Week 3

Blog Post of Week 3: Vienna and Budapest

February 5, 2018

As I was walking back from the bus stop last night after a long day of traveling back to Bonn from the long-awaited Vienna excursion, my heart actually felt like it was headed home *sheds tear.* I walked down that same route that I take from the train station at Ramersdorf, around the sharp corner, and down the street to the house, and I was super excited to be back in this now familiar place and sleep on that little bed with the nonexistent foot space that I now call my own!

Looking back on the Vienna experience, it is clear that those four days alone really changed my perception on the world and opened my mind to the perplexities of what more there is left to discover. The architecture was different from Germany in ways I cannot explain (I’m no architecture major), and the culture was richer than anything I’d ever experienced. It seemed like every corner had a huge classical building with mystical stories hidden inside. The streets were made of cobblestones, and each step felt like I was walking on history- and dead people.

My favorite experience in Vienna was the classical concert at the Saint Anne’s church. As an amateur musician myself, it was amazing to hear Mozart being played in the city where he became one of the greatest musicians to ever live, and to listen to Beethoven knowing that I’m now living in the place where he was birthed. This kind of experience helps me appreciate the abundance of Europe’s past and shows me how lucky I am to be here.

After the excursion to Vienna, I went to Budapest and Wow. It was the greatest experience I’ve had in my life thus far! We went to the Szechenyi baths which is this cool outdoor hot tub-like thing, and spent about 3 hours soaking in the steaming hot water, perfectly relaxed, while the weather outside was basically freezing.

But even this wasn’t the best part about Budapest.

The night lights of Budapest are frickin INCREDIBLE. On our last evening there, we explored the city by climbing up one hill to a large statue, then climbing up to another hill which houses the Buda Castle a couple of miles away, then trekked across the oldest and brightest bridge in Budapest, then finally made our way to the Parliament Building. If you’ve never seen a picture of Budapest at night, you need to. Right now. The view from each corner of the city was breathtaking and I had never felt so completely gratified. You could see the sparkling lights speckled on the hills and lines of illuminations against the bridge crossing the Danube River, as well as the Parliament building completely glowing and it was a sight that can only truly be appreciated in person.

This week was amazing and I feel so lucky for being a part of this experience. I am happy to be here and I look forward to even more experiences to come. I feel like I say this each blog post but I definitely mean it after this past week.

As far as academics go for week 3, there is not too much to say since we had the big excursion. I can tell that my Mondays and Wednesdays are going to be long due to the evening genetics class (which I’m waiting for right now), but I don’t mind it too much. All the BMEN students keep saying that BIMS is easy and we don’t get any homework, but I feel like I have a good amount of work and studying to do, just not an excessive amount like they do. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Most of the learning done this week was via experience. We toured medical facilities in Vienna like the Josephium and Narrentum which taught me about the history of Austrian medicine. It was very advanced for its time, since the medical quarter in Vienna was one of the first of its kind. I also saw the wax figure collection that they used to teach medical students about certain diseases which was gross, but hey, that’s what’s expected when you study Biomedical Science.

Other learning moments included Dr. Wasser’s alter ego giving us medication to fight off the plague and I think it worked; I don’t seem to be catching that’s going around the group. It was some kind of spice and I should really tell Dr. Wasser what a lifesaver he is for making me try it.

We ate traditional Goulash at The Goulash Museum and it tasted like my dad’s cooking, which I think he’d be flattered to hear. I like the big group meals because it makes me feel classy and I can order as much coffee as I want without worrying about the bill at the end J Also, trying the local cuisine makes me feel more cultured and now I can tell people I had Goulash in Austria and actually liked it.

This is the mostly what went down academically during week 3. I need to study for genetics now since I have an exam on Wednesday, so Bis Bald!