I'm back from the Vienna trip, and it was wonderful - giving a presentation in front of actual living, breathing human beings just is different from giving an online-only presentation. Though I am certainly delighted that the presentation was hybrid, that made it possible for a good number of other people to join in.
There were questions afterwards, and then there was the "Post-Kolloquium" which is the official moniker for "have a meal and some drinks together". It's been forever since I've been at a social like that and that, too, was wonderful.
On the next day, I got to meet up with some colleagues to have a look at a spectacular Bronze Age gold textile, or what's left of it, which is only the gold threads. Interesting debates were had about it, and I got to play a little with some of the testing textiles and give some input, and then there was time for a museum visit before we met up again for dinner.
Some more sightseeing was added in before we went home (the Most Patient Husband went along for the ride), there was bouldering at a Viennese gym (which sort of counts as sightseeing as well), way too much coffee, lots of delicious foods of all kinds, and a lot of rides on diverse public transport vehicles. I'm especially enamored with the Viennese Underground, as there are some sections where it goes overground, with very nice views, and even nicer stations designed by Otto Wagner, a famous architect. These stations are part of the cultural heritage and still in use, so you get to ride modern trains to historical buildings, built in a style that I like very much.
Using public transport this weekend had an added benefit: the vehicles are all heated. It got very cold in Vienna over the weekend, especially on Saturday and Sunday - there was even snow, and not just a few flakes, but enough for it to stay on rooftops and trees. Brrrr!
Now it's back to the desk for the more mundane everyday tasks... though there is the next presentation to prepare, for a workshop coming up towards the end of April.
I'm still feeling a bit queasy about travelling, and meeting up with a lot of people within a short period of time; it's so different from the pandemically mostly secluded life that we have here, and that I've gotten so (maybe too) used to in the last two years. So I hope we haven't caught anything on our trip, and we plan to get a test today and in a few days again.
As a side note regarding the pandemic: Rules in Austria are similar to those in Germany, which means that you will be allowed to take off your mask when in a restaurant and seated at the table. Which means that for the presentation, in the larger room with more air volume and lots of space for each person, everyone wore a mask... while those going to the post-colloqium were then seated at a small table, with little space between individuals, and in a much smaller room, not wearing a mask. I do get the rules, and I completely understand how these situations occur, but it's still sort of weird and makes the rules seem sort of haphazard...