Vienna!

We spent the majority of last week in Vienna and I absolutely loved it! Admittedly, the first day there was too cold for everyone, but somehow we made it through our city tour. I'm sure that the anti-plague medications provided to us by our plague doctor were vital in keeping us all healthy in the freezing cold. I was fascinated by all of the medical history surrounding Vienna, and the buildings were gorgeous.

Pork Chop Dinner

But before I go any further, I have to talk about the food. Food is one of the nearest and dearest things to my heart. Vienna was exceptional food-wise. Pictured on the left is my meal from the Goulash Museum. Obviously it's not Goulash because that all had gluten and I didn't feel like going through the aftermath of that choice. But it was fantastic. Paired with the proper wine, it was a great start to the trip. 

Another wonderful meal I had was pork medallions wrapped in bacon. This was paired with bacon wrapped green beans and mashed potatoes fried into little cylinders. I don't have a picture of this masterpiece, but it was life-changing. Along with this meal I tried apple juice mixed with sparkling water for the first time. This was actually insanely good and I'm definitely gonna make my own back in Texas.

In general, I've noticed that food in Europe can be very affordable if you look in the right places. This is great for a starving college student. However, wow Vienna, you're expensive. I had a great time, but my wallet isn't begging me to go back anytime soon.

Some of Sigmund Freud's Belongings

Another awesome place we got to visit was Sigmund Freud's old office. While the place itself was only a few rooms, they were jam-packed with information. I'm a big fan of Sigmund Freud's work, and getting to stand in the place where he did so much of his work was incredible. Seeing his belongings along with letters and other objects which were in the old apartment was an experience I'm so glad I got to have. 

We also had a History of Medicine lecture in the building. I thought that was super cool. Getting to learn all about his life and his work while sitting right under the area where he did his work had a special charm about it. That's an experience very few people can say they've ever had.

Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace was a place that I visited with some friends on my own time and I'm so glad I did. We ended up spending the majority of our time in the zoo behind the palace. I had no idea how huge this palace was. I could spend an entire day exploring the area and certainly not cover everything, it was incredible. Unfortunately, we only got to do a speed tour through the palace itself, but I'm hoping to be able to return and do a fully intensive guided tour sometime in the future.

Dr. Wasser with His Favorite Turtle

I think the highlight of the trip for me had to be the Natural History Museum. I really wish we could've spent more time there, and I'm certainly going to try to get back there as soon as I can. To the right is Dr. Wasser with his favorite turtle, and the biggest found of its kind. The museum was full of all kinds of meteorites, fossils, and more. 

Finally, I don't have any pictures, but we visited the "Fool's Tower" and the Josephinium. These two places were incredible, but not for the faint of heart. They were each filled with all kinds of medical records, wax models, and preserved body parts. The Fool's Tower was the first purpose-built insane asylum, which I thought was super cool.