Getting some culture

Last week was a week spent in Wien, Österreich. It is sometimes called the "City of Music" because of its connection with Mozart and other well known composers but to me it was mostly the "City of freaking awesome food". 

The first night in Wien we were given a tour of the giant cathedral that dominated the city centers skyline called St. Stephens Cathedral. This tour was more unique than the tour we got in Koln because of what lay waiting beneath the gothic style arches and spires, the crypts. Upon walking down the dark stairs an immediate chill entered the air, I got the feeling that this was a place people didn't often go down alone into (I know I sure was glad for the large group we were in). The first room with all its collection of bones and decaying coffin was quite eerie. Our guide went on to tell us that most of these bodies were actually a result of the bubonic plague, this only added to the unease of the group as we looked at more and more rooms filled with bones and burial equipment. 

After we surfaced from that interesting experience the mood switched from death to life as we marched our tired bodies to a traditional Vienna restaurant to feast and drink. The bottle of red that me and two others split was very nice and the goulash soup I had to start off with was an amazing taste that I had never tried before. The main course though was simply indescribable. A Cordon Blu that was fried veal stuffed with bacon, cheese, onions, and mushrooms and served with baked and seasoned potatoes was a dish I won't be forgetting soon. And after this ridiculous amount of food we were served a giant sample tray of desserts ranging from creme drizzled crepes, chocolate rum cake, and sweet heavenly apple strudel.

The next few days seemed to go by in too much of a blur that consisted of more amazing food, lectures in interesting subjects like homeomyopathy, European medical schools, and tours of everything ranging from the natural history museum and the Narrenturum (crazy house). But soon it was friday and time to check out of our hotel and head for one last tour, the Sigmund Freud House. It was really cool to stand where he stood and to see where he would conduct his treatments with patients, but soon that was also over and done with as we made our way to the airport and onto the plane. It was a weird feeling to be going home back to Germany, whenever I had previously returned on an airplane it was always to Houston and back to my normal life in Texas. Coming back to Bonn felt different but it still felt like returning home.