Meeting a Fellow Perrysburger in Vienna

Candy and I attended the "English Speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna" this morning.  It was about a 25 minute walk from our AirBnb apartment.  One of the first people to introduce themselves was Jerry Barton.  He asked us where we were from, and Candy said Ohio.  He then asked where in Ohio, and she said "Perrysburg."  He exclaimed, "Perrysburg?"  I started to explain that it was close to Toledo when he said he was a 1966 graduate of Perrysburg High School.  Actually, he grew up on Ft. Meigs Road, less than a mile from our house.

Jerry Barton and Dwayne 

He normally plays the organ for the church service, but did not do so today.  Candy was fascinated by the organ and took a picture:

Enjoying a Night Out in Vienna, Austria

After a productive work week, we joined Christina Sichtmann and her partner Tobias Proll for drinks and music at Cafe Amadeus.  The music included guitarist (and sometimes kazoo player) George Albert, who sang both German and U.S. songs. I only knew three of the U.S. songs...one of them, the last one he played, was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz movie.

Tobias, Christina, Dwayne, and Candy

We were told this was NOT a place tourists would know about nor visit...so, we were able to have an authentic Austrian experience.

Working on My Sabbatical Project in Vienna

The primary project that I proposed working on during my Faculty Improvement Leave (known elsewhere as a sabbatical) was to collaborate on developing a program for assistant professors with Dr. Christina Sichtmann.  We spent several long days designing a program that we hope will provide some insights to this group as they cultivate a research pipeline.

Dwayne and Christina at work!

We did take some breaks during our stay, and Christina had several ideas about places to see.  Today we visited Schönbrunn Palace.  It and the grounds around it are quite impressive.  The three of us walked around for a couple of hours, and Candy photographed Christina and I so that we might have some pictures for promotional materials for our program.  Christina took the picture below of Candy and I in front of the Palace.

At Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria

Exploring the University of Vienna, Austria

I had the pleasure today of visiting the Faculty of Economics at the University of Vienna.  Of course, my primary interest was in their Department of Marketing.

Christoph Fuchs, the chair of the Department of Marketing, welcomed me when I first arrived.  Later he treated Adamantios Diamantopoulos and me to lunch.  Adamantios just retired (on October 1), so he was enlightening me on how that was working for him and providing me with some tips for when I retire.  

Christoph Fuchs is on the left and Adamantios Diamantopoulos on the right.