home and also his office where he provided therapy. His psychoanalysis concepts are still talked about today due to the theoretical nature of them. -things that can't or haven't necessarily been proven. He wrote a book on the interpretation of dreams, one of his most famous writings. Many of his other theories brought on controversy and were often rejected. He did become a very famous name in medicine though, and was watched very closely for a time during the 20th century. What I found most interesting is how unusual of a person he was described to be and in a way it made perfect sense for his odd theories.
The city of Vienna is beautiful, it is worth going to explore and learn it. There is no where else with the same type of feel that the city surrounds you with.

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