Since last week, a LOT has happened! This past weekend was very quiet and smooth sailing which was much needed after my last trip to Brussels and with school raising the ante little by little. I went out on Friday with some friends which was a blast! I feel very sophisticated and old going to bars and buying drinks, even though I’ll be 21 a few months after I get back to the States. On Sunday we went to a soccer match between Leverkusen and Mainz. Watching each teams’ fans chant was just as fun as watching the actual game. Thankfully, Monday wasn’t too stressful with school as two of my classes cancelled their weekly homework assignments. We also got put into our first Enmodes project groups, and my group “The Landsharks” will definitely come up with the best ideas ;).
On Tuesday I had to get up and get ready at the ungodly hours of 3:30 AM, however I didn’t mind that much because we were leaving for Vienna, Austria!! Vienna has been absolutely breathtaking and I’m so thankful I’ve gotten to spend the last 3 days here!! Once we landed we headed to our hire for the week, the “Deutschmeister”, which was quite nice and roomy!! Also, the hotel had the smallest elevators ever, which was an experience in itself. After taking a little nap we headed out for a city tour led by Dr. Schnabel, a famous Plague doctor from the university 15th century. He took us all over Vienna and showed us different places that were important to medical history! We then got sausages for lunch and then went shopping along the main avenues. We finished the day by taking a tour of the catacombs of St. Michael’s church which was very interesting and spooky! Seeing corpses from the 18th century was a sight to see. We finished the day by feasting at the Ghoulash Museum. It was easily my favorite meal so far in Europe. We had a beef fillet and potatoes ghoulash with chocolate ghoulash for dessert accompanied by Riesling white wine!
The next day we got up early to head over to the Narraturm, a former insane asylum near the University. We got to see lots of wax models of sick and infected patients as well as preserved body parts of those afflicted at the ward. We then had free time for the rest of the day, and we first went to the Albertina art museum which housed original works by Monet and Picasso! We then stopped by a quick sushi restaraunt which was fabulous before heading to Schloß Schönbrunn. Schönbrunn is this humongous palace and garden complex that has a part that overlooks all of Vienna. This sprawling location was breathtaking and was my favorite place to visit and tour by far. The Sun was setting over the ridge behind the Gloriette which provided some amazing photo moments. Unfortunaetly, the garden maze was closed until Spring; however, that didn’t ruin our experience as there were other gardens that were just as sprawling and complicated as the hedge maze. We then finished our day at a pizza restaraunt before hanging out in the hotel for the night.
Yesterday, we began our day at the Josephinum, the former medical school of Vienna. We got to view wax models of people with their organs on display which was quite interesting but creepy at the same time. We then got to eat lunch at the Universitat Brauhaus, which included authentic Austrian Wiener schnitzel and potato salad which was unbelieveably tasty. We then went to see Sigmund Freud’s former apartment and study, which was so cool to see since I’ve learned about Frued and his psychoanalysis in former Psycology classes at A&M. Dr. Wasser led a lecture about Freud while we there and it was very interesting to learn more about his life, beliefs, and impact on psychoanalysis. After that, we all cleaned up and went to St. Anna’s church for a classical music quartet performance. The quartet played movements by both Mozart and Beethoven and both pieces were breathtaking. As a classical music fan this concert was a once in a life time type of experience for me. We finished the day by eating dinner at a Lebanese restaraunt near the church which was great. The chicken kebabs and rice spoiled me as I don’t think the kebabs I eat in the States could ever compare to these.
Today was our last day in Vienna :(. We got up early to pack our bags before heading out to the Spanish Horse Riding school. We had the pleasure of watching the horses and their riders train for the morning which was lovely to see. We then had time to feel around which we spent near the ice skating rink near the Rathaus building before exploring the nearby parks. We finished the day with a tour of the Natural History museum of Vienna. We then went back to our hotel to grab our stuff before heading our separate ways for the weekend.
This trip has spoiled me, as I am not in the mood to go back to Bonn to do school again. I just want to keep traveling all over Europe!! Thankfully, I have a few more days of that because I am currently on a train to Munich! In two hours we will be there and heading to our hostel which hopefully isn’t too sketchy. Anyways, I will write about my adventures in Munich on next week’s blog post.
Thanks for reading, can’t wait to talk to y’all next week!
Tschüs!
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