The Trip to Vienna: Teil 1

This last week, our entire group went off to Vienna for a few days. Specifically, we left Wednesday morning and returned Saturday night. Miraculously, everyone was on time on Wednesday despite the 5:15 AM meeting time. By around 10 we were checking into our hotel. After breakfast at the hotel, which offered it for free, we went for a tour of the city as guided by Dr. Wasser. We learned about various scientists in the 19^th century who participated in the German Revolution of 1848, why the German flag is black, red, and gold, a mysterious painting on the side of a building depicting the fight between the Catholic Church and the Protestants, Gutenberg, Maria Theresia, die Pestsäule (the Plague column), the infamous Paracelsus, and more.

After a very quick lunch, we strolled over to the Museum of Vienna for an exhibit on the growth of Vienna through the Renaissance era, which was followed by a tour of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. At St. Stephan’s, we were also given a tour of the catacombs beneath the cathedral. In addition to being used as a burial sight for high ranking church officials, which is still done to this day, the catacombs once served as a mass grave sight for common folk. During our free time, we came across several street performers, including the musical group in the picture. This particular group seemed especially popular, and they had attracted a fairly substantial audience. That night, we ate dinner at a traditional Viennese restaurant that served Goulasch.

The next day, we were given a lecture on medical education in Europe by Professor März in the Viennese Medical School/hospital. However, before the lecture, we were allowed to see the city from the roof of the school, which is probably more impressive than it sounds. Immediately after the lecture, we went to the Narrenturm to see a collection of medical oddities and things-of-interest. We were shown molds of diseased skin, misshapen organs, misshapen skeletons, pictures of people with odd disorders and disease, tools used in the 19^th century, and more. It should be noted that the Narrenturm was originally an insane asylum that featured a tower where then-emperor Josef II would supposedly conduct mysterious rituals. Later, we saw a collection of wax models created in the late 18^th century that used real human bodies and organs as a base. The models have been described as the “Body Worlds models” of their day. That night, we all went to listen to the Viennese Symphony Orchestra. They played pieces by Stravinsky, Henri Tomasi, and Tchaikovski, and, I believe, they were conducted by Hans Graf, who was the former conductor of the Houston Symphony.