We left Innsbruck this morning and were headed only “One Direction”: towards Verona. Which direction was that you might ask? North? South? East? West? None of the above actually.

We arrived in Verona around noon, and were surprised by a massive amount of people everywhere. We headed downtown to discover the band One Direction was playing.

The city was packed with fans waiting for the 8pm show. We grabbed lunch while avoiding the crowd, and while waiting for our walking tour to begin. It was a nice sunny day… until it wasn’t…

After lunch and just before starting the walking tour, rain began to pour. Students ran and bought ponchos, and our tour was ultimately cancelled.

Later in the night, the weather cleared up and everyone was out and about.

Here are some pictures from the day: http://imgur.com/a/aX4d0

The second day of Innsbruck started with a visit to Swarovski Crystal. Swarovski gave us a presentation about their business in general, and then a tour of the history of Swarovski. Afterwards, we went to a Swarovski Crystal World– a museum of sorts. The tour ended in the shop, where the students shopped their hearts out (Swarovski did just fine!).

The afternoon was free to enjoy the city. At 7:30, we started on a lantern hike. The lantern hike was a ~30 minute or so hike up one of the nearby mountains. At the end of the hike was a restaurant with yodelers awaiting us. The yodelers made everyone in the group yodel, and even dance (yes, including Professor Fusting). The whole event was quite crazy! After the eating, singing, and dancing, we headed back down the mountain. The way back was pitch black, so we had lanterns to guide our path (hence the name of the hike).

Day 3 of Innsbruck was a free day to enjoy the city. All of the students went canyoning, while Professor Klink chose to run, and Professor Fusting, our driver Franco, and myself chose to take the lift to the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain was an amazing experience; the view was outstanding! We ended the day with a nice dinner, and are prepared to leave for Verona tomorrow morning.

This blog has run out of space for pictures, so pictures related to this post can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/vBR0x

Busy day today, but productive. We departed early morning for Innsbruck. First stop: Riedel Glassworks in Kufstein.

Riedel manufactures premier hand blown glassware. Frederique took us on a tour of the company, including where all the action happens. It as amazingly hot in there– hot enough to melt glass…

After the tour and gift shop, we left Riedel and ventured towards our hotel in Innsbruck. Before checking in, we gathered in a conference room and the Innsbruck Tourist Board presented. The Innsbruck Tourist Board spoke about their marketing strategies aimed at bringing tourists to Innsbruck. The students were engaged in the presentation, and especially enjoyed the videos of the attractions: skydiving, whitewater rafting, canyoning and paragliding.

Today, we ventured out much earlier than on Tuesday: 9:15 instead of 9:30! Our destination? Adobe Systems (you have probably heard of them!).

There was an excellent presentation by some student workers that currently are stationed at the Adobe office in Munich (although they rotate every 3 months to a different Adobe office!). The presentation covered everything from an overview of Munich, to Adobe’s products, to their marketing strategies.

Overall, the presentation was well put-together and enjoyable. The students (both Loyola and Adobe) were engaged in productive conversation throughout. Did I mention they treated us to an excellent lunch??

After visiting Adobe, the afternoon was free to explore Munich. During this time, many of the students went out into the city to see some of the sights.

Here are some pictures from the day. The last one is for all of my fellow “Game of Thrones” geeks:

We arrived in Munich yesterday afternoon. While fighting jet lag, we made it around the city and to a couple of churches. Ended up going to a nice authentic German restaurant for dinner. At the end of the day, everyone finally got to catch up on much needed sleep!

Today, we went to the BMW museum instead of touring the BMW factory (they had to cancel). The museum was an excellent alternative! It was fascinating to see the history of BMW from its origins to current production line. The students seemed to really enjoy the BMW factory, and many were diligently taking notes/pictures on their iPads.

After the BMW museum, we headed out to Dachau. Dachau was the original concentration camp founded during WWII. It was a very powerful place to visit, and you could sense deep reflection among the students as they walked the grounds.

Pat is unable to attend the trip this year, so I will be going in his place. Who am I? Nick Velich from Technology Services of course! Let’s pick up right where Pat left off:

iPads have been distributed and we are ready to go! Two days remain before heading out to Munich, Innsbruck, Verona and Rome. The students have had little trouble so far with getting their iPads ready for the trip; hopefully that is a good sign for things to come.

There were a few last minute changes in trip agenda. First, we will no longer be touring the BMW factory, and will instead visit the BMW Welt Museum. Second, we will be attempting to replace a visit to SKIN with a visit to ICE Italian Trade Commission.

Anyway, it’s time to start packing…

Energized from a good night’s rest our crew spent the day exploring the city of Rome.  Many visited the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, and Piazza Navona.  More than half ventured to the Holy See to tour the Vatican and St. Peter’s Square.

I would not be able to do the Vatican justice by attempting to explain the beautiful artwork and history in the museums.  Prof. Fusting and I spent twenty minutes alone inside staring up at Michelangelo’s ceiling in all of its glory.  Unfortunately, Pentecost mass in the morning  at St. Peter’s caused a three-hour line to get inside.  Instead, we opted to enjoy the view from the square and ventured out to other sites in Rome.

Weary from a day of walking, we rested a bit at the hotel before enjoying a traditional Italian meal of meat and pasta.  The ambiance of good food and sounds of accordions playing around the corner just could not be beat!

Formal day!  We dress to impress this morning to visit global health care giant, Johnson & Johnson.  The location is about 40 minutes outside of Rome and is a manufacturing and business campus, complete with football field (soccer).

Johnson and Johnson’s corporate mission is highly regarded and studied by international businesses.  They maintain a focus on people and care before profit and bottom lines.  In many scenarios, they have lost money in order to do what is right.  This corporate mantra translates well across international boundaries and was illustrated well in the presentations we heard today.  The speakers talked about J&J’s definition of value:

• Quality & innovation
• Transparency
• Accompanying customers
• Developing partnerships

These pillars their business shape and mold employees to perform their work with care and influence the manner in which work is performed.  To measure their success, J&J takes frequent climate surveys, using the results to dictate their business decisions.  Students learned how J&J’s marketing strategy consistently focuses on images and phrases central to humankind, such faces and body movements that promote the marketing message of better health and lifestyle.

After a full morning of this special opportunity from one of the world’s leading companies, we were treated to lunch and discussion.  I believe the students gleamed much from these intelligent and outspoken professionals.

Back in Rome, we changed and had the afternoon free to explore.  I spent my time wandering to the Pantheon and the Church of the Gesu, my favorite church in the world.  A piazza and pizza for dinner and then to bed for a free day tomorrow!

Ahhhh, Roma!  Everyone is electric since checking in to the hotel.  We all cleaned up after checking in yesterday and headed out to enjoy the sites, sounds, and cuisine of this ancient city.  This morning we had breakfast and enjoyed time visiting local sites such as the Colosseum, which is about four blocks from the hotel.

In the afternoon we gather to take the metro to SKIN Fine Italian Leather.  The business began many years ago by the son of a tanner.  His ideas revolutionized the leather fashion industry.  Mr. Gabizon’s inventions include colored leathers and unique styles never before seen in the industry.

Mr. Gabizon shared his story and provided some valuable business insights.  First, he mentioned the importance of changing with the times in order to stay relevant to consumers.  He attributes his product’s endurance in the industry through constant yearly innovations.  Some he says are successful, while some fail, but he believed that his brand’s value is enhanced even by a failure as long as he is seen as being consistently innovative.

SKIN was a company that started small and became a global leader.  Mr. Gabizon believed that investing in quality materials and not succumbing to temptations of saving costs is important.  If you are a luxury goods designer, then manufacture with top quality, always.  In the same way, he said that it is important to surround yourself with good talent.  Pay employees well who are known to be the best in the business.

If all else fails, Mr. Gabizon instructed others to change the game.  Challenge the status-quo and become different.  Students learned the value of attaching quality to a brand and showcasing designs consistently while mixing the product when necessary.

Our visit ended with a fashion show as we all donned SKIN apparel and walked the runway.  Almost everyone had their iPad out taking pictures and videos.  :)  A truly great site visit with a lot of flair and fun.

We departed from SKIN and spent the evening exploring Rome.

Nine hours.  That’s what we’re looking forward to today on the road travelling from Nice to Rome.  It sounds daunting, but the coach is nice and makes frequent stops.  Many catch up on sleep as every day we’ve been outside moving.  This is also a good chance for students to work on their assignments for the class.  I observe many of them diligently tapping away at their iPad screens effortlessly placing their thoughts to words.  In addition, those that have opted to create a trip marketing project using Adobe Collage have been adding their pictures in and learning the product well.  I am anxious to see their creativity when the assignments are due.

The iPads have been proving valuable not only for academics on the trip, but on long coach rides too.  Students work on assignments while listening to music, or they view movies they’ve loaded and play games together.  As far as I can tell, the long travel doesn’t seem to be the usual, “are we there yet?”

The biggest trick for me is yet to come: pulling the student data off the iPads.  The assignments are done in Pages, but there are now valuable pictures and movies loaded on to these devices that the students should be able to keep.  The uncertainty of free WiFi connectivity makes it hard to give instructions on how best to accomplish this all.  Luckily, when we arrive at the Rome hotel, it has WiFi, but not free.  I will be thinking over the next few days about how to gather all student work as well as assisting them in getting their media to an accessible personal space.

After check-in, everyone has the night free.  Many spend it picking a direction and walking around this beautiful ancient city.  Tomorrow, the morning is free followed by an afternoon visit with Italian leather maker, SKIN.  Bona cera for now.