Monday began at 7:00 to the sound of my alarm playing "peaceful nature sounds" that are supposed to ease the pain of waking, yet always fail. I slowly transitioned from the warmth of my bed to the freezing world outside. Madeline and I commenced our morning ritual of scarfing down fruit and hastily preparing peanut butter bread to eat during our walk to the tram. Eating on the go has always been a normal practice of mine. In College Station I often grabbed a granola bar or smoothie on my way out the door.I have since discovered this is not a normal practice for Germans. Their confused stares indicate my rushed breakfast habits are slightly absurd. Brushing away their judgements, I hopped onto the tram with Madeline and headed to the AIB for our last full day of classes before Vienna. Our class schedule, per usual, was packed from 8:45 to 17:00 with a brief hour break for lunch. The morning consisted of a combination of my most beloved and hated lectures. Physiology was enjoyable as Dr. Wasser continued to further divulge the intricacies of the cardiovascular system. Next was BMEN 253, where the FDA approval process became a lullaby for most of the students. The final morning lecture was BMEN 211, my least favorite class. I was surprised to see that during the lecture my frustrations finally lifted as the complicated mathematics of circuits finally (sorta) made sense. Madeline and I headed straight for the falafel stand in fear that one more second without food would end us. After satisfying our hunger and venting about our lack of sleep we sat down for German. We sounded out words like children learning to read for the first time, but Hilde patiently corrected us. Finally, our last class was MATH 308. I have found this class to be one of the most difficult. Not because of the material, but through the manner in which it is taught. Our professor does his best teaching through a webstream but everyone still struggles to pay attention. Once classes finally commenced, Madeline and I headed back home to eat dinner and pack for Vienna.
Tuesday started before Monday had a chance to end. It took six alarms and Madeline screaming "LAUREN WE CAN'T BE LATE" but Madeline and I made it on the taxi in time. We anxiously boarded the bus and drank our smoothies. We arrived at the airport bought a coffee to compensate for the lack of sleep. Once finally on the plane, I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep. When I opened them again, I was in another country. Borderline delirious, the group and I made it through the airport and onto the train. After switching trains a few times and walking in between, we arrived at the hotel. Madeline, Emily and I walked up the stone staircase to our cozy room that outlooked the courtyard. We decided to take a nap before the days activities officially began. We all seemed a bit shocked at the idea that we had eaten three breakfasts, taken a nap, and traveled to another country all before 10:00. We walked to the lobby and met up with the group. We used the subway to travel to the city center. We were all huddled near the stairs of the subway chatting, when I saw a dark figure climbing up the stairway steps. The figure came into the light and it was covered from head to toe in black with a beak-like mask on. I turned to Madeline and tried to discretely whisper "turn around". Her eyes widened and my heart rate started to increase from panic. It was only a few more seconds until everyone turned around to see the same figure. It soon became apparent that the figure was not a threat but instead, Dr. Wasser dressed as a physician during the plague. With a laugh of relief, we started the walking tour. Dr. Wasser brought along typical "plague remedies" which consisted of cloves, vinegar, lemonade and candies. The tour revealed the beauty of Viennese architecture. The buildings were beautifully constructed with gold plating and accents. The insides some of these buildings are covered from floor to ceilings with elaborately painted murals. The beauty can only be understood from witnessing it oneself. Pictures and words cannot accurately depict it. Later that evening we sat down for dinner at the goulasch museum. I ordered the vegetarian goulasch and it may have been the most delicious dinner I've had yet. After a long day, we finally headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest.
Wednesday started with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, pastries, and lots of coffee. We were given a good amount of free time to explore Vienna for ourselves. Mitchell, Emily, Corey, Jack, Madeline and I started our day by visiting the national library. Walking through those double doors transports you into another world. The library was filled from bottom to top with dark wood bookshelves brimming with books and lined with gold. The ceiling presented a gorgeous painting depicting angels, scholars, warriors, scientists and many great professions. The paintings were perfectly illuminated by evenly spaced windows that lined the circumference of the dome. The floor was composed of marble tiles. In the center of the library sat a large marble statue. Although not the only statues, it was by far the greatest. Next, we decided to explore the gardens. We stumbled upon a small, modest park in front of the library. The patchy grass made for the perfect seat to soak up the sunshine we so dearly missed. After hours of exploring, we decided to find somewhere to stop for lunch. We found a small restaurant hidden, Glacis Beisl, that was hidden away in a basement. After passing the guard of plants, we walked inside to see a beautiful restaurant brought to life by hanging string lights and the sound of an acoustic guitar. After satisfying our schnitzel cravings, we headed back to the hotel to study. The temptation to explore and eat made concentrating on homework nearly impossible. However, with a test approaching and challenging homework assignments due, we pushed through.
Thursday started similar to Wednesday, with a good breakfast and a full nights sleep. We started by visiting the Institute of the History of Medicine. The museum was by far my favorite of the trip. Inside contained elaborate wax models depicting the beauty of human anatomy. Although one could imagine viewing the inside of the human body as being gruesome, these models were artfully created. Looking at them was like gazing upon the brain of the Mona Lisa. My favorite figures were those that stood upright. Each of them showed different systems of the body, all the connections and intricacies that allow us to be alive. Next we went to the Freud museum. We learned about the parts within the human body that cannot necessarily be seen. I was interested to learn more and Freud and psycho analysis. I had taken a semester course in high school and found the ideas of psychology fascinating. After touring, we headed to a restaurant near the university for lunch. There I had the most delicious macaroni and cheese. Afterwards, we walked back to the hotel to change and prepare for the symphony. We took a brief nap then quickly put on our best clothes and headed out the door. After walking for a bit, we entered one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen. The rigged pews forced you to sit straight up in your seat. The church was made of pink and blue marble. Similar to the library, every inch of the ceiling was covered in paintings. However, these paintings depicted religious symbols as opposed to scholarly ones. After a few moments, the lights dimmed and four musicians entered the front of the cathedral. The music filled the entire room. The characters in the mural even seemed to come to life with the music. This was my first time at a symphony, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is definitely a different tone from your average concert. We left the cathedral and headed to a pizza restaurant for dinner. Dinner went well per usual until it came time to pay the check. In Germany, it is not custom to leave a tip if you are a student. However, we received the implication that tipping was custom upon our departure. Our waiter made a few brief remarks to his coworkers as we exited. Confused and embarrassed we headed back to the hotel.
Friday started with a tour of the Natural Science Museum in the City center of Vienna. In the museum we saw an assortment of rocks, jewels, animals, bugs, and reptiles. The museum contains about 30 million specimen for exhibition. After the museum, we grabbed our bags and headed to the bus station where we would be driving to Budapest, Hungary. Next to the bus station was a mall. A large group of us stayed there to pass the time. About 20 minutes before our departure, we headed toward the bus stop. About 3 minutes after that we headed in the opposite direction. Then we stopped and asked for directions. At this point there was a group of 7 american tourists frantically sprinting through the mall with our luggage flying everywhere. Finally after 10 minutes of searching for the bus station, we found it. It sat directly across from where we had been sitting during our break. Relived and laughing at ourselves, we boarded the bus. We finally arrived in Budapest and walked about a mile to check into our Airbnb. When we arrived, a man named Peter showed us to the apartment. When he opened the door, at the table sat a woman loudly slurping her soup. Peter ignored the woman and we all looked at each other in confusion. Once he left, we talked to the woman and it turned out she was also a traveller. After conversing with our new friend, we all headed to bed.
Saturday, we woke up and headed to the famous Budapest baths. We walked into a gorgeous yellow building and stood in line to purchase tickets. Once inside, we headed to the locker room. Once changed, we sprinted to the baths to avoid freezing. After meeting up with other friends, we explored the hot tubs, sauna, ice baths and showers. Madeline and I headed home after our fingers finally started to prune. We grabbed some dinner and a warm Italian restaurant near our apartment. After filling ourselves with gnocci and cheese, we went home for a nap. We woke up a few hours later and decided to experience the famous nightlife in Budapest. We met up with Alwin, Vijay, and Alwin's brother and his friends. We settled on going to Instant, Europe's largest night club. The club was five stories tall. The second and basement floors were a system of tunnels with separate rooms on the side. In each of the rooms it was nearly pitch black. At the front was a stage with a dj playing techno music. The second floor also had balconies where people went to cool off and share a cigarette. The middle floor was broken into two larger rooms. Each contained a bar, loud pop music, and masses of people. After a few hours of dancing, exploring the club and making new friends, we headed home.
Sunday, Madeline and I slept in. We got up for lunch and briefly walked around the city. After a few hours, we took a small nap. Later in the evening we met up with Corey, Mitchell, Emily and Katie for dinner. We found a traditional Hungarian restaurant in the basement of a building. The walls and ceiling were constructed of cobblestone. I had a delicious meal of creamy french onion soup and roasted vegetables. We took a long stroll back to the airbnb to finish our studies for the weekend and get some sleep before our early flight the next morning.
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