I can’t believe that the trip is already over. We started our trip back at 5:30am and travelled the entire day. Germany was such an amazing place to visit, and now looking back at the trip, I want to write a reflection post.
The first week mainly consisted of visiting different companies and seeing how they impact the automobile industry. Germany is very focused on making the shift to electric cars, and soon that is all that will be produced. It was very interesting to see firsthand which companies will struggle with this change and which companies will be able to adapt with relative ease. Companies like Hoerbiger may have trouble adapting to the changing industry because they mainly manufacture a part for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles only. On the other hand, Grob will have no problem adapting because their machines are versatile and they have been able to use them to produce parts for electric cars. My favorite company visit was Audi. It was fascinating to see all the cars being produced by robots. The level of automation is so high with robots doing everything from welding the cars to transporting them through the factory.
The second week shifted gears and we had time to work on our projects while also going to tour many different cities and sites in Germany. The main thing I noticed from all these day trips was the amazing and old architecture. So many buildings in Germany have beautiful, intricate designs that you would never see back home. Another thing I loved about Germany was the transportation system. Not only was it very efficient and clean, but it was also so much less expensive than at home. During our free day, most of us decided to go to Austria which was about a 3 hour train ride each way. Our train tickets cost less than $15 per person. This was shocking to me because a similar trip in America has the potential of costing hundreds of dollars.
Overall, I cannot believe that the trip went by so quickly and I really hope I can make it back to Germany at some point in my life, because this was the best experience I have had in my life so far.