Biosciences Bonn: Veir: Vienna & Beyond

Dr Wasser really has a knack for running us into the ground. This week we took a trip to Vienna for a few days of medical history and Austrian culture, and it all started after a 3am wakeup call for a 6:30am flight. I accidentally fell asleep at the hotel when we swung by to drop our stuff off and was late to our first activity. Oh well.

We were greeted for our Medical City Tour by “Dr Schnabel.” Dr Schnabel was a 17th century plague doctor donned ceremoniously in the typical physician’s garb during the time of the plague: a floor length black wool robe, physician’s hat, and leather mask filled with cloves, rosemary, and other herbs thought to protect one from the evil disease ravaging the hills. Dr Schnabel came prepared, and “vaccinated” us with spices and potions before leading us on a "dangerous" journey through plagued Vienna to various historic medical sites. He explained that the Jesuits studied in Vienna and had a brilliant anatomy lab to study the human body. Because these early times did not have necessary air conditioning or long-term preservation techniques that would allow the bodies to be suitable for studying, anatomy was a winter-time course, and even then stunk up the university so bad the law school complained.

This was not an isolated occurrence. A vast graveyard was located at the front of St Stephen’s Cathedral, though it was not constructed well and held only shallow graves. So, when heavy rains came, these graves were saturated and allowed the bodies to resurface and litter the streets with bones and rotting flesh. This led to the creation of the catacombs, underground tombs beneath the church. To my dismay, we were not allowed to take photos of the bones and mummies excavated nearly 100 years ago, but I would recommend this tour to anyone who has an understanding of human anatomy and a taste for morbidity. Some of my favorite parts included the four intact human skeletons, most of which still had hair and clothes, and the wall of femurs -- literally a wall constructed from hundreds of femur bones found by 1920s excavators. It was fascinating.

Wednesday began bright and early with a tour of the Narrenturm, an old insane asylum-turned-pathology museum. This multilevel asylum housed patients with mental disorders, physiological conditions, and horrible diseases thought to be consequences of sins or the wrath of the devil. Patients who were thought to be less dangerous were housed on the bottom floors, where they could leave their rooms to wander. Interestingly, the Narrenturm is circular, so these wandering patients would eventually find their way back to their own rooms. Since becoming a museum, the first floor walls are covered in wax models of all the ailments seen and "treated" at the asylum. Some of the most memorable ones included: skeletons of conjoined twins, a wax model of an inverted uterus, pictures of a woman and man with two sets of genitalia, adult skeletons of women who suffered from rickets (their humerus bones and femurs almost made half-circles), a "cyclops" baby, and the intact skull of a man stabbed to death with an ice pick. I could have spent all day in there on my phone looking up which disorders caused these horrific symptoms. Alas, we were kicked out after about an hour and sent on our way for a day of free roaming and exploration.

During our free-time, a group of friends and I visited the Albertina, got sushi for lunch, and eventually found our way to the Schönbrunn Palace. This spectacular residence is a former imperial summer home, and stretched many, many acres. The middle courtyard is full of flowers and color in the summer, but for us was merely an expanse of gravel and soil leading up to the magnificent Neptune Fountain. We then walked around the many gravel trails around the grounds and joked about having "buns of steel" after the trip because of all the hills we've been climbing lately. The view of the city down below at sunset was absolutely gorgeous and made for some fantastic pictures. Something to note: using public transportation has been getting easier the more I've been exposed to it. Now that I know what to look for and how to find specific stops, I am much more comfortable traveling around a new city.

Thursday began with another anatomy lesson at the Josephinum, the house of many medical collections of the University of Vienna. As with the Narrenturm, the building was full of intricate wax sculptures depicting everything from life-size organ systems to specific body parts for more intricate study. Many of these models are kept in the original wooden and Venetian glass cases from the 1800s, making the model's homes priceless as well. There was an entire room dedicated to fetal development and birth. A series of cases showed the ideal pregnancy, from conception to birth, while a fair number of cases depicted developmental mishaps and complicated births. Conjoined twins were also seen here, as well as babies in a backwards fetal position and one with the umbilical cord around its neck. Once again, I could have spent many hours studying the human body here (and it would have been massively helpful in anatomy last semester) but we were shuffled out again within an hour. I plan to tell Dr Wasser to amp up the time in medical galleries and pathological museums, since the basis of this semester is biomedical studies.

After a lengthly lunch at the university cafeteria, we headed off to Sigmund Freud's primary residence. Dr Wasser led us through this strange museum after a 2.5 hour lecture on Freud's life. This museum was underwhelming and mostly made up of pictures, as many of Freud's belongings are now in England as a result of his fleeing the Nazi regime. We finished the day with a classical concert and St Anna's Church. I was exhausted, but the seats were so uncomfortable I managed to stay awake for the whole show. The first piece played was Mozart's "The Chase," and when I closed my eyes all I could picture was an iconic grey cat chasing a cunning, red mouse. I was surprised to actually enjoy the performance.

Friday was our last day in Vienna. We woke up early to shower and pack our things and ventured to the Spanish Riding School to watch their morning practice, aka horses prancing around in circles at various paces. I would have rather slept in. The ticket said the practice was from 10am-noon. I was about to riot, but at 10:45 we got the go-ahead to roam around Vienna until meeting back to go to the Natural History Museum. I had a very enjoyable afternoon with Brynn, Jack, Alexa, and Romi. We went for Kaffee and heiße Schokolade at an authentic Venetian cafe, and then found an excellent Ramen shop for lunch. In all honesty, most of my money has gone to food, because it is all just SO good!! We met back with the rest of the group and got a small 30 minute tour of the first three rooms of the Natural History Museum, and were allowed to walk around on our own for another 30 minutes. Allow me to reiterate my desire for more time in science-related museums.

Once the official, AIB excursion to Vienna came to a close, the BIMS and BMEN kids scattered like ants to get to our self-planned weekend trips. While two big groups went to Prague and Budapest, I split off with a much smaller group of four to go to Fussen and see Neuschwanstein Castle!

The official castle tour of about 30 people lasted 30 minutes and we weren't allowed to take pictures. The rooms in the castle were quite small but intricately decorated. And due to sizes of the rooms and the tour group, admiration was next to impossible. The iconic red entrance to the castle was under extensive renovation and was completely covered in plastic and scaffolding. Overall, the castle itself was underwhelming, at least up close. What made the traveling and exhaustion all worth it was the beautiful hiking trail we found on the way down the mountain and the beauty of the castle from afar.

We stumbled on a crumbling set of stone stairs off to the side of the paved road, and, me being me, decided to explore. This was the absolute best decision of the weekend. An unmarked trail led us up through snowy banks where found an old irrigation system that consisted of small walls sectioning off the mountain. Eventually we found the main road leading to the Marienbrücke, the bridge that runs over the Pollät Gorge. The view of the castle as well as the surrounding area was literally breathtaking. The mountain looked like a fairytale scene, with snowy trees and textured landscapes, making the castle stand dazzlingly against the grey, cloudy backdrop. Another hiking trail began on the other side of the bridge, and there was no hesitation when I asked to follow it. Twenty minutes later we found another, even more beautiful, vantage point of the castle, and had a blast slipping and sliding on the mountain trail. The path was clear enough to see necessary footholds, but snowy enough to make our surroundings appear almost magical.

The impending sunset was our silent alarm, and we begrudgingly began our descent. But on the way back down, the clouds cleared, and the castle became even more picturesque. The stone against a pastel sky was more beautiful than I can describe. If I had more time, I would not have hesitated to hike the entire trail and see how far up the mountain I could go. This was without a doubt the best hiking experience I have ever had, and I recommend it to anyone who loves hills and exploring.