Hallo Alle! After two long restless flights and many weeks of waiting, we’ve finally arrived in Germany! We landed at the Munich International Airport around 7 in the morning. I have been here before (almost four years ago); Unfortunately, my favorite Imbissstand, which sold buttered pretzels, was closed, which really disappointed me. However, not only was it a Sunday, when most non-essential stores are closed, but it was also really early in the morning, so the stand was most likely not to be open in the first place. My group and I boarded a bus to Augsburg, via the Autobahn, which took us about an hour.

Once we arrived in Augsburg, our rooms were not yet ready. After a brief orientation with some coordinators from our partner school, the University of Augsburg, our program advisor, Dr. Feick, took us on a tour of the city. While we had gone over a portion of Augsburg’s rich history prior to departure, it was amazing to finally see the landmarks and the varying architectural styles of the buildings. We even stopped at a Backerei to grab a quick bite. I got a cheese sandwich, which was amazing due to the amazing roll used.

My sandwich and the S-Bahn station!

We even got to visit the town hall’s golden seal room, which was intricately decorated! After we visited the town hall, our rooms were available, so we went to unpack our stuff and take a break from the heat. At 4:15, we went to tour Augsburg’s Fuggerei, the first form of affordable, socialist-like housing in the area, and one of the first in Europe. The Fuggerei is available to residents of Augsburg who are needy and pious, specifically Catholics. I found this interesting because Augsburg (and the surrounding area) has a Protestant plurality; I would have assumed that due to the religious demographics, it would be the opposite, or open to anyone regardless of faith. The Fuggerei has an air raid bunker from WWII, which sheltered over 200 people at one point.

Overall, due to it being a Sunday, causing most of the shops to close down, Augsburg’s streets were not crowded at all. Later, we met up with the German students we would be working with at dinner. I ordered a traditional Käsespatzel, which is basically German Mac’n’Cheese, but with less processing. After this long day (over 26 hours!), I decided to retire for the night. I can’t wait to tour the University of Augsburg tomorrow!

German Words used:

Imbissstand = Snack stand

Autobahn = Highway in Germany that has sections with no speed limit

Backerei = Backery

S-Bahn (Straße-Bahn) = Street train/car