Today’s itinerary in Augsburg was much of the same as yesterday – tours of the beautiful city. We began the day by travelling to our host university, Universität Augsburg, a ten minute tram ride from our hotel. After giving a brief presentation about the companies we would tour in the coming week, the group ate lunch in the university’s cafeteria, the Mensa.

The atmosphere was similar, but also different, from Pitt’s dining hall. While the Mensa featured the same station-style layout, there were more options, and the food overall was tremendously less expensive than in the U.S. – an entire tray cost about 8 Euros. The food was filling too (a chicken kebab with vegetables and rice); the portion was much smaller than I would’ve gotten at Pitt and I was expecting to still be hungry, but was surprised find that I didn’t get hungry until dinner was being served.

After lunch, we toured the university’s campus. Isolated from the city, the university’s buildings are all built together, similar to most American campuses, and to Pitt in some regard. Because it is on its own, the university has plenty of room to expand, and also plenty of room for nature. The university is built around a small pond and canal stocked with koi fish, lined with unkept grass and vines and blooming trees – much different from asphalt avenues and towering buildings in Oakland.

Afterward, we went back into Augsburg and walked through the same streets as Sunday, completing a scavenger hunt about the famous landmarks of the city – St. Ulrich’s and St. Afra’s Church, the Augsburg Dom, the Rauthausplatz, and the Romanesque fountains dotting the streets. We became much more familiar with the city as a result.

Tomorrow we travel to the Alps, going on our first company visit. Excited to see the mountains!