{"id":3225,"date":"2023-04-30T21:13:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-30T19:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redhairedgoon.com\/?page_id=3225"},"modified":"2024-01-01T23:55:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T22:55:09","slug":"vienna-april-2023","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/redhairedgoon.com\/index.php\/photographs\/vienna-april-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Vienna April 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The traditional Nokia Wavelengths (ex-AON) trip is now firmly back on. New location this year, superbly located in the centre of Vienna. Workwise it was one of the hardest trip to prepare, with equipment not arriving, plan B hatched very late, missing other items, and constant change of configurations until the last minute, depending on others. In the end, a few mad days in the office, followed by two very late finishes in Vienna, and everything was set up well, it was a collective effort, I went through all states of hope and despair in a week, not giving up but sometimes close to not believing we could pull it off (at least my part). So very proud to get something good running in the end. I was mostly too tired for the event itself, but the hard bit was done so less stress after. The ‘networking’ event happened while Arsenal were losing heavily to Man City, not very suprisingly given the recent trends. It was good fun, but I possibly had a few too many drinks, so when a Mexican colleague (funnily enough who ended up on the same plane back to Paris before flying on to Mexico City) offered Tequila before we did our usual polishing off of the evening with a well-deserved Zacapa, well, I think that was the killer and the next day was a struggle. Not many customers then thankfully but I had to lie down a couple of times before wrapping up and unpacking. Next year we only know it’s going to be somewhere we’ve been before (the smart money seems to be on Warsaw), but also that it’s going to start on a….Monday. Good for some maybe, but for us it means working extra on Saturday and Sunday rather than just the Sunday. Anyway, as luck had it, the weather on the Thursday afternoon was gorgeous, and given the location, I decided to go on a decent walk once I had recovered just about enough energy early evening. A wander of nearly two hours, and I was absolutely impressed by all the architectural wonders in a small perimeter. I hadn’t been in the centre at all last time, so this was really cool, despite not having quite enough time to enjoy. I decided to save a bit for the next day (namely the Cathedral), promising myself to take an hour or so in the morning before heading to the airport. So I also went inside the cathedral, but for some reason I still feel uncomfortable taking pictures inside churches. So you’ll only have to take my word praising decent art and a very impressive organ. Bonus perk this time, a quirk of flying with a different airline out and in allowed me to travel back in Business Class for the first time in my life (I’m not sure the strange upgrade on the tiny plane between London City Airport and Dublin should count), for cheaper than it would have been to fly Economy. Sure, it’s a short-ish flight, but this was very nice. Right, enough waffling about this trip, enjoy the sights (and a bit of the work photos).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The main attraction…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Doesn’t look like much, but was a lot of last minute hard work to set up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The demo room is ready!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Nibbles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Spent most of my time there.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n