We had to get up super early today, so I was awake by 6AM. I had breakfast at the hotel and they had a waffle maker that made a flower shaped waffle. We departed via bus for the company and drove for a good while through a lot of German countryside. The country was a lush green dotted with farms and distant towns. All of the roofs of the houses that we passed were red. The cows that we saw were all different shades of brown and a lot of the trees were of various species. I was expecting the country to have a lot of aging houses and dirt roads like in the U.S. The roads were very well paved and kept. While many of the houses were old, they were mostly cleaned and well maintained from the outside. It is evident that Germany prides itself on its infrastructure and the maintenance of their homes.

When we got to the company, I was immediately blown away by how organized the structure of the manufacturing areas and office spaces were. We got to tour much of their facilities, including the assembly line that makes their Piezo. I was shocked to find out that most of the assembly is automated with maintenance being the only human interference. Hoerbiger fits into the automobile supply chain in the very specific way that they manufacture parts for transmission engines. They seem very well prepared and willing to transition their facilities and company focuses to pivot with the market as green energy and e-mobility rises in popularity.

After the company visit, we headed to Oberammergau which is a small town in the countryside. We took a lift up to the top of a mountainside that gave us a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains. We spent a lot of time taking pictures and being unashamedly touristy. We also got to watch a lot of parasailers take the leap off of the side of the mountain and fly. We then headed back to the town to get dinner and shop. I loved looking at all of the souvenirs and shopping from store to store. We ended up being crunched for time and found a cafe restaurant near the theater that was serving dinner to eat at. We then had to run to get back to the bus on time.