Again, I’ve been lacking on the blog posts and everything that I’ve seen and done is starting to run together. So this post is going to be about my visit to Vienna. I can say that Vienna is probably one of my very favorite cities that I’ve ever visited. Despite the rainy weather we had while there, the city was still vibrant with varying styles of architecture and a rich medical history.
This architecture could be observed from the moment we arrived near our hotel on the first day, but it’s seen best near the city center. On our first day there we got to take a tour of the crypts under St. Michael’s Church. This is where we learned that the city of Vienna has a strange proclivity for all things death-related, and what better place to learn this than surrounded by mummies and dead people.
That night we got to experience a traditional Viennese meal at a brew house. We all ordered a variety of meals and exchanged bites so we could all get a taste of the different dishes.
The next day we were given a medical history walk around part of the city by Dr. Schnabel, aka Dr. Wasser dressed as a medieval plague doctor. He explained to us the different treatments for the plague and what life was like for someone suffering from the plague. Our medical history enrichment continued with visits to a lecture hall at the Austrian Academy for Science, the Josephinum and the Narrenturm. The Josephinum used to be a part of the first military medical school of Vienna, but is now home to a large collection of anatomical and obstetric wax models. We also visited another part of this old medical school, the Narrentum, which now houses the pathological collection. The Narrentum was the very first hospital for the mentally ill in Europe.
Because of the rich medical history and the beautiful architecture, Vienna has become one of my favorite places. Another reason I love it so much is that despite being such a big city, it is fairly calm and tranquil.
Oh, I almost forgot! We also got to have a lecture on Freud while at his apartment in Vienna. This was particularly exciting for me because my father is studying psychology. I was eager to send him pictures, which he ended up showing to some of the fellow interns in his program.
Oh! And we visited the Natural History Museum, the Albertina, and a classical concert. We really did a lot while we were in Vienna, it was great, and now I understand the Billy Joel song.
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| Dr. Schnabel |
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| Lecture Hall Ceiling at the Austria Academy for Science |
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| In the City Center |
Nice pics!
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