Our first Thursday of Plus3 Germany started off with a casual and traditional Weißwurst breakfast in the beautiful countryside of Bavaria, about 30 minutes from Augsburg. Across the restaurant were these immense green fields and colorful rapeseed fields. Weißwurst translates to “white sausage” in German, and the process of eating it was very new to me. First, we chose our drink, and unluckily for us, they only had sparkling water. Then, we were handed our bowl of sausages in steaming water. The sausages looked extremely unappetizing at first, but I was willing to give them a try. We were also served buttery pretzels and a cheese board with pickles and radishes. A key part of eating Weißwurst is to properly peel off the casing with a knife and fork. After two or three almost successful attempts, I was eventually able to master my technique on my fourth sausage. They tasted really good, by the way. It was even better with the unique mustard they had, which I had never tried before.

After our delicious frühstück (breakfast), we went back to the hotel to change out of our casual clothes into business casual on this super hot day for our fourth company visit, Faurecia. I initially looked forward to what Faurecia would be like since we had to sign an NDA before entering their facilities. We also had to show our ID to enter, and they gave us a lab coat, goggles, and safety shoes to wear when we were in the plant. It seemed very serious, so I thought the plant would be extremely complex and fascinating. However, I was honestly underwhelmed. The facility in Augsburg produces prototypes for mufflers and engines, and much of the space was used for storage and logistics purposes. It didn’t seem like there were many machines doing complicated tasks like at Hoerbiger and BMW. After the tour, Faurecia provided us with a great lunch with lots of different pretzel and bagel sandwiches and this amazing panna cotta. We then sat through 4 additional presentations, which gave us insight into Faurecia’s other products, such as interiors, cockpit electronics, and heating systems. A Michigan-based representative also talked virtually about the North American side and career opportunities at Faurecia.

Since our company visit was in Augsburg, we were able to return to our hotel earlier than on other days. Most of the guys and I went to dinner at Wirtshaus Unter dem Bogen, a traditional Bavarian restaurant. The food was incredible! First, Liam and I split a beef tartare. We were nervous at first, but it ended up being really tasty. The name of the entrée I ordered was hilariously long, but it was essentially meatballs and a potato-cucumber salad. We then headed back to our hotel to catch up on blogs and get some rest before our early day tomorrow. Until next time!