Adventures in Austria: Part 1

Before I start relating my experiences in Vienna, I have to catch up on some of the blogging that got put on hold while we were out adventuring. Mostly, this is the Karneval parade that took place on Monday. It started at 11:11, but people had been gathering in Köln since the early morning, and by the time the bands started playing the city was completely packed. Andrea and I pushed our way through the sea of people to meet with another group that was already there, and we had a great view of the parade... all 4 or so hours of it! There seemed to be a never-ending supply of floats, bands, marching groups, and (most importantly) candy. However, I can no longer laugh at the government encouraging the throwing of lighter/softer treats, as I got a line-drive candy bar to the forehead hard enough to have my own Karneval battle wound. Other traditions completely made up for it though, and I especially enjoyed seeing the prince and his over-the-top float capping off the end of the procession.

After the Karneval madness, we had a day or so to recover before waking up early to catch a morning flight to Vienna. Everyone is talking about what the group did, so I'll try to just include some comments about my favorite parts of the trip. My highlight of the first day was seeing St. Stephan's cathedral, which was beautiful. Of course, that kind of turned into the theme of Vienna- magnificently ornate buildings on every corner and lining every street. Walking through the catacombs was impressive in a weird blend of eeriness and reverence. There were so many bones, and each skeleton represented a person who lived and breathed a story which I'll never know.

Thursday was another pretty busy day with a visit to one of the three biggest hospitals in the world. After the lecture there, we visited the Narrenturm (or Fool's/Madhouse Tower). I thought it was really interesting to learn about all the superstition involved in the architecture and purpose of the building. It definitely seemed a bit surreal to walk in a cell formerly housing the mentally ill to look at shelves and shelves lined with rows of preserved organs. Of course, with the iron stomachs characteristic of students majoring in a branch of biosciences, lunch directly followed all of the specimens and wax models with disfiguring ailments.

Seeing the Symphony Orchestra Concert that evening was one of my favorite things since coming abroad (if not taking the top spot itself). I really enjoy listening to classical music and I love how it (and any kind of music, really) can grab you by the shoulders and sweep you up in it. Ending with Tchaikovsky was just another high note (pun intended); his piece was my favorite. It was also fun to see everyone get dressed up and to have a classy evening out in Vienna. After the concert, a few of us ended the night perfectly with coffee and apple strudel with vanilla sauce. It was a credit to the Viennese Orchestra that the concert remained at the top slot in events of the day, because that apple strudel was delicious! Halfway through the excursion seems like a good breaking point- I'll have to include the rest of events in a second post.