Trying to Wien myself off of Apfelstrudel

And just like that, our first major excursion has come and gone. Vienna was everything I had imagined and more. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, as there were some things I didn’t get a chance to see. But I guess that just means I’ll have to come back another time!

Setting my alarm for 3:30 Tuesday was a little disheartening because I am definitely not a morning person, but after a little coffee I perked up. We all made it to the airport, checked our bags, and boarded the plane…only to get right back off. The plane was experiencing some maintenance issues, but we all got meal vouchers! There’s a silver lining in everything, isn’t there?

We began our time in Vienna with a tour of the catacombs of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The experience was certainly unsettling. Being surrounded by coffins and bones, I kept thinking about every scary movie I’ve ever seen. So of course I was wrought up, but it was still really interesting. That evening, we had a group dinner at an authentic Viennese restaurant. I was a little dehydrated from the day, so I was not feeling one-hundred-percent. After drinking about a whole liter of water, I felt much better.

The next day, we started with a visit to the Spanish Horse Riding School. The Lipizzaner stallions were beautiful to watch. We continued the day with a medical walking tour led by Dr. Schnabel. Despite the cold and rainy weather, it was fascinating to learn about the rich medical history of Vienna. Dr. Schnabel was also kind enough to give all of us three different plague remedies. That evening a group of us went to Wiener Eistraum, the ice skating rink. Surprisingly I didn’t fall…I know, hard to believe, right? It was a fun night spent with some really fun people.

The following day, we saw the Sigmund Freud Museum. It was almost surreal to walk in to his actual office. Although the famous couch is not located in Vienna, we still got to see the full waiting room and other various artifacts that were in his office. Later we toured the Josephinum. The Josephinum contains some of the most intricate anatomical wax models created. It was amazing to see how much detail there was.  Afterwards, some friends and I went to a small coffee shop and enjoyed each other’s company; it was a nice afternoon. That evening, our program went to see a performance from a string quartet in a charming church. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

For our last day, we the Narrenturm and the Natural History Museum. The Narrenturm was originally a mental institution but is now a pathological museum. There were some interesting sights to see inside…. We finished our trip with a visit to the Natural History Museum. Some of the highlights included seeing the largest turtle fossil, thousands of precious stones and Venus von Willendorf.

After the museum, we had some free time before we had to meet back at the hotel to leave for the airport. A group of us went to Demel to try their world famous Apfelstrudel. It was absolutely delicious. We then left for the airport and arrived back in Bonn late that evening.

All in all, it was a busy, educational, and exciting trip! Now for “hell week” of school….